Final Thoughts

This is sort of the post where I go into a philosophical rant about what I learned about myself, the world, other people, etc.  However, it's not all serious.  I included some fun, sometimes stupid things I learned and observed on this journey such as the fact that I'm really good at eating ice cream; not only do I like it alot, but I always eat it before it melts so I never waste a drop.

A few other things I learned...

* I'm not good at giving piggy back rides - you'd think with a big butt I'd be good, but people slide right off.

* I make friends pretty easily even when I don't speak their language. I was told on several occasions I have a friendly face...I'll take that.

* When I speak French I have a Spanish accent.

* In Spain they think I'm Italian and in Italy they think I'm Spanish...go figure.

* Walking is the best way to see and experience any city.

* Knowing simple greetings in any language goes a long way.

* I laugh at myself a lot.

* The great Japanese sushi chef Sukiyabashi Jiro once said, "In order to make delicious food, you need to eat delicious food."  If true, my skills in the kitchen should be greatly improved after this trip.  I wonder if the same applies to soccer skills...

 

* You can't be scared to fail. It's so important to try and fail than never to have tried at all. Feeling the butterflies and vulnerability of taking a risk and not knowing the outcome is a joy in life that should not go unexperienced.  Michael Jordan sums it up nicely in his quote: “I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life...and that is why I succeed.”

 

* I learned it's important to not just visit a city, but live it. Meet the people, eat the food, listen to the music, live on their time schedule, endulge in their habits, drink when they drink, eat when they eat, nap when they nap, read what they read, shop where they shop, do your best to live like those who own the city and that's how you'll truly get a sense of what a city is all about.

 

* Speaking of cities, Europeans love people from Los Angeles. Well, they like the glitz and glamorous reputation of LA, but yet they've all only visited San Francisco.  SF, Miami and NY are by far the most visited US cities by Europeans (Vegas is a close fourth).

 

* This popular quote or saying came up on three different occasions on this trip and I figured it was worth sharing: "Lord grant me the strength to change the things I can; the courage to accept the things I can't; and the knowledge to know the difference." In Glasgow I met a girl who had it as a tattoo; it came up in a movie I watched on a train ride; and then it came up in conversation in Paris.

 

* Whenever you say, "I'll come back to take that photo," or "I'll come back to buy that gift," you never do.  Just take the photo or buy the item when you have the chance.

 

* French soccer fans are rowdy. French chefs are amazing.

 

* Going into this trip I knew I was a planner and preferred structure, but I am way more obsessive about planning than I thought.  The one time I didn't have a hotel - in Bastia - I was not a fan.  Several people said I should go with the flow and plan on the go, and while I did this with small things like dinner reservations or metro lines, my prference is to have a set and confirmed itinerary.  With that said, it was the time I stepped away from the plan and extended my time in Paris that I felt the most invigorated.

 

* I learned I have a lot of love to give.

 

* And I think the biggest thing I learned on this trip is nothing is worse than regret.  Big or small, regret is a terrible thing.  You have to lay it all out there; give it everything you have.  If it works out than great, if not, then at least you did everything in your power to make it happen.  And odds are you learned a lot that you can apply to the next attempt.  Whether it's in a job, a relationship, a sporting event, or simply having the guts to ask the hotel receptionist out to dinner, leave it all out there and don't regret anything.

 

 

So what's next?  New apartment and a day job?  Just relaxing and hanging with friends?  Starting something new?  More travel?  Honestly, I don't know yet.  I do know it'll include some risks, hopefully a lot of love, and definitely no regrets.

 

LAST THOUGHT(S): Eat, hug, ride a bike, swim, eat out, eat in, go on a picnic, see a movie, drink, read, write, make art, make out, stare at the moon, draw, draw a person, draw a naked person, volunteer, run, take a trip, take a risk, take a nap outside, skip, laugh, cry, try, fail, try again, travel, breath, love, live...live like you mean it!

 

Until next time, travel whenever possible, and if you do, travel in sandals.

Goodbye...Adios...Arrivederci...Au Revoir!

 

 

 

Photo Edition - Poses, Out Takes & Favorites

You can imagine that in 38 days in Europe there are a lot of photos taken.  And when you're by yourself you get pretty darn good at finding ways to take photos of yourself - balancing the camera on random walls or flat surfaces, using objects of all sorts to prop your camera up, even using the camera's wrist string to teather it to fences and gates and letting it dangle while snapping shots...it's truly an art form in itself.  With the photo-taking adventures I had, I figured it'd be appropriate to do a photo-recap post showing the various solo-photo poses, some out takes and my favorite shots of the trip.

PHOTO POSES - These are the standard poses one does when taking photos by themselvs, something I've perfected over the the past five weeks.

The Cross.

 

The Backside Ponder.

 

The Frontside Ponder.

 

The I-Don't-Know-Where-to-Put-My-Hands.

 

The Fake-Walk. If you actually walked by the camera the photo would come out blurry, so you have to just stand and pose like you're walking.

 

The Pretend-to-Laugh.

 

The Studier.

 

The Shadow.

 

And the always popular Self-Portrait.

 

 

 

OUT TAKES - As you can imagine there are a ton of out take photos over the course of a 38-day trip.  Here are just a few of my favorite ones.

 

Apparently I caught myself by surprise on this one.

When taking a photo with someone famous - in this case world famous chef Jose Andres - be sure the camera is setup properly. They don't like taking a redos. No joke, I had to do this photo six times.

I got into a helmet phase at some point...

...always use protection.

Imagine the process of asking someone to take this photo...awkward.

