Over my last several days in Europe after Paris, I was truly exhausted and started to turn my sights on home. I was sad to see that my trip was coming to an end, but at the same time two weeks was long enough for me to be away from my home, my job, and my daily routine. I even have to admit that it was getting a bit lonely. It was not so much that I was alone on a daily basis that bothered me, but the fact that I was out of touch from the things I took for granted on a daily basis; being able to use my laptop and pager instead of having to pay internet cafes and roaming fees. I also missed being able to use videophones and VRS, and being able to effortlessly talk with my family (while we are in the same time zone!).

I had initially thought about taking the direct train from Paris to London early on Saturday morning, but I learned that I would be cutting it too close to make my flight back home, so I started to look around for a Friday evening departure from Paris. But I learned that the last Friday of July is one of the busiest travel days of the summer in Europe as for many it is the last weekend of holiday, so many of the trains I were looking for were already completely booked. Paris to London is an extremely popular route, and I decided it would be best and safest if I left Paris on Thursday night and spent some time elsewhere on my way to London on Friday. I spent the majority of Thursday and Friday just riding the train and getting off for brief stops in Lilie, France and Rotterdam, Netherlands before crossing the English Channel again on my way back into London. I spent the night in an airport hotel close to Heathrow before getting up in the morning to catch an airport shuttle to the airport.

It was a quiet day on the train and even quieter night for me in the hotel, with my attitude switched from one of exploration to one of contemplation and reflection. Now back in London, I had gone full circle in my two week journey, returning to where I had first started. And instead of the whole of Europe in front of me for the taking as it was two weeks ago, it was now behind me, with a long flight back home to take. I was neither sad nor bitter that my trip had ended, because I had such a great time. While my trip quenched my thirst to explore Europe, it had built for me what appears to be an insatiable appetite to continue to see the world outside my backyard. Although I miss home, I want to continue to travel and explore different places because there’s a whole lot to see. The more I put myself out there, the more I am exposed to.

It is amazing how, in America you can travel tremendous distances across the country, and encounter very little cultural changes (although there are differences). But in Europe, just a few hours on the train will put you in entirely different worlds, locations where the food, architecture, language, and customs are entirely different among regions so close by each other. Here in London on my last night, I knew I was close to coming back home because I was in a country where the language and customs were as close to America as could be, and I could read things without having to think carefully. Being alone on a night like this certainly made it a quiet evening, and I spent some time looking through the pictures on my digital camera, reliving the eight countries I visited over my two-week trip (England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany), thankful that I had taken so many photos to make my memories stronger. I had no doubt that I made the most of my time, and I was leaving the continent in the morning with no regrets, and no disappointments.

When I got to the airport in the morning and checked in for my flight I got one last bonus on my trip, a treat that only came because I was alone. I had already checked in an aisle seat, and I got to the gate ready to board the plane for a long flight. The tickets were all scanned on a machine that flashed a green light that granted entry onto the plane. When my ticket was scanned, the machine flashed red, and the worker took my ticket and looked up something on the computer. I took out my passport because I figured it would probably be needed, and the flight attendant asked if I were alone. I said I was, and he proceeded to write something on my ticket, crossing out my old seat number. I protested, since I had already gotten the aisle seat I wanted, but he smiled and gestured for me to stop; it was an upgrade and I would be happy.

I wondered whether I was being “upgraded” to a bulkhead, or whether this was the upgrade I was dreaming of last night. When I stopped at my seat 16K, the new seat that had been written down in exchange for the crossed out one, my heart leaped when I realized that this was a first class seat, the kind where the seats turn into fully flat beds. This was not going to be such a long flight after all!

I enjoyed some champagne before take off, and once the flight took off I was immediately handed a hot towel to wipe myself off with and served a fantastic three course meal. Airplane food in first class really isn’t so bad, especially the raspberry cheesecake! After eating, I browsed the selection of hundreds of movies available to watch, and I was both disappointed and surprised to find that there were three movies that were captioned out of the hundreds to choose from. Although there were only three movies, I was happy that I could even watch some captioned movies compared to back in coach, the movies shown to everyone in the cabin are never captioned. After watching a movie, I converted my seat into a bed, and for the first time ever from a plane, I stretched out straight before curling up into a ball. It was absolutely the most comfortable sleep I have ever had on a plane, and first class certainly is the way to fly! It was a terrific treat and a terrific end to such an amazing trip.

When I landed at Dulles Airport, I stepped out of the plane ready to meet my sister who was picking me up and I was prepared to resume my daily routine in Rockville, Maryland. Part of me wished that I could just turn around and fly back to Europe, but the other part of me was ready to go back to my life; to see my family, friends, and to go back to work. I had learned a lot, and I have a lot to share. I spent the last two weeks of my life alone, exploring a strange continent for whatever it would be worth. But if there’s one thing I know from this trip, it’s that I could not spend too much time alone, and I was excited to see those I love and care about most, because for as much of an unexplored world there is, there’s nothing like coming back to a place you call home. And amazingly, one of the things I missed most was ice, a rare commodity in Europe! Whenever I asked for ice, people in Europe would give me a nasty look and bring me just two ice cubes, sometimes charging me for the ice. Here in America, it felt good to get iced tea with a glass full of ice!

Coming home made me realize that it is not only the experiences and journeys that shaped who I am, but the people I am around and the location I choose to live. I was happy to be able to meet so many new people on my journey, and I was fortunate to be able to return home to people who missed me. I hoped to be able to discover myself more by exploring new destinations, but if there is one thing I learned it is not a single destination or a single person that makes me who I am. I am who I am because of everyone, having absorbed a little bit of the good and bad of each person as well as a variety of cultures and tastes. The more people I meet and places I see, the more diverse I will become as an individual, and the more defined I will become. Travel does wonders for the body and soul.