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.