Don't mind me ladies...just trying to take a photo here.

I guess I was going for good posture on this one.

Missed it by that much.

It's never a good idea to take photos of yourself eating, they just never look good.

 

It's also not a good idea to take photos when you're dancing (and drinking), these also never look good.

I didn't quite make it to my spot on time.

 

A bit too close.

Just a bit off.

 

Is this thing on?

 

 

FAVORITES - There are so many photos to pick from and I could have selected several dozen as my favorites, but these I'd have to say are the best of the bunch. 

Stumbling upon the Notting Hill Festival in London was definitely a highlight, as were these two brothers who were whipping up some delicious jerk chicken.

It's not every day you get a private lesson from one of the best in their craft. I was lucky enough to get a one-on-one lesson from Chris Armstrong, one of the best bagpipe players in the world.

 

When walking the fields of Bannockburn, Scotland you got a sense of the history and bloodshed that took place there. 

 

The Celtic match was probably the best soccer game of the trip.

 

Maria, Rocio and I pre-gaming before the Real Madrid match.

Walking into the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home to Real Madrid.

 

Running into Jose Andres in an elevator in Madrid, no doubt a top moment.

 

Taking in the beach views of San Sebastian.

 

This really sums up San Sebastian and Spain as a whole...endless plates of delicious tapas and small glasses of cold beer.

 

Vintage Vespa in Barcelona.

Barcelona courtyard and plaza.

 

The Funeral.

Breakfast at Villa Dianella.

 

One of my favorite photos of the whole trip - the view of the vineyards from my room at the Villa Dianella.

Lunch with Giuseppe, head farmer of the Dianella vineyards, and his family at their humble abode just behind Villa Dianella.

 

I ordered a dozen bottles of Dianella wine and had it shipped out to LA.

The Villa Dianella cooking class and making fresh pasta.

 

The entire SC Bastia match was amazing, but to be able to share it with a local (Sylvie) just made it that much more of a memorable experience.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Sunset at the Louvre.

 

I was lucky enough to witness a rainbow over the Eiffel Tower.

 

 

 

 

Day 38 - Homeward Bound & Thank Yous

Thirty-eight days, five countries, 15 cities, six soccer matches, five plane flights, nine train rides, one boat ride, five Michelin stars, one wedding, one funeral, a dozen new Facebook friends, and a whole lot of memories = one trip of a lifetime.  It’s bizarre to think it’s over.  Part of me feels like it went so fast and part of me feels like I’ve been gone forever.  I think it lasted just the right amount of time; both exhaustion and financials were reaching their limits. 

The trip home was long, but smooth.  I flew Paris to New York, had a short layover at JFK and then flew New York to LA.   In total it was about a 15hr trip home.   Fortunately, I slept most of the way.

I think it was capped off appropriately when I got into the taxi at LAX.  I jumped in and told the driver my destination.  He asked, "First time in Los Angeles," and I glanced up and said with a proud smirk, "Actually, I'm born and raised here," to which he replied, "Born and raised in LA?  Very cool."  Yes, very cool indeed.  It's nice to be home. 

The massive departure board at Paris' Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport. It was nice to finally look for Los Angeles as my destination.

CDG was a really nice airport with an impressive architectural design.

The Harlem Globetrotters were on my flight from Paris to New York. It was pretty comical to see these massive basketball players trying to fit into the compact confines of the airport and plane. This guy was 7'8" and had to duck just to fit into the jetway.

The 7'8" guy barely fit in the walkways of the plane. He actually had to sit in coach! Seriously! If you think you have issues with leg room, imagine this guy.

I felt like I was chasing the sun across the globe. It was beginning to go down when I left Paris, it was setting when I flew into New York, and it was gone and in bed by the time I landed in LA.

My first meal back in the US...fast food of course. I even got to enjoy it while watching the Bears v. Cowboys on Monday Night Football...it's nice to be back in America.

Home sweet home.

 

 

I now understand Tom Hanks' connection to Wilson the volleyball in the movie Cast Away.  When you're solo for a certain amount of time you start to make inanimate objects your friends - some may call it crazy, I just think it’s making do with what you have.  With this in mind, I'd to thank a few of my new "friends" for the support on this European Soccer Excursion.

 

Lenny the Laptop (it's short for Lenovo) - I considered Lenny my right-hand man on this trip. Always there to provide reccommendations and consultation, and of course to help with maintaining the blog.

 

The Deus brought me entertainment when it was so badly needed and kept me connected to the world in crunch times.

 

Quik and Easton - They carried me as much as I carried them.

 

Bloggie - For providing color and visuals for a trip that was filled with it.

 

The Big Canon - Being there on the nights out to provide memories when I wasn't coherent to remember them myself.

 

El Som (short for el sombrero) - Protecting mi cabasa es muy importante. It's the only item I lost along the way...RIP El Som.

 

G2 - Answering the call when needed.

 

The Guide Books - Providing the itinerary that allowed me to have the trip of a lifetime.

 

The U - When you sleep on trains, planes and in some questionable hotels having the U as a comfy mobile head rest made a huge impact on my sleeping conditions.

 

 

And last but not least, thanks to all of you for following along on this legendary journey.  When you travel by yourself and experience so many fun adventures the first thing you want to do is tell those closest to you.  This blog allowed me to do that.  It provided me the channel to share my experiences with those that are most important in my life.  I truly appreciated all the emails, comments and feedback along the way.  It was a blessing to have you all along for the ride.

 

 

I'll put up my last post tomorrow (Wednesday) with a few final thoughts.