Well I'm leavin' tomorrow, but I could leave today
Somewhere down the road some day
The very last thing that I'd want to do
Is to say I've been hittin' some hard travelin' too.
Okay, so if you've been reading along these past few weeks you might say that private verandas and thrice weekly steak dinners (not to mention the photo at the top of this post) don't exactly constitute "hard travelin' ", but in some respects it was just that.
We encountered, and conquered, that feeling of complete solitutde that in the early days of our adventure, greeted us in every new town where the streets were unfamiliar, the customs unclear, and the language completely foreign. We learned that the stereotype of the "ugly American" is, unfortunately, not unfounded, but that with a modicum of respect and restraint the locals will always look past it. Please and thank you (in the native toungue) and a smile will get you a long way in any country.
We met (and observed) new people from countries across the globe. In some cases we engaged in conversations (with and without the benefit of a common language), and in others we simply communicated with our eyes and hands. In every instance though, they left us with another memory that will sit with us for a long time to come.
Tonight is the last official night of our trip. Tomorrow we start our three day journey back to chicago. The voyage will begin with the 6:30 am Jadrlinja ferry to Split. We'll spend the day in split then pick up the overnight ferry to Ancona Italy at 9:30 pm. From there it's a four hour train ride to Milan where we hope to meet up with Mom as she begins her two week Italian vacation with the Geigers. We leave Milan at 11:30 pm on an overnight train to Paris. After a day and a night in Paris we will take the 8:00 am eurostar to London and then (hopefully) a 2:30 pm flight to Chicago.
We spent the last day of our trip on the beach. After another homemade dinner and a few drinks in town, we went to bed early last night. This morning we picked up our laundry and caught a ferry to Milini beach where we lounged in the sun, floated in the Adriatic, had lunch, a litre of wine, and a few beers at the seaside bar, while we enjoyed the "scenery".
To all of you who have followed our travels during the past month, thank you. The fact that you were out there with us always made it feel as if we were never really alone. We hope that you've enjoyed reading these posts as much as we've enjoyed writing them.
Arrivderci,
Rob and Joe
