Day 119: The End!

We decided that for our very last day we would both write a little something...

This morning we packed up and left the comforts of Archana and Richard's apartment near Tower Hill and set off on the tube to Heathrow. After an uneventful flight, we landed at Newark Airport and were met by Frank's parents, who were generous enough to chauffeur us home. I think we're both a little shell-shocked and are still processing that we are finally back in NYC after an unbelievable 4 months. It's hard to wrap things up after 119 days of updating this blog with our adventures but here is our attempt...

Some fun facts from our journey:

Total kilometers driven in Spain: 7,016.1
Miles flown: 73,062
# of flights: 20
# of countries visited: 14
# of currencies used: 12
# of times Frank was hand fed by the owner of a restaurant: 2 (in one night at a fabulous tiny Korean BBQ restaurant in Seoul)
# of massages: 2 (excellent foot massage in Singapore; weird massage that turned into an English lesson in Beijing)
# of times we had American fast food (for various reasons): 5
Worst ATM error: Kyoto, Japan when ILM took out 50,000 yen instead of 5,000 yen ($500 instead of $50)
# of pictures taken: 11,360
# of times Ilana said "kiss me" in Chinese thinking she was saying "thank you": about 4 days worth [the whole inflection thing is tricky!!]
Most diligent blog commenter: Christine Jaccarino-Torre [Frank's mother]
# of Spanish cathedrals visited: 21
Number of pairs of underwear Frank actually brought on the trip: 5
Number of languages in which we can now say "thank you": 6

So...now we'd like to say Thank you, Gracias, Gaam-sa-ham-nee-da, Arigato, Xie-Xie, Kiitos, and Merci Beaucoup! to the following people:

- Juliet, Evelyn, & David for making the start our trip in Winchester so much fun.

- Linda, Mia & Phillipe for taking time out of their busy days to meet up with us for meals in London.

- Archana & Richard for everything! If it weren't for you guys we would never have done this trip. Thank you for allowing us to invade part of your trip, and your hospitality when we finished and got back to London. We really feel that you are responsible for us having one of the most amazing experiences of our lives.

- Peter & Pam for an amazing Australian welcome! It was so nice to have family waiting for us in a new place. You really gave us the royal treatment and made Australia a special place for us.

- Amy & Karl for hosting dinner in Australia. It was great to get to know you and hope you'll visit us one day soon in NYC.

- Helen & Roy for making us feel like family after not seeing you for so long.

- Our Singapore hosts for welcoming us into your home and your amazing hospitality. If we can ever repay the favor it would be an honor. I may never forgive you for the snake thing though. :)

- Britt, Debbie, & Peter for making Seoul so much fun. Without you guys we would have just been fumbling around with a map. It really meant a lot to us. We are looking forward to your visit to NYC!

- Carolina for making time for us in Madrid and letting us keep you out late on a work night. If you don't come to NYC soon Ilana is going to be upset. :)

- Dani & Lucia for showing us around Sevilla. After being on the road on our own it was a real treat to have you guys there for us.

- Siena & Dave for minding the fort back home while we traveled and keeping us company on our week in northern Spain.

- David for spending time with us in Tarragona and making our stay there so much more interesting and personal.

- Lisa for being the most generous person alive.

- Nadja for sending an insane amount of letters to various destinations around the world - we were so sad when we reached the end of them!

- Mr & Mrs Mair for the wonderful experience in France.

- Christine & Jerry for taking us to and from the airport.

- And to all those who have read our blog along the way. As the trip went on we found out that quite a few people were following each day - some more passionately than others [Thank you for your support, Colleen!].


FJ Final thoughts:

I have to say the past 4 months has been the most amazing experience of my life. To be able to see the world and focus our time and energy on the task of experiencing and learning about the world is truly life changing. I think looking back there are some moments that seem to stand out as events that if someone were to ask for advice for a trip of their own I would have to at least recommend a few of the following:

- Visit the Tsukiji fish market (Tokyo) bright and early, see the tuna auction, eat sushi for breakfast
- Walk up to the edge of the old volcano Rano Kau on Easter Island
- Watch a Korean movie in Seoul in a DVD bang
- Go to Machu Picchu & the Sacred Valley
- Hike a part of the Blue Mountains in Australia
- Hike Cares George in Spain
- Take a hutong tour in Beijing and lunch with a local family
- Wander through some of the temples in Kyoto, Japan
- Take the tour of the roof of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Watch the sunrise at Tongariki on Easter Island

Just to name a few. We've only scratched the surface on this trip.

And thanks to my wife, who planned nearly all of this trip. Although I had to do a little convincing to get her to give up some of our "Spain time", she took charge and made the last 4 months of jumping country to country nearly seamless. Those who know her ability to organize will understand what I mean. We had detailed packets for each country! :-). The time and effort she spent before the trip allowed us to focus our time and energy on the road and truly get the most out of our travels. Four months together and not having the annoyances of responsible adult life we learned more about ourselves and about each other. We grew closer on this trip and now I have this wonderful experience to look back on with her. Thanks Ilana!


ILM Final Thoughts:

These past four months have definitely been the best experience of my life to date. It's hard to even process all of the things we've seen on this journey. We've already thanked everyone else, but now I have to thank my amazing travel companion, Frank, for truly being the reason for all of this.

Some people might be surprised to know that the whole idea of taking time off to travel was his idea, not mine, and it was the best idea he's ever had (after marrying me, of course). It was also his idea to add the "round the world" portion of the trip to our Spain idea, so I am therefore eternally grateful for all the additional countries I was able to visit and all the amazing people and places we saw along the way.

I also want to thank Frank for his unparalleled ability to drive any car, in any country, on superhighways or streets so narrow it seemed like we might not fit, on the left side of the road and the right, with various combinations of luggage and people crammed in, always with astounding patience and good humor, without a single incident or accident. And I should also mention his adept navigation, with just a tourist map of a city, within minutes of arriving as we explored town after town, cathedral after cathedral, temples, subways, gardens, plazas, palaces, tapas bars, etc. I couldn't have asked for a better travel companion, and I'm looking forward to everything else we have ahead of us to explore, wherever that may be.

It's wonderful to see the world, but it's even better to be home!