Upon Reflection

Well, I have been home well over a week now and, after going through the around 2800 photos I amassed during my trip, I realize what an amazing vacation I had.  There were so many things that made it special but, foremost, was sharing my experiences with friends and family.  Looking back, it really is incredible how it all came together so easily, like pieces of a puzzle that was meant to be solved!  First, there was Linda's interest in exploring Croatia with me; then it was the Grants being available to share Alsace at exactly the time when I wanted to be there; there are my good friends like Sue and Keith and John and Pedro who always graciously open their homes to me; there was the serendipity of Paul being available share some time with me; Maureen already being in the UK and ready to explore a bit of Devon for a few days; Mena and Trev wanting to do another road trip to explore Wales; and the privilege of sharing Abi and Jordan's special day. 

Reflecting on the my experiences, here are the main things I learned.

1. I loved Croatia and want to see more of it, probably by car, particularly the northwest. The areas of the country I saw were fascinating and I was surprised by how friendly and helpful everyone I met was.  I need to see and learn more about this country.
2. I don't get homesick.  It almost scared me that, after being away for over 2 months, I was not ready to go home and could easily have stayed much longer.  Knowing you have the security of a home to go back to is very different, I guess, than missing it!  That only reinforces my belief I am a gypsy at heart.  Even as a little girl I dreamed about traveling all the time so the travel bug is clearly in my blood.
3. I am still ready to explore new countries rather than only going back to the same tried and true places - even though I will continue to return to my favourites (Alsace and the Cote d'Azur, for example).
4. I can still drive fearlessly in Great Britain but am pretty sure I will always take that tire insurance option.  I only hinted about the second flat tire in my previous blog.  On my way through Buckinghamshire back to Heathrow to return the car, I had to drive along some more country lanes and those potholes on them are deadly to tires.  So, the warning light came on that my rear passenger side tire was low on air.  By the time I found a gas station, it was pretty flat.  I really have to wonder about the quality of the tires on my Europcar Vauxhall Astra!  I have never had flat tires before and to have two of them on the same trip seems suspect to me.  I was not impressed and Europcar certainly knows how I feel.
5. The magic of a village filled with thatched cottages will never fade for me.  It has been a long time since I've driven through Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset and Devon and many of the villages there are almost storybook in nature. 
6. I cannot reiterate enough how very lucky I am to have so many wonderful, intelligent, funny and caring friends and family in my life who, like me, share a love of travel.  Everyone of them I saw enhanced my experiences on this trip.
7. My love affair with Europe is not over, not by a long shot.  Europe has captured my heart. 
8. Finally, I find it difficult to not have future travel plans.  So, within less than a week of being back, I planned a trip for October.  I will be spending a week in Provence with a friend and then I am going on a Mediterranean cruise (something I swore I would never do).  The cruise ship is a small one (only 250 passengers) and its focus is on visiting antiquities with lectures and other learning experiences.  So, I will visit three countries I have never seen.  The blog is already registered and ready to go.  It is going to be found at 2017themediterranean.blogspot.ca.

Thanks for reading this one!