I am Going Home?

What do I say about the year? My plane leaves in less than 4 hours for me to go home. It doesn’t seem real. I know people say that all the time, but in this case, it is so true. Actually well, no. I take it back. It feels like I am dehydrated and the sun is intensely  shining on my fragile body and I just had a large coffee. You know what I mean? It sort of feels like you are floating halfway outside your body. The things around you are moving faster than you can and you just try to sort of stay with the crowd as much as possible so you don’t get run over.  It seems like you are in a dream state. I have been in this state on and off for the last week or so. It makes it hard to function. I have been away from home for so long that it sort of seems weird to call it home. For so long, I called Leeds and the UK my home. It feels like I have been here for much longer than a year. Well a little less than a year. Let’s start by putting some numbers to my year.

I have been away from my family for 347 days.

I have been out of the US for 343 days.

I have been to 13 different countries (if you separate Scotland from England)

I have been to over  45 cities

I have seen

§       UK

o      Leeds

o      London

o      Ilkley

o      Manchester

o      Dover

o      Windsor

o      Bath

o      Burmingham

o      Stratford

o      York

§       Scotland

o      Edinburgh

o      Glasgow

o      Isle of Skye

o       

§       Ireland

o      Dublin

o      Kilarney

o      Tralee

o      Dingle

o      Ennis

o      Burren

o      Galway

o      Dingle

o      Aran Islands

§       France

o      Paris

§       Belgium

o      Brussels

§       The Netherlands

o      Amsterdam

§       Germany

o      Bremen

o      Berlin

o      Dusseldorf

§       Greece

o      Athens

o      Nafplio

o      Olympia

o      Patras

§       Italy

o      Ancona

o      Rome

o      Venice

o      Verona

o      Messina

o      Palermo

o      Catania

o      Florence

§       Switzerland

o      Zurich

o      Basel

§       Spain

o      Madrid

o      Seville

o      Barcelona

§       Portugal

o      Lisbon

§       Malta and Gozo

In a year, I have seen a lot, but not nearly as much as I had hoped. Some places were fantastic, other places were eh and there are a few that I don’t need to return to. That is how life is though. Not everything can have a hold on your heart.  People though, people will always have a presence, even the people who probably don’t deserve it. Luckily for me, there were very few duds in the year. I met many amazing people  and a few that I would consider part of my family. These amazing people were there to see me through some of the hard days and nights and they all dealt with my crazy conniptions  and beliefs. Granted I would hope that they all would acknowledge some of the great times too!

I can’t remember if I shared my fears about this trip, but one of them was that I would just float on my own for the year without a tether. Part of me planned to not make lasting friendships with people solely because saying goodbye is too difficult, but I realized that not bonding with these awesome people would be much harder.  I needed them to hold onto so I wouldn’t drown in the ocean of despair. (crap I started mixing metaphors, but whatever! You get it)

My year is a blur of birthdays, mistakes, deaths, crying, laughing, smiling, ridiculous shenanigans, gossip,  yelling, FOMO, adventure, chocolate, fighting,  insecurities, reassurance, and love., but mostly love. I am not talking about  the head over heels, sexual attraction, want to marry sort of love. I mean the warming feeling that you get when someone cares about you and your life and the reciprocation you give to them. A two way street sort of love between friends, but I guess since I share this bond with more than one person maybe I should call it a multitude of streets or maybe a roundabout? I did have a few one way relationships, but at this point they have reached a dead end. Actually no. Not a dead end. I simply stopped mid street. This post certainly is full of a lot of analogies. Sorry about that!

This year has been of loss and gain. I lost a few people; one physically, some emotionally, but I gained more.  I lost part of myself that needed to go and gained something else. I am not sure what exactly I gained, but I know I have changed. I lost a lot of money, but I gained a lot of memories, photos, and experience, which is much more important and profound. 

And with that and the ridiculous length of this post (especially since there are no pictures), I will stop here, but may continue later in another post. 

The Story

So travelling on my own can sometimes lead people, especially men, to ask me questions about me and my travels. As I want to be protect myself, I don't share the truth with people. So basically I am a huge liar. Now my lies are usually used to fend off the men who are trying to get me to go out with them and these men tend to be ten years my senior and working in something like retail. I often times I think they are lying to me anyway, so I have no issue not being honest with them. For example, yesterday this guy was trying to take me out for the evening and was telling me how he had two master degrees in finance and business, but he left his job in Australia to come to Florence and sell purses as a street vendor. I am sorry, but really? I know that it has probably happened before, but really?
Anyways, I thought I would share what my "life" has become.
My lies are as follows

1. I am travelling with my friend Alyssa.
2. My friend Alyssa is actually my girlfriend
3. I am travelling with my boyfriend.
1. His name is Brian. (I named him after my favourite Backstreet Boy/ first celebrity crush so it is always easy to remember. Hey! Don't judge me! I was young!) 
4. The person I am travelling with is inside that store/church/cafe/etc waiting for me
5. Although I hail from California, I am currently living in the UK.
1. If they ask for something more specific, I say I am just outside of London.
6. I am working in Student Accommodation in England.
7. My boyfriend is meeting up with me tomorrow and I can't wait! I haven't seen him in months
1. This only works if I don't say number 2
8. I leave tomorrow
9. I have plans with family friends and cannot meet up
10. I am staying with family friends
11. I have a ride from the train station/bus station/airport/etc because I am meeting up with my family/family friends/my friends...
12. I only carry my phone in case of emergencies because the charges are so high, so I can't give you my number or take yours.
13. I don't have a facebook, so we can't be facebook friends
1. They then tend to ask "What? Why?" and I respond with something like "I don't like people knowing so much about me especially if we haven't made the effort to stay in contact"
14. I don't drink alcohol
1. This one always warrants a multitude of questions about why I don't drink so I say things like
1. It is personal
2. My family has a few alcoholics in it. you know genetics and all
3. Bad decisions can occur when drunk
4. My friend had a close call, so she and I made a pact.

