16/06/10 - Somewhere in the air

Well what an adventure - 13 different countries and over 11000 kilometres (excluding air flight) in 80 days. Talk about venturing outside your comfort zone! This was no guided tour - we were on our own with very little life lines. Driving a left handed manual was always very challenging as was trying to find out information in some of the non-English speaking countries. Reading road signs was not always easy and navigating always caused an arguement. We quickly had to adapt to the given environment such as wearing the same things day after day, eating whatever was available at times and sleeping in places that were of a lot less standard than we would normally accept. We have driven on the autobahns of Germany to the narrow cobbled lanes of Naples - we have climbed the heights of the Eiffel Tower and ventured to the depths of the Catacombs and the caves in Postojna - we had a snow fight on the Swiss Alps and been to the beaches of the Mediterranian - we have walked amoung 2000 year old ruins and become lost on brand new freeways - we have stayed in a dump in Amsterdam and lived the life of Riley in Tuscany - we have bathed in the warth and friendliness of the people of Croatia and been mystified by the rudeness and arrogance of others. This is a big world and now I know a little bit more about it. I have seen and experienced moments I will never forget and will treasure always. Karinne has asked me to name the gifts I received and I can only name a few. She then asks to name all the places I have ever visited and I can remember them all. This will be certainly amoung them. It hasn't always been easy though and was a tremendous ask of the kids. Despite everything, they have learnt and grown and will hopefully be better people for it. This will be the only time we will be together all day every day for almost three months and we survived - a little battle fatigued but we're coming home in one piece. We are tired, dirty and miss our home, family and friends but I know I come back a little more aware, appreciative and humble. I hope you have enjoyed reading our European Vacation blog as much as we enjoyed experiencing it. Bye for now.