Barcelona (SPAIN) - Vitamin SEA

Barcelona
03 SEP - 05 SEP 2015

Point to point travel yet again. Another morning, another desire to get from one destination to the next without ever considering what was in between, all those small places, all those hidden gems. Anyway, I'll leave the lament on the back-burner a little, it was time for Barcelona, Catalonian magnificence in a Spanish prison. I don't mean it like that either actually, I just liked the way the line came out, I have no idea of the history or the politics that generate that divide. It's just that my scattered thoughts for this destination kind of typify the way I was feeling about the whole endeavour at the time. It's freakin' BARCELONA right! It's one of the capitals of cool and I know its a mighty fun destination, having been there there twice before, once in 2008, and the next during their World Cup win in 2010. This arrival was a little different. A little more understated, a little more 'blah'.

What can I tell you, we saw what we were meant to see. We experienced Barceloneta, we took the cable car up to Montjuic and back down, we went to La Sagrada Familia, we 'ate the food, we drank the wine, everybody having a good time, except you. You were talking about the end of the world'. Having spent so much of my hard earned money on U2 albums, concert tickets, DVD's , t-shirts and all else U2 related, I think they can afford me that line for my own personal use and amusement.

So, I'm going to do this one more in photos. Your typical family holiday, done in a very typical way in Barcelona, nothing 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' about it other than the setting being the same.

Barceloneta - Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

View from Montjuic - Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

Montpellier (FRANCE) - Blink and you'll miss it

Montpellier (France)

02 SEP 2015

Don't let the title fool you, I have nothing against Montpellier, actually, I was more than disappointed that we only spent an evening there, it looked to be an incredibly beautiful city. One of those towns that seemed to have everything on my list 'intriguing, fascinating and enjoyable'. As you already know however, this trip was not one of 'those trips'. I had no real control over duration, where we were going or what we were doing. I was on 'the clock' of someone else, whose mission I didn't understand...not for the life of me.

This day started in another country, far on the north eastern coast of Italy. Once again, we bounded out of Venice with rigour and purpose. Why? Who the hell knows why! All I know is that my cousin was aiming to get as far as he could in the amount of daylight that we had possible, and so we drove, Vicenza, Verona & Brescia, then the chaos of the traffic moving in and out of Milan. It was like nothing that I'd seen before. Three lanes of slow moving steel, plastic and rubber, columns of trucks that went for mile, after mile. The Northern part of Italy was just an endless procession of vehicles carrying cargo to and from destinations. Our only objective was to get around it somehow and head on our merry way.

It took a bit of time but somewhere around midday we hit Genoa and then set ourselves for a cruise down the Riviera. Great scenery (from the motorway), it looked as though there were plenty of places where you could put your feet up, enjoy an Aperol Spritz and watch the sun settle over the Mediterranean.

Italian Riviera

 Italian Riviera

Italian Riviera

Somewhere in the afternoon we dropped into Monaco, more so that I could just add another country onto my 'been-there' list. It was what you'd expect of Monaco, flush with money, flush with ritz and glamour. Not too hard to see it on the streets, more than just ostentatious, it was like different level wealth.

Still, 'nothing to see here', we had to move on of course, we had to get to ....'who knows where' by 'who knows what time' for 'who knows what reason', so back we were, bundled into the car and heading to our next destination, which we figured out as Montpellier.

We arrived there in later afternoon, with no accommodation booked. Something that didn't appear to be a problem to me but apparently became one. What I didn't know then but what I should have probably anticipated, is that my three other cohorts can turn on the hyper-anxiety and hyper-stress in an instant. Their penchant to become unnecessarily stressed regarding a mild situation, I know now is a common trait that all three feed off from one another. I didn't know that that, not at that time. So when we turned up looking for accommodation I though 'ok, perhaps 20 mins, perhaps 40 mins, perhaps an hour', we'll find a place. After our first few misses however the stress levels in the car went through the roof, why? Who the hell knows why! But it certainly wasn't needed. In any case, we did finally find a comfortable location close to the centre of the town, with some friendly fire taking place along the way. So for that night my aunt and cousin stayed in their rooms, both 'too tired' to do anything and my mum and I went for a walk to discover a little about Montpellier.

