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pictures.

too many to post.

but here are a few.

Ireland

Dingle Peninsula

Paris

Eiffel Tower, of course.

Amsterdam

Gimmewald, Switzerland

View from bedroom window

Vernazza, Italy

Cinque Terre

A taste.

A picture per country.

The long return

Made it home to good ole La Mirada last night after a VERY long day of travel. I was TOTALLY wiped out and slept solid last night. In fact, I feel like I could've used another 5+ hours but I got up and will push through the day and hopefully get another good nights sleep tonight.

My travels home looked like so...

*"sleeping" in the Milan-Linate Airport, which really meant me sitting upright in a chair with my mouth hanging open, eyes closed...this happened on & off for about 2 or so hours

*checking in for my flight @ 5:30am

*flying out of Milan @ 7:20am, only to go East to Frankfurt, Germany...the perk, a chocolate croissant on my 1.5 hr flight. man the italians no how to treat their customers!

*2 hour lay-over in Frankfurt...a very confusing airport where i went through more security checks then I can count

*flight from Frankfurt...9.5 hrs...5 movies, a short nap, a bit of journaling, and a snack later, I arrived in Charlotte, N. Carolina

*in Charlotte...customs, baggage claim, re-check bags, go through another security check point, starbucks for my new best friend "cappuccino" but unfortunately it was NOTHING like my friend "italian cappuccino", and back on another plane

*5.5 hrs with only beverage service, no tvs or radio...welcome to the USA

*arrived in LAX @ 6:40pm...lucky to have been picked up by Katie with a stop at In-N-Out for some food and then home.

*Home...dusty, dirty and slightly stuffy...a great welcome home!

While the travels home were long and at times I wanted to say out loud "fly faster pilot, fly faster!", they allowed for some good time to reflect on my trip though much more is needed.

And I must be honest, it feels very strange to be back. I feel a bit like getting back on a plane and heading back to the life of a backpack, hostels, cultures, languages, italian cappuccinos, meeting lots of strangers that I can now call friends, and the day to day wandering in new places. In the same breath, it is good to see familiar faces and to be embraced by people I love that have been super supportive of me in my journeying. Thanks to all of you who followed me via my blog, prayed, wrote notes, encouraged and rooted for me as I stepped out into something so unknown that has now become something so well known I don't know quite how to be home.

Gimme-more!

Ok, so its been a bit since I blogged. Reason being...no good working computer (my blackberry won't let me do it) and my MOM was just traveling with me for the last week and so I spent time with her, rather then cyberspace. Actually...thats not totally true, I did spend time in cyberspace (emails, reservations, etc) while I was with her but not the kind where I just sit down and share with all of you what has been going on. So, let me just give you a quick list of the things I've done, seen, etc...since I last wrote:

*Saw the Mona Lisa
*Went to the top of the Eiffel Tower
*Had 2 new male roommates...both Aussies and both great! Best guy roommates I've ever had ;)
*Saw the Notre Dame
*Stopped a small shoppe for hot chocolate (recommended by my friend Sam) and happened upon an open house for the lady that runs the shop because she sold it to a new owner. Turns out I got free hot chocolate, hung out with the locals, talked for a while with a french college girl, and had some other free tasty treats. Amazing!
*Sweated....alot! Paris was HOT!
*Went to Amsterdam & met my MOM there!
*Happened to walk through part of the red light district. It made me sad.
*Met a girl, Tiffany, from Biola who will be an RC next year. She was working at the hostel we stayed at in Amsterdam.
*Witnessed the loyalty and excitement of the peeps from the Netherlands...as they got dressed up and watched the World Cup game when they beat Brazil. It was pretty much a massive party throughout the city...all day!
*Walked through the Anne Frank house
*Van Gogh museum
*Rode an overnight train to Basel, Switzerland and sat behind a woman that pretty much didn't shut up the entire ride. Kinda annoying, kinda funny...her husband never spoke :)
*Spent the morning in Bern, Switzerland
*SWITZERLAND!!!!!!!!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Mountain Hostel in Gimmewald...a great place
*Hiked
*Took LOTS of pictures of God's creativity (aka nature, the bernese alps...)
*Randomly ran into a friend at the Mountain Hostel...Joe Schmaltz...he just showed up. What?!?! RANDOM!!!
*I flew! Yes, thats right...I flew! I went paragliding and it was amazing. Twice during the flight my guide had me steer. :)
*Had a great traditional swiss meal with my Mom. It was really yummy and I ate way too much.
*Rappelled down a 150 foot rock, jumped 30 feet into a pool of water, slid down rocks, jumped off another rock...I went Canyoning and it was awesome!

Welp, that is just a few things to keep you updated. My time is about to run out on the computer so I must get going. But, I hope YOU are doing well...not too hot and enjoying whatever it is you are doing.

Love.