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San Francisco, CA USA

February 2, 2008
N 37°48.049
W 122°24.580

After 1 year and 3 days traveling through 99 cities in 23 countries, we are officially home. Currently, I am sitting at our dining room table thinking about our good fortune.

We traveled through five continents, including North America, and never once had anything stolen, no major injuries, or were faced with a hostile or life threatening situation. Okay, maybe there were several white-knuckle bus rides, near misses with scooters, a memorable trip from Agra to Delhi, and lets not forget our favorite… the bus ride in Ecuador.

For some reason people excitedly ask, “So did you get sick?” It’s unfortunate; I think many people are afraid of traveling because they’re afraid of getting sick. However, as long as you’re cautious; don’t drink the water, keep your hands and nails clean, don’t eat fruits or veggies washed in water, and eat fresh hot food, we really believe the chances of getting a food born illness is slim. So did we get sick… outside of a couple coughs and colds we had the pleasure of hosting a mild case of the Big D Shuffle, in Cambodia.

I can now safely take off my St. Christopher necklace (thanks Vosti), knowing I am safely home. I am proud to say we traveled without incident. I couldn’t say these words two days ago, or our plane might have crashed into the Pacific Ocean.

It feels great to be home even though it doesn’t really feel like home yet. Our “pod,” or storage unit, containing all of our material belongings arrives on Tuesday, and then the process of reassembling our home begins. In addition to unpacking our personal items, we have to make some minor repairs; nothing big, just minor things that need attention after renting our house for a year. As our friend Scott said, as long as we didn’t find any bullet holes in the walls or dead hookers in the closets, it was worth a trip around the world.

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It has been over a year since our final cleaning frenzy when tears flowed freely from my eyes, excited about our impending adventure; however, scared at the same time, unsure of our immediate future, afraid of the unknown. We knew we had planned well, meticulously well, but sometimes in life you’re thrown a curve ball. We knew there would be curve balls along the way, things out of our control, and those are the things that scared us.

The past year has been incredible. At times I felt like I was removed from my body, floating above, not really sure if I was living out this dream. We saw incredible sites, learned an unbelievable amount about the world, ourselves and each other.

Most importantly, as a couple we grew closer than ever, counting on each other every single day, always working together to find our way. Of course there were a few disagreements, raised voices, idle threats of returning home, but in the end we pulled together, solved the problems at hand and had incredible year.

We want to thank our family and friends who supported us along the way. In some cases we received emails from home with work updates, parents picked up our mail and we were lucky enough to have people visit us along the way. Everyone was instrumental in helping us realize our dream. Thank you!

So what next? We plan to keep on Blogging over the next few weeks; documenting our reentry period, tossing out a few more Top 5 Lists, simply winding down and preparing for a public picture showing. Keep in touch… we’ll make sure to post all details surrounding dates, times, and locations.

Also, I’ve decided I will continue to write and post at least once a month. The posts will most likely be related the best city in the world, San Francisco.

Most Difficult City to Navigate Even with a Map & Compass

1. Venice, Italy
2. Vienna, Austria
3. Hanoi, Vietnam
4. Genoa, Italy
5. Tokyo, Japan

Our Favorite People We Met Along the Way

1. Roger Vanderbeek (on the bus from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales)
2. Sara Patterson (roomed with Elise on junk boat in Halong Bay, Vietnam)
3. Miles and Ben (Elise’s buddies in Sydney, Australia)
4. Jef and Irna (in a pub in Brugges, Belgium)
5. Carline and Di (on the roof of our guesthouse in Positano)
6. Mr. and Mrs. Ito (showed us around Tokyo)
   

Best Books We Read Along the Way

1. “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair
2. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kensey
3. “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt
4. “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen
5. “Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides

Best Restaurants

1. El Boliche de Alberto—Bariloche, Argentina. We were able to watch our steak being cooked at this incredible steak house. The beef in Argentina is some of the best we have ever had. We made a second trip to this place since the first night was so incredible.
2. Lobster Street Side—Nha Trang, Vietnam. We had fabulous lobster grilled on the street with a tasty lime sauce. At 180,000 dong per Kilo the lobster was a real bargain. We sat on the street on the preschool table and chairs slurping every last bite of lobster out of the shell.
3. Café de Amis—Hoi An, Vietnam. This restaurant had a fixed menu each night. We were able to order seafood, vegetarian or meat. Since there were five of us we were able to try all three!
4. Osteria de Benci—Florence, Italy. This is where I had my favorite meal in Italy. The classic bistecca alla fiorentina served on top of fresh arugula with the perfect amount of pecorino shaved on top was fantastic. I don’t typically eat a lot of red meat, but this large t-bone steak was so good I was practically gnawing at the bone when I finished. This place was recommended by a friend of mine who visited Florence two weeks before us.
5. Restaurante Ze Manel—Coimbra, Portugal. The especialidad do casa, or special of the house, is feijoada a leitao, a stew of beans and suckling pig. I ordered the special, while Marc ordered a variation with rice and meat on the side. Our dishes arrived in large soup bowls with ladles. Mine had a side of rice and Marc’s a side tray of meat soaked in olive oil and garlic, pleasant aromas instantly filled our table.