...And so I come back to the beginning. Montpellier looks like quite a beautiful town, as one commentator has put it, 'elegant, subversive and seductive', both a town of students and one infiltrated by IT specialists creating their own 'hub', its becoming interesting and complex in a fascinating way. Not that I knew any of this of course, all I could pick was the mix of old and new plus the smooth, lighter than air trams that would glide by with high frequency. To me it looked like a place where I could quite happily spend more than just a few hours but rather a few days. Not on this turn unfortunately. Never the less, its definitely on the list of places to revisit and hopefully that might be able to occur soon-ish.

Venice (ITALY) - the Suzhou of Western Europe

Venice (Italy)
01 SEP 2015

Ever noticed how labels get applied to places, people, or things that have similar characteristics to other, more well known places, people or things. For example, a great footballer in say China will be called 'The Messi of the Far East' or a city or town in Northen Europe with amazing waterways will be called the 'Venice of the North', well, I'm dubbing Venice the 'Suzhou of Western Europe'. Why?  Because I can!

We bounded out of Belgrade at some ridiculous hour, I believe it was close to 6am. Again, another question that I can never get my head around answering, why do family holidays always commence before dawn? Was your family ever part of that brigade? The ones that needed to get on the road to 'beat the traffic'. First, I'd like to know, what traffic are you anticipating, is it all those 'mid-morning' road-trippers that you're wanting to beat? And then where are they actually coming from? What about those early morning road-trippers heading your way from the destination your heading to, did you anticipate a convergence point somewhere along the way that might halt your progress? Either way, I never understood the need to rush of as the sun was rising, the purpose was always lost on me, both as a youngster and as an adult.

Another thing I know about road-tripping with my cousin Vladimir. He's one for endless driving. He's a point to point driver without being one of those that like to get side-tracked by additional stops or points of interest on the way. So even though during that day were were going to be driving through Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and the Northern edge of Italy, the drive was always going to be a straight drive from Belgrade to Venice with no other breaks in between other than for petrol or comfort stops. That's just the way he rolls. Ok if you're in a rush, but does it make for a cool driving experience? Well, I'll let you be the judge.

Venice - Italy

Venice - Italy

Rialto bridge - Venice - Italy

Venice - Italy

Our arrival time in Venice was early afternoon, probably close to 2pm. We stayed in a hotel outside of the actual famous islands that form the well known part of Venice in the lagoon. It didn't take us long however to find get ready, jump a bus and head over the causeway in order to do a little sightseeing. And I have to admit, this day, for the most part was pretty ok. We experienced what tourists usually would on a typical Venice day, the Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, Piazzo San Marco and St.Mark's Basilica.

My aunt and my mum - Venice - Italy

Venice - Italy

 Piazzo San Marco - Venice - Italy

Piazzo San Marco - Venice - Italy

Piazzo San Marco - Venice - Italy

Venice - Italy

Without doubt the city is an amazing place, both in terms of architecture, construct and lifestyle. I always have a fondness for medieval style places with their labyrinth of alleyways, where the twist and turns brings you so someplace new, hidden and intriguing. Venice to me felt like that but just totally overcome with tourists, my family being part of that dilemma of economy vs. preservation.

Venice - Italy

Venice - Italy

Rialto Bridge - Venice - Italy

 Venice - Italy

Venice - Italy

We spent probably 3-4 hours in the main part of Venice before an attack of heart, weariness and exhaustion overcame my mother. And here it commenced. Day one of what was going to be two weeks catering to the capacity of 'senior citizens'. Let it be known, this is not a complaint directed at older people or my mother/aunt specifically, its simply that my capacity to do, to see and to go places was now going to be dictated by their levels of fitness and mobility. Anyway, that's something that I'll discuss in future blog pieces. Still, as a start to our road trip I found Venice to be quite a surprising places, somewhere that I'd definitely love to return to and spend a few days in future.

Western Europe - Keep calm and drive on tour

BELGRADE

01 SEP - 14 SEP 2015

Sometimes you know the mistake you've made even before you make it. You can read the lay of the land, the pitfalls, the hassle, the trouble. I knew, the moment we drove out of Belgrade that this road trip was going to be a lot of pain for a little gain.

