The End of the Beginning

Well...I'm now two and a half weeks into my trip. I guess I should give some background here, just in case you're not familiar with what I'm up to.


I quit my job a few months ago in order to mark a few items off my Things-I've-Always-Wanted-To-Do list. I'm now at the beginning an extended trip through Asia (some of it at least), a trip I first contemplated in college. Eight months is the length of the current itinerary. Nepal, India and SE Asia are the destinations. It's a solo trip, or at least it is now. This morning I said goodbye to the last of my eight companions.

The first part of my trip was spent here in Spain with a few friends from home. For the first week we played "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" in our beautiful villa near Valencia overlooking the Mediterranean. It was quite luxurious and matched our sporty Alfa Romeo perfectly. The second week we spent a few days in Barcelona, Seville and Cadiz. I absolutely love Europe: the history, art, and, most of all, the narrow old streets and sleepy little plazas where you can sip your cappuccino while the sound of the fountain washes away all your cares. Temperamentally, I've decided, I'm more European than American.

Unfortunately, the thought of trying to write about those two weeks in detail is making me sleepier than I already am. Suffice to say, it was wonderful. Great people, beautiful places, and the plenty of that doubled-over kind of laughing.

Also, with the dollar doing so poorly, it's a great place to drain your bank account.