In conclusion.

---

Shut the front door.

I just got back from Ireland. And Scotland. And England. I don't even know how to sum those two weeks up!

I heard a quote one time that travel, like education, is invaluable. The money you spend on either of these things will never cease to benefit you. A car will lose value, a house will lose value, but travel-- travel will always stay with you and the memories will grow richer with time. I have just barely stuck my toe into the waters of exploration, and I am hooked. So many places I want to go!

My return home took about 30hours, so I had some time to reflect back on all of the incredible things that happened and say a lot of "thank you" prayers!

Now, a few things that I learned:

-Getting lost is part of the fun, most of the time. Then there are some instances where you are genuinely concerned about your safety. The best thing to do is to step back out of the crowds or off of the busy street, breath, clear your head, revisit your map, and then start out again with a fresh outlook. Panic is the enemy.

-Transit is different everywhere, so ask questions. Some people will be really nice and guide you in the right direction, but others will be annoyed and rude or give you incorrect directions. If your gut is telling you that the directions you got are wrong, ask someone else. Buses, trains, cabs, undergrounds... it can be overwhelming, but they really are your friend. Walking around the cities is great to learn the area and guide your own adventures, but if you don't have a lot of time, get a transit map and take on the city that way.

-The "touristy" attractions and activities are great, and a lot of them are things that you kinda have to see if you're there, but there are also fantastic things off the beated path. My seakayaking trip was about an hour tranist outside of the city, but so worth it! Try to get a good balance of both, and, if it comes down to it, see what YOU want to see, not what the billboards tell you to see.

-Food. I had a love/hate relationship with food. When it was available, I often didn't feel hungry, but when I was STARVING, there wasn't any cheap/easily accesible food to be seen. I would stuff food/snacks in my bag for later, and was so grateful for it later! It's also expensive and I hated spending money on food when I could be spending it on more fun things. The food in the UK wasn't super exotic, but I loved the pastry, I loved the Irish "mash," and I loved the Scottish tuna/sweetcorn/cheese sandwich.

-Hostels saved my life. They were not castle quality, for sure, but a warm bed is warm bed. I always felt safe in them and didn't have anything stolen, but it does happen. I locked up my valuables that wouldn't fit in my day bag and they were totally fine. Some give free continental breakfast, some don't. I was usually so tired by the end of the day that I would sleep through the noise and commotion going on throughout the shared rooms, but sometimes it is loud and people are up until all hours.

-RECORD EVERYTHING. I am so glad that I have all of those memories in writing. I would take shorthand notes on my phone throughout the day, and then put it into my blog posts at the end of the night. There were often nights where I really didn't want to spend the time writing and just wanted to go to bed, but now I have my experiences immortalized. So glad I did it!

Most importantly--thank you to everyone who supported me and read my ramblings!! I would love to be a real live travel blogger some day, so I think I need a few more trips under my belt. Going to Portland in March, but hoping to squeeze another trip in somewhere before that. We'll have to see. Stay tuned!

---

Comments

[Liesl Woods]

LOVE.
I have loved reading all of these posts! I'm so glad that you were able to visit so many places! When I was there I barely was able to dip my toe in all the adventure.... would love to go back and am so envious of all that you were able to do! Glad you are back safe and so happy you enjoyed yourself! xoxo