Originally the idea of this road trip was just going to be a cruisy Summer vacation undertaken by my cousin and I. With him it would at least have only been one person. I know how he operates, what he doesn't like to do and what he can handle. With just him things would on this trip would have been alright. Somewhere along the line my aunt and my mother decided to change their plans to spend a couple weeks in the Greek sun in order to spend a few weeks with us road tripping...sigh...that's two 70 year old women that are nice in their own space, where things are comfortable, but, when things become even a little difficult, well, that's where 'stress management' comes into play

So now, in the tradition of all my other kick-off write-ups such as Life in a year full of Saturdays, the wing and a prayer tour, Don't call this a comeback, 43: The tour of awesome, Argentina - the two timer tour and trienta y cuarenta - the tour of never say never, I now bring the tour of Western Europe - 'Keep calm and drive on'.

This was to be a two week driving tour of Western Europe. I had my doubts as to how this would play out, but still, we went with it. This is how things unfolded.

South America - Trienta y cuarenta - the tour of never say never! - the final

South America
29 March - 05 July 2015

It's a wrap
As has become standard for me when I've ended a trip I've taken to doing a last summary or a 'greatest hits' review whenever I managed to complete the final entry on the 'how, why, when and whatever else may have been alcohol related' blog series of my most recent escapades. Sticking with tradition and therefore adopting the same template that I've used in the past, see also;

[Morocco - Europe wrap - June/July 2008]

[Laos wrap - April 2009]

[Vietnam-Malaysia wrap - December/January 2009/10]

[Europe - Morocco - South America wrap 2010]

[USA - Mexico wrap - February/March 2011]

[Brazil/U.A.E wrap - December/January 2011/12]
[Argentina/Uruguay wrap - August 2012]
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I therefore bring you the close out of our South American experience which now continues within the new life of my blog, known by the name, Life in a Year Full of Saturdays. The South American tour was a while in the making, going from the original Europe-Morocco-South America adventure of 2010, there was still A LOT left unfinished and a lot left to see.

In previous tour there had always been one perspective, but now, and moving forward, there's going to be a whole lot more room for two. So lets commence!

South America - 'The Final'

Favourite place

All the usual questions here are going to be in two versions, Inga & Henry. So lets go.

Henry's favourite places

1. Buenos Aires - (Argentina) - It's probably not even fair to compare anymore, Buenos Aires is going to come out on top in any list that I put together. A home away from home that always feels special to me. It's not a stretch to say that this place has changed my life.

Buenos Aires - Argentina

2. El Chalten - Ruta 40 - Torres del Paine (Argentina / Chile) - This area is special. Vast, expansive, stunning scenery, it has an abundance of natural beauty that simply cannot be overstated. I often sit back and think of places like Mont Fitzroy, Torres del Paine and the surrounding areas, both desolate and engaging. Simply stunning.

El Calafate - Argentina

Mont FitzRoy - El Chalten - Argentina

Ruta 40 - Argentina

Torres del Paine - Chile

3.  Cartagena - (Colombia) - 'The queen of the Caribbean', old colonial architecture, cobble stone alleyways, terraces filled with bougainvillea. Warm, sultry evenings, the sounds of the Caribbean filling the night as you sit atop the city walls, drinking your favourite cocktail. There's not too much bad about that.

Cartagena - Colombia

Cartagena - Colombia

4. Havana - (Cuba) - The Malecon, old American muscle cars, cigars, rum and salsa. Havana is not just a place but a feel, and you definitely feel it when you're here.

Havana - Cuba

Havana - Cuba

5. Brazilian beach life - This is a tough one because there are so many places, from Rio de Janeiro, to Jericoacoara, to Paraty. The beach lifestyle, the culture and the mood just encapsulates you.

Rio de Janeiro - Brasil

Inga's favourite places

1. Rio de Janeiro - (Brasil) - Sun, sand, golden beaches, caipirinhas, fitness bunnies and the mighty Copacabana. On a beautiful sunny day there's no place quite like it.

Rio de Janeiro - Brasil

2. The beaches of Brasil - It's hard to pick out just one from a raft of potentials, from Paraty to Jericoacoara, Ilha Grande, Ipanema - the coastal lifestyle is a pure joy, and its different to Australia. There's much more of a vibe, much more of an orientation to beach lifestyle and culture that makes it unique and special.

Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil

3. El Chalten - (Argentina) - The mountains surrounding this little town are beautiful, especially in those transition months. The smoking mountains of Mont Fitzroy are is rugged, spectacular and dramatic as any. To me, and I think to Inga, they are more impressive than those of Torres del Paine. It's a close run thing between the two, but if there had to be a winner then Mont Fitzroy wins, just.

 Torres del Paine - Chile

El Calafate - Argentina

4. Havana - (Cuba) - Havana Club, siete anos, the warm Caribbean sea, the music and the cigars. Again, this is a place that has a presence, you can feel it when you're here - its much more than a destination

Havana - Cuba

Havana - Cuba

5. Buenos Aires - San Telmo - (Argentina) - It was the first stop on our journey, the first part of Buenos Aires that Inga saw, and a place where I think I may have had a little influence over in terms of my own excitement and love for this part of the world.

Buenos Aires - Argentina

Most Surprising

1.  Elqui Domos - Pisco-Elqui - (Chile) - The valley itself is beautiful but you don't really come here for that, its the lack of humidity and 'dry air' that delivers such an incredibly rich and magnificent night sky that leaves you in awe. Along with that there's also https://milodge.com/en/#  - here  'astronomical domes' have been created on the hillside of the valley that allows you to lay in your bed and stare out into the universe. Inga and I spent a couple of nights here, laid out on the roof of our building, surrounded by the mysteries of the universe above our head. Definitely the most surprising stop.

Elqui Domos - Elqui Valley - Chile

Pisco-Elqui - Elqui Valley - Chile

Elqui Valley - Chile

Elqui Valley - Chile

The coolest place for a night out

1.   Buenos Aires - (Argentina) - There's an abundance of everything,places to eat, bars, things to do, etc. What makes it so special however is that this is not a state where Grandma's rule the roost, if you want to grab a meal at 2am then of course you can do it. The frustration I always encountered in Australia is that come 11pm on a Saturday you encounter the inevitable 'Oh sorry, kitchen is closed, but hey, there's a Macca's nearby". Seriously, protect your night economy by actually having an economy. BA has that covered.

2. Rio de Janeiro - (Brazil) - Lapa, Ipanema, Copacabana, the party keeps rolling on way after the sun has gone down. It won't take too long to find a place to get a drink, something to eat and party on until the early hours.

3. Havana - (Cuba) - Music, great vibes, fun people. What this place doesn't have in terms of the 'newest' or 'latest and greatest', it makes up for in passion, spirit and energy. There's always a party, just pick up a bottle of rum and let the party find you.

Best drinks 

Henry's favourites

1. Malbec - Argentina - Red wine is synonymous with Argentina, more so its the Malbec that is the red wine of choice. Robust tannins, an inky dark red colour, full bodied, it just pairs so well with meat (beef specifically), it's a match made in culinary heaven. The wines out of Mendoza are glorious and that just places a full stop on the need to benchmark any more than that.

2. Pina Colada - Malecon - Havana (Cuba) - Hotel Terral - Without question, the best pina colada I've had anywhere. Sweet, rich, cold, delicious. Every single time, as great as the last one, and can I add, not only on this occasion. I have been their subsequent to this occasion and they were just dynamite!

3.  Sakeirinha - Ilha Grande - (Brazil) - any of the beach front bars - This is your Brazilian-Japanese fusion style drink and it is glorious. It's a simple drink, lime pieces muddles with sugar, add ice and then your choice of sake until it floats. It's that simply. Unique, smooth, delicious and a great slant on the traditional caipirinha

4. Caipirinha - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - (Brazil) - there are so many beach bars and so many beach peddlers that you are almost forced to drink them. Literally like rocket fuel, they pack a mean punch, just lime, sugar and cachaca its all it takes to set you free.

5. Negroni - Tortoni's - Buenos Aires - (Argentina) - This drink feels like home. The Negroni is not native to Buenos Aires, although it is Italian and there are enough Italians in Buenos Aires for it to be an honorary city of that country. Tortoni Cafe is an institution in Buenos Aires, literally the most famous cafe in the city. Most people come in for ia cafe cortado and medias lunas, but out drink of choice is simple but delectable, gin, campari and vermouth rosso in equal parts, serve chilled with a twist of orange peel....yum!