Sometimes I think that my lies are ridiculous and someone is going to call me out on them, but no one has. I then thank them for their interest and say that I have to go to meet up with said travelling companion.

I cannot wait to not have to do so much lying when I get home!

4 full days until I hop on a plane home!

Ferrying About

As you know (or would know if you read the post before this one), I went to Patras and stayed the night before grabbing the ferry to Italy back in Spring. It was a nice place, but man was I tired when I arrived. This is mostly due to the fact that I walked an hour and a half from the bus station to my hotel with all of my stuff and if you know me, you know I can't pack light. This was partially due to the fact that I was told it was only a thirty minute walk and mostly due to the fact I got myself lost, very, very, very lost. Luckily, my hotel had an awesome view. I mean just look at it!

After a quick nap, I did a bit of a walk around the city.  This was a cool church that was about five minutes from my hotel. I moseyed around and found myself not much impressed with the other buildings, so eventually I headed back to my hotel.

Here are some more photos of the view from my hotel room. As you can see from the bright lights, there was a little fun fair taking place.

The next day, I checked out of my hotel and made my way to the ferry. The bag show in the picture isn't mine by the way, I was just too lazy to get up and take a photo of the ship.

Here is part of the interior of the ship from where I ended up sleeping. Yes I slept in an uncomfortable chair because I didn't want to pay extra money for a bed or a real seat.

At least my spot had a nice view of the water!

The following afternoon, we arrived in Ancona, Italy.

Here is a closer view of part of the city.

After getting off the ferry, I walked about twenty minutes to my hostel and met a lovely woman. She and I ended up getting pizza and talking for the majority of the evening. I didn't see much in Ancona, but I wasn't really interested in exploring it too much.

Oh My Zeus

I only had one night in Olympia during my Spring travels because everyone and their mothers told me that it was not worth any sort of trip. Personally I think they were wrong. Olympia was such a tiny place that it was AWESOME. It was a nice quiet area and my hotel was comfy. It only took a few minutes to get to the major sites and it was just relaxing. That is what a vacation is supposed to be about: Relaxation. Yes, it didn't really need more than a day to explore (unless you want to actually hike places), but if you don't want to be bothered and want some peace, this is a nice place to be.

After I checked in, my afternoon was spent walking around the tiny town and then making my way to the Olympic Museum. It was closed. It was supposed to be open, but it wasn't. I was sad. Here is the outside of the building.

After failing to get into the Olympic Museum, I headed to the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. Here are a few things I saw.

The outside of the museum was pretty. Although the garden they had was a little pathetic. I think it might have been in mid-remodel though. I hope it was because it was a bit bare. It was still pretty even with how bare it looked, so credit to the landscaper.

Practically everything was closed and it wasn't even 5pm, so I headed back to the hostel and wasted my time on my computer. The following morning, I woke up early to check out the ruins. You can tell it was early because the sun was still coming up. I don't have the ruins map with me and I don't remember what each of these photos are of, so here are some pictures of the ruins!

Yay Ruins! Yay Olympia!
After the quick trip to Olympia, I headed to Patras to stay an evening and then head to port!

Nafplion

Nafplion was a beautiful city right on the water. The water was a nice clear blue. But there wasn't much around besides the water. I wandered pretty much everywhere except into the super residential areas. Nafplio is supposed to be one of the most romantic cities in Greece and I totally understand why, but being alone and all, it wasn't that fantastic. Don't get me wrong, I had fun because it was beautiful, but there wasn't anything to particularly see. There was one thing that I really wanted to see, but I just couldn't find it. It was a lion engraving and I tried four attempts in finding it, but it just didn't happen. I would either get lost or I was just blind to seeing it. Oh well!

My first day in Nafplio I walked along the water and spotted this giant sandcastle! It must have taken the kids ages to build it especially since it is completely surrounded by water. 

Here is one of the mountains. On top is the Palamidi castle. To get there you have to climb 999 steps.

Here is the beginning of my journey up to see the castle.

A view from my journey up. You can see the town below.

While I was climbing, I discovered that a parade was taking place back in the town. I took a look at the parade after my climb and saw all the school children and teens marching. I don't recall what the parade was celebrating, but the entire town seemed to be out to either participate or watch.

Here is a wonderful view from near the top. I lost count of the steps after about 700, but I do believe it was 999 steps because it was high and seemed to take forever!

Another great view from near the top.

Here is the outer portion of the castle. Unfortunately because it was a holiday, the castle was closed, so I couldn't go inside.

After watching the parade, I made my way towards the water on the other side of the rock. Here is part of my walk.

And here is some of the beautiful water.

I found a path that walked along a cliff right next to the water that went towards town, so I of course, had to take it. It was carved out of the hill.

After that, there wasn't much to do. Pretty much everything was closed, so I searched for the carved lion, but like I said earlier, I couldn't find it.