August.

Oh my goodness gracious I cannot believe it's already halfway through August.

Do you know I've been living in London almost a year now? That's incredible.

Also incredible - My cousin and I just finished a 3 week speedy journey through Western Europe by means of train, backpack, and adrenaline. It was most exciting, educational, inspiring, overwhelming, exhausting, thrilling, and delightful.

There will be posts to come with stories as I have time to digest the past month.. it's kind of blurry right now! I kept a journal and took heaps of photos, but it always takes a little time to sink in.

Nice to be back in London though, but a little weird. Throughout the trip as Blair and I talked about places and people back home I got the idea in my head that we'd both be flying back to the States at the end of our journey. It was strange to remember that my home is in London right now.

After the trip I've decided that I'll be home for good in December. Yes, Mom, I know you already thought that. But honestly, since my Visa doesn't expire till April, I'd been thinking I wanted to get the most out of it and just stick around as long as possible. But I guess traipsing around Europe was the extra little ounce of adventure I needed before "settling down" by moving home (I hate that phrase - like I'm getting married to Little Rock?).

Everyone leaves eventually. It will be nice to be somewhere that my loved ones won't have to move halfway across the world after six months or so. I also look forward to weird things like paying off my debt, having a predictable 9-5, and investing in apartment decorations.

That being said, I enjoyed EVERY LAST BIT of the gypsy lifestyle of the last month! There is something so utterly freeing about living like a snail. And while we were hopping from country to country (so un-snail-like) it was amazing to see the transformation from one place to the next - Bern to Florence?? Venice to Salzburg?? A (relatively) short train ride away, but SO different. That was the neat thing about doing it all so quickly, the comparisons between one place and the next.

I would totally do it again, but next time I'll pick a country or two and really concentrate on one area at a time. But I might be addicted to this whole backpacking idea.

I'll be back with some info about each place, and perhaps some pictures as well.

Ciao,

Steph