Farewell Europe

As we prepare for our flight to Zambia this afternoon, we find ourselves reflecting on the past four months (has it really only been that long?! It feels like much, much longer) and everything we've done up to this point. We've seen incredible places, met countless wonderful people, experienced and learned so much. Looking back on it now, it's hard to believe that our European adventure actually happened, that we won't wake up in our own bed tomorrow and realize it was all just a dream.

When we started this trip back in September we had a vague idea of what we might gain from traveling. Now we realize we didn't have a clue what was really in store for us- as Americans, as information addicts, as a couple, as human beings. It's obvious that the effect of this trip on our lives has already been profound, and we realize now more than ever, that we're only just getting started. 

We want to take a moment here to acknowledge, and to offer our most sincere appreciation to everyone who--up to this point--has played a role in making this incredible experience possible for us:

Mark and Lucy in London

Victoria in Sheffield

Liz, Greg, and Frankie in Liverpool

Mateo and his friendly flatmates in Granada

Roberto and Geraldine in Marbella 

Luis, Manuel, and Pablo in Sevilla

All the staff and guests at the Garden Backpacker in Sevilla

Emmanuel and his friends in Marseille (and Daryl, too!)

Jerome and the rest of the amazing couchsurfing community in Aix

The staff and guests at our hostel in Roma (especially Melissa, Chelsea, and Stephanie from Canada, and Anna and JP from Mexico)

My lovely Mamma in Florence

Becca and Kaitlyn in Florence (and Rome, and Venice...)

Maggie, Alex, Dimitra, Sylvia, Moe, Stephanie and the rest of the gang in Esbjerg

Lars in Copenhagen

Theo in Amsterdam

Claudia, Inge, Martin, and Matthias in Dreieich

Thank you all for opening your homes to us, for sharing conversation, for the meals, the drinks, the laughs- it wouldn't have been the same adventure without you, and we are so, SO grateful!

And a very special-extra-big THANK YOU to our wonderful families back home who continue to support us in more ways than we can count.

And now, Chapter 2...