The End is Just the Beginning

Some Final Thoughts 

 

It's really hard for us to believe that a six month trip visiting incredible places around the world is already behind us.  We are feeling all sorts of emotions but bittersweet is really the only word we can use to define it at the moment.  While we have enjoyed visiting family and catching up with friends, we are really missing the intense time together in our own little bubble.  We are definitely going through a little withdrawal and easing back into a "normal" routine has proved a little more challenging than expected.

We have been back for about three weeks and in between trips to Ocean City, Bucks County, North Carolina, and Phoenix we have managed to move into a new apartment in NYC, Wes has received a few job offers, and Christine will be back in rehearsal in just a few short weeks.

Many people have already asked what our favorite destination was and that is an impossible question to answer.  We enjoyed every place for different reasons and the experiences each location gave us.  A few top choices in each region are...

Waya Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
Lake Taupo, North Island, New Zealand
Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand
Hong Island, Krabi, Thailand
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey
Santorini, Greece
Granada, Andalusia, Spain
Paris, France
Bernese Oberland, Switzerland
Sukosan & Lake Plitvice, Croatia
Greve in Chianti, Tuscany, Italy
Conca dei Marini, Amalfi Coast, Italy

We've been thinking about what we would discuss in the last post for some time and instead of recapping all of our amazing experiences, we decided to give a quick rundown and some stats that sound pretty crazy.

Days- 185
Hours- 4,400

Cities-51
Flights-24
Trains-9
Buses-18
Ferries-13
Rental cars-3
Quad ATV's-1
Bikes-2

Total miles traveled-49,481
Pictures taken-11,231 (no, we will not subject anyone to a comprehensive slide show)

A few things we've learned from our travels...

Socks with sandals is common worldwide.

Deodorant is optional everywhere, more so in India and France.

Someone will always want to be in line in front of you.

Ice in drinks is a rarity.

Personal space is not a concern in a lot of other cultures.

The more you want to visit an attraction, ruin, church, etc., the more scaffolding it will have on it.

This was truly the trip of a lifetime and an experience we will never forget.  We hope to continue our travels throughout the years and we invite any of you to join us along the way!  Thanks for following along on our journey!

Love,
Wes and Christine

"You'll regret the things you didn't do far more than the things you did."

Italy - Take Two

Amalfi Coast

We had a long travel day to get there but we finally made it to yet another paradise.  The Amalfi Coast was absolutely stunning and the apartment we rented for the week was the perfect ending to an amazing trip.  We stayed in Conca Dei Marini, a small mountainside town between Amalfi and Positano.  We wanted something a bit more remote and not on the tourist trail, which is EXACTLY what we found. "Sunflower House" as it was called, had a beautiful kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, the always exciting washing machine, oh, and a balcony twice the size of the apartment!  Can you guess where we spent most of the week?  We enjoyed day trips to Ravello, Amalfi, and Positano but spent most of the time at our apartment enjoying the last few days, reminiscing, and just soaking in the view 1000 feet above the ocean.

Beautiful patio with stunning view!

Italian kitchen

No wonder the lemoncello here is SO GOOD!

A wonderful rainy afternoon.

Positano

We also celebrated Wes's 35th birthday here!  Tripadvisor had recommended a local restaurant down on the water in Conca dei Marini, so we gave it a try for Wes's birthday.  Being that Conca is built on a mountainside, and a STEEP one at that, we spent the good part of an hour walking down stairs to reach the restaurant.  We thought we had a couple of options for a quicker return by bus, but by the time we finished, the last bus was long gone. So up we went, climbing the equivalent of the Empire State Building, after a fairly large meal!  We were really no worse for the wear and needed the exercise but definitely didn't run back the next night!

We spent a few hours soaking in some sun and swimming in the beautiful Mediterranean at Amalfi and Positano's beaches.  Since we had the great kitchen and patio, our best meals were of our own making from local tomatoes, cucumber, basil, mozzarella, brie, prosciutto, salami, peaches, cherries, grapes, and pasta of course.  We did find a great local restaurant with wonderful pizzas and some of the best squid we've had.

Rocky beach

Amalfi beach

Positano beach

YUMMY!

While we were on the beach in Positano, we were admiring the large yachts in the bay, some of which are the world's largest!  One yacht, the Rising Sun, was by far the largest and we kept wondering who's it was or who may be on board.  As we were boarding a ferry back to Amalfi, the tender for the yacht pulled up to the pier and picked up who else but Oprah Winfrey and Gail King, along with a couple of friends.  That is some serious traveling in style.

We spent our last full day before Rome having a wonderful breakfast and lunch on the patio, packing a little, doing one final load of laundry, playing cards, sipping limoncello, and shedding a tear or two while talking about experiences good, bad, and scary, and our imminent return to the "real world."  After a great dinner at our favorite local restaurant Le Bonta' del Capo, which wasn't TOO far down the mountain, we packed up and prepped to get on road (and water and rails) for Rome.

Rome

Our travel from Conca dei Marini to Rome is a perfect example of a typical travel day for us over the last six months.  After breakfast and checking out of the apartment, we boarded a local bus to Amalfi, to catch a ferry to Salerno, to catch a train to Rome, to walk to our B&B.  The Nicolas Inn was the perfect end to our trip.  Cute, clean, and perfectly located in the heart of Rome.

Rome was....HOT!  We spent most of our time trying to find shade but we did enjoy a trip to the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.  We also wandered around the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.  We enjoyed our last tastes of gelato, pasta, and pizza...diets here we come!

Roman Forum

More Roman Forum

View of Colosseum from near our hotel

Summer festival along the River Tiber

Saint Peter's Basilica

Saint Peter's Square

Piazza Venezia

The Pantheon

After our coin toss into the Trevi Fountain!

From Rome we caught a flight...home.  One final post wrapping it all up to come shortly!