06 September 2012

Week Eleven (La Fin!)

Norway

Norway and Ireland

Ireland


It's five in the morning and I am wide awake. FIVE IN THE MORNING AND WIDE AWAKE. Those two things should NEVER be allowed in a sentence together. But I arrived home from Ireland last night after 15 hours of travel and clearly jetlag has decided to have its way with me.

Since I'm up dark and early, I figured I might as well take this time to write my final outfit post. Continuing with last week's trend, I've made a series of top-fives about the last three and a half months. Therefore, this post is a bit longer than my previous ones and I do not apologize.

Top-Five Moments
1. The unexpected evening in Felixkirk, England ("population 30-40") where we stayed with a hitchhiking lift and his partner, went to the local pub quiz with them and another couple, and had wonderfully splendid conversations.
2. The impromptu dance party in the middle of a Polish highway.
3. The 2 days of stealth camping in a park 5 minutes from the center of (feckin') Bruges, Belgium.
4. "The best day ever" in Warsaw, Poland in which Kendall and I ate like kings for the price of almost nothing.
5. The 4th of July on which we climbed a mountain, made breakfast for dinner, and shared cocktails the size of my head, all in the company of some splendidly awesome Austrians.

Top-Five Hitchhiking Lifts
1. Ruth and Donna -- the ones who saved a horse in the middle of the road and bought us ice cream.
2. Tim -- the one who was going to raid a castle for his 21st and brought us to see his friend's 10 puppies.
3. The Swedish James Deans -- the ones who owned a caravan of four classic American cars in which we rode while listening to oldies and driving through the Swedish countryside.
4. The Translator -- the one who loved languages as much as I do and seemed just as excited as me to discuss the grammar and best words of various languages.
5. La Maman Belge -- the one with whom conversing in French didn't feel the least bit difficult and who, when talking to her two children on speaker phone, told them about how she picked up hitchhikers on a post-studies adventure and encouraged them to do the same.

Top-Five Cities
1. Paris, France.
2. Edinburgh, Scotland.
3. Berlin, Germany.
4. Warsaw, Poland.
5. Bergen, Norway.

Top-Five Countries
1. Poland.
2. Austria.
3. Ireland.
4. Sweden.
5. Norway.

Top-Five Songs
1. I Love A Rainy Night by Eddie Rabbitt.
2. Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye.
3. That Thing You Do by The Wonders
4. Nosa Nosa by Micharl Telo.
5. Emmy-Lou by First Aid Kit.

Top-Five Pizzas According To The Country They Were Consumed In
1. Austria.
2. England.
3. Denmark.
4. France.
5. Scotland.

Top-Five Airlines
1. British Airways.
2. British Airways.
3. British Airways.
4. British Airways.
5. British Airways.

01 September 2012

Week Ten

Sweden


Sweden

Sweden


Since I only have a handful of days left on my journey, I've decided to take a page out of Kendall's bookand create a top-five list of things that I'm looking forward to upon my return to the States:

1. Being in the presence of some of the spectacular people who have been missing from my life since May 16th. But, duh.
2. Not having to lug around my backpack. I overheard another backpacker on the start of this journey talking about how he had taken a long trip with only a backpack and how pit had kind of become a part of him and he almost missed it when his trip was over. I suspected it then, but I am certain now--he was some kind of crazy person. I am in no way attached to wearing my backpack and I'm so excited that after Wednesday I'll never have to strap it on again.
3. My wardrobe! In particular my maxi dresses and heels. But also anything that isn't streched, hole-y, or faded from being worn far too often during the last three and a half months.
4. The most recent season of HIMYM and pumpkin curry pizza. My day after I return to the US tradition.
5. My mom's pasta salad. I'm just as surprised by this one as you are. But I got a craving for it about halfway through my trip that I haven't been able to shake since.