34 days….. more than 12 cities….8 planes, international, regional and local trains, automobiles and boats, and almost 250km on foot, 3844 photos and 71 videos…… if you had told me a couple of months ago that this is what we would be doing, I would have said you’re insane! But it is exactly what we did, and it has been phenomenal!!

I am writing this as we are navigating our way through the (what feels like) a million hours of travel time to get home… trying to process all of the things that we have seen and done, and how I feel about all of it. Overwhelmed is probably the best word for it. When I look back over all of the photos, Facebook updates and blog posts that I have written, I feel amazed….. and motivated! We have had the most amazing time and there is still so much to see and do in the world… I want to keep doing it all!!

We were so lucky to have so many fabulous experiences, and so incredibly lucky with the weather too! All that time away, and only three rainy days… The rest of the time we did not let the weather interfere with our plans at all. We have seen old buildings and new, castles and churches and places full of history. We have wined and dined, and seen shows….. and the scenery has been beyond words in parts. I am proud of how much we have done, and of how well we did it together!

I’m also really proud of myself for doing this. There was some very real nerves and anxiety going into it. Traveling like this was something that Claytie and I had only ever dreamed about, and I was nervous about doing it with my new person. Revisiting places that Claytie and I had been to was quite daunting, and I was nervous that my grief and missing Claytie would somehow make the trip ‘less’ for D… I don’t think that it did, I certainly hope that it didn’t. This trip was its own thing and it has been the best experience for the two of us to share.

I kind of can’t believe that it’s over now. We talked about it and looked forward to it for such a long time. It seems surreal to think that we have had this massive adventure, and now it will be back to work next week! We packed so much into it and had the most amazing time! We are already planning where to go next year and the year after… and I can’t wait!!… but first, we will enjoy a couple of quieter days, and I am also looking forward to that!