It has been about a week and a half since I returned from my trip, and to be honest, I still haven't unpacked. Part of that is me being lazy and busy but it's also because the stuff in my suitcase and carry-on bags is pretty much all there is that says, "I was just in Europe." The jet-lag is gone, along with one of the chocolate bars and more than half of the candy. My postcard of Night Watch is on my desk at work and my skinny jeans and flats can only be worn so many times in a row. My photos have been sorted through and posted here and I've even completely finished the series of books I started reading on the return flight. There's not much left to indicate I just went on a trip other than my half unpacked suitcase.
At the end of my last post I mentioned my flights. As it turns out, Charlotte, North Carolina and the state itself got to remain on my "never been there" list. My flight out of Philadelphia was delayed (lord knows why, it was the same plane that I was on from Amsterdam and it flew fine) and I would have missed my connecting flight from Charlotte to SF, were it not for a US Airways clerk who found me a spot on a direct flight from PHL to SFO that left about the same time as my old flight to Charlotte. Of course, when I arrived in SF though, my bag was not with me. It followed my original flight path and arrived about an hour after I did. Luckily, the San Francisco baggage people are awesome and they delivered it to my house bright and early the next morning.
In terms of reflection on my trip... thinking about it that way makes me feel like I'm in high school. They made us reflect on everything. I guess it's habit or something. Anyway, generally I had a great time and I would love to do it again. I don't think I would change anything other than to make it longer. It was a great experience and I am glad I did it with the people I did. Next time, I will know how much longer I need in certain areas (Paris and Brussels in particular) and may be able to lead my companions through various others (The Hague and Amsterdam). I will probably not do much travelling alone in non-anglophone countries by myself in the future, but that's alright, because I've been to most anglophone countries already and I like them. That's not saying I won't travel, I'll just make sure when I'm going to an entirely new place that I take somebody with me. I'm braver when I'm not alone.
This blog will stay up, and the next time I go on an international adventure (which might not actually be that long from now) I will use it again. I've greatly enjoyed documenting my travels this way, and I hope the rest of you have too. Goodbye for now!
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