Inga's favourites

1.  Negroni - Tortoni's - Buenos Aires - (Argentina) - There are drinks that just remind you of places, no matter where you are, that drink will take you back to that one spot, at that time and be in that moment.  No matter where we have Negroni's in future it will always be this place that she thinks of.

2.  Caipirinha - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - (Brazil) - This drink goes hand in hand with beach life and culture. I know how Inga feels about Rio and I know that the caipirinha is ubiquitous with the Carioca lifestyle.

3.  Havana rum 7 years - Havana (Cuba) - this drink is a real 'drinkers drink', which is probably why I didtn't get into it as much as Inga. I tread on the feminine side of alcohol while she takes the male side. Quite often in bars we take great pleasure in ordering drinks and watching the bartender hand them to us whilst we instantaneously swap them over in front of their eyes, always makes for a laugh.

4. Daiquiri - El Floridita - Havana (Cuba) - The daiquiri's here are mass produced and therefore you'd expect the quality to be average but somehow they're not. Not only that but when the music is playing, you have a cigar in one hand and a daiquiri in the other, everything feels pretty damn good.

5.  Malbec - Argentina - Again, a drink that typifies Argentina and this varietal is just Buenos Aires distilled in a drink for us.

Can you believe it moments?

1. Urban Rush - La Paz - (Bolivia) - When you're standing at the top of a 16 storey building, perpendicular to the wall, having just empty space in front of you and a burgeoning city like La Paz, well, your reality take a might shift. 

2. Machu Picchu - (Peru) - the first time we laid eyes on this majestic place it felt altogether unworldly. The sun was still on its way up, the clouds were still re-arranging themselves around the moment, but in the moment we found that break we very quickly recognised why this place has moved into the elite list of the new 7WorldWonders

3.  Salar de Uyuni - (Bolivia) - Speaking of unworldly, this place is exactly that. I wasn't quite sure why the tour operators wanted to be on the flats for dawn but when we got there it all made sense. With the sun rising and the moon setting, the large cracked plates of the salt flats spread out in all directions. The silence that held this view was just beauty on a completely different scale. 

4. Torres del Paine - (Chile) - The whole region around Torres del Paine is so incredibly beautiful. Each place unique in what it can offer, its diversity of vistas, both dramatic and glorious. A part of the world that still doesn't quite get the attention that it deserves.

5. Flying over Rio de Janeiro - (Brasil) - Witnessing the spectacular Rio from the air is a whole other experience. Not many people get to fly around Cristo, I've been lucky enough to have done it twice now, and when that helicopter moves behind the statue, around its outstretched arms, the whole glorious city is unfurled right in front of you, the beaches, the bay, Sugarloaf, seriously breathtaking - that's not an overstatement.

Best Accommodation

1. Pan Americano - Buenos Aires - (Argentina) - I've always wanted to stay here, so it was a hell of a way to celebrate my 40th birthday. Occupying pride of place on Avenida 9 de Julio, the views from our room across the heart of Buenos Aires was absolutely priceless. The hotel itself was very good but nothing can take away from having a sweet room with the right view to match.

2. Elqui Domos - Pisco-Elqui Valley - (Chile) - A fabulous location that allows you to take in full wonders of the universe that surrounds you. We didn't stay in the domes themselves but did have a platform above our apartment/building where we could lay out our mattresses and sleep under the stars. I've not slept under the stars too many times and certainly not in an environment where I can see the universe so clearly. 

3. Casa Canabal Hotel Boutique - Cartagena - (Colombia) - There's something Moroccan in terms of the architecture here, terrace on the rooftop, open courtyard in the centre of the building, not so surprising when you think about it. There's a long Spanish history here and I'm sure the Spanish brought with them Moorish elements in terms of architecture and design. The environment is of course perfect for these style of buildings and this hotel was exquisite.

Most random but still cool moments

1. Inga arriving at Ezeiza Airport - Buenos Aires - (Argentina) - On a trip that had many, many awesome moments, the very start, when Inga walked through the arrival doors was pretty darn cool. It has been 6 months since we had seen each other, and now, meeting again on the other side of the world after months of planning was the best

2. Out in the fields - La Paz (Bolivia) - we opted for a bus from Uyuni up to La Paz. Coming into the city we encountered a protest which blocked the main roads in, so our bus driver took to the potato fields in order to find a covert way into the city. Travelling across random farm land I recall stopping alongside a random farmer and the driver asking if there was anyway he knew of how we could get into La Paz. From every perspective I'd imagine the situation would have looked a little bizarre.

3. Joining a random cross-fit group - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - We were walking through Puerto Madero one evening and stumbled across a sizeable cross-fit group going through their paces. We stood a few metres away, essentially copying the moves and exercises that the group was going through, that was until the trainer asked us 'gringo's' to join in...so we did.

4.  200 yr old ice with your whiskey - Perito Moreno - El Calafate - (Argentina) - After climbing all over Perito Moreno our group stopped on the glacier and were treated to glasses of whiskey with ice carved right out of the glacier. The ice may not have been 200 yrs old...but...there's no-one to say that its not wither

5. Cigars, daquiries and bailando, El Floridita - Havana - (Cuba) - There we were, sitting in El Floridita, cigars in hand, daquiries on the table and the local band launches into Bailando. I'm not sure what it was but everything seemed to be right, everyone in the joint appeared to be in a great mood and at the end of the song the applause was totally unexpected - so much so that you could visibly see the look of amazement on the faces of the band.

Un-coolest moment

1.  Rio Galeao Tom Jobim airport - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil - Inga and I were just about to jump on a flight to Buenos Aires, and we were sitting in the departure lounge, it was there that I discovered that my credit card had been severely compromised. In the last week my card had been fraudulently utilised to the tune of $12,000! Oh yeah! It's a completely sickening feeling, even more so when in that exactly moment there's nothing that you can do to resolve the matter. I flew to Buenos Aires with what felt like a brick in my stomach. On the 'up' side, because there is an upside to the story, when I contacted my bank back in Australia they managed to work through the issue with me and ended up refunding all monies lost...PHEW

Top 5 Photos

1. Puerto Natales  - (Chile) - I'm sure there's been a lot of photos taken of these old posts in Puerto Natales. Inga took this shot and I just love the way it draws you out into the water and to the mountains beyond.

2. Torres del Paine - (Chile) - An extraordinarily beautiful natural environment, dramatic, imposing and beautiful. Again, a very difficult place to take a bad photo, this one is our favourite from a bunch of very good ones.

3. Salar de Uyuni - (Bolivia) - it's otherworldly. Standing out on the salt plains before sunrise was like nothing else I've experienced. It's the closest feeling I'll ever have to standing on another planet. Aside being bitterly cold, which the photo doesn't capture, it does capture the large plates of cracked salt sailing off into the distance and the beautiful colours of the morning sky with the moonlight being extraordinarily reflected off the plains.

4. Iguazu Falls - Iguazu - (Brasil / Argentina) - Powerful, energising & mesmerising, the falls are an incredible sight and not one photo does them justice. Still, there's something about rainbows and water that just works, right!?

5. View from Sugarloaf - Rio de Janeiro - (Brasil) - Sugarloaf has got to be one of the greatest vantage points in Rio. The way that the urban sprawl flows like water through the weakest points of the mountains is impressive. Standing up there, waiting for the lights of the city to flick on is an experience and this photos captures the state of transition from day to night.

Travel breakdown

Total number of flights
Henry: 22
Inga: 19

Total flying hours
Henry: 72
Inga: 68

Total time spent in airports - 'Enough to know that in Brasil there needs to be more access to caipirinhas to prevent people from losing their minds'

Total distance flown
Henry: 51,406 kms
Inga:  48,518 kms

Total number of bus rides - 12

Average number of cocktails per day - 7.2

And there we have it, the wrap of an almighty tour whose genesis really came in the instant when I realised that my wallet had disappeared back in La Paz in 2010. There was a lot left to do and so much that I missed that I knew I'd return, it just mattered on timing and a little bit of luck.

So where to know? Well, life had changed for me in the last few months, quite dramatically. I was about to move to Belgrade to start a new life. What I didn't know was coming was the amount of travel that we'd be undertaking in the next 3 years, it almost became ridiculous...but the experiences we were to have, well, there's no price you could ever place on those.