19 Days - Lessons

On this 19 day journey I have learned much. Some has been purely informational, but much of it has been experiential. Some are slightly profound, some seem like things I should have known before, some are useful, and some... I will let you decide!

• Not all London airports are actually in London or even very close to London
• Uber beats taxis, and it's not even close
• Europe knows how to do public transportation... The U.S. doesn't
• London shuts down early, except for the pubs
• Standing where history was made, and seeing the real things of history, makes history seem much more significant
• Big cities all have this in common - lots of people in too small of spaces
• Big cities are stressful, no matter what country you are in
• The English and the French still have issues
• I never get tired of waterfalls and Iceland has a lot of waterfalls
• Colby can get stressed
• I can get stressed
• Most of the time Colby and I recover from stress quickly and we can actually help each other recover
• I would not make a good travel agent
• Big trips to foreign countries, always have unanticipated expenses
• London is expensive, very expensive
• French fries (chips) are a universal food
• In Europe, a sandwich is more about the bread than what is in between

• Airbnb is a great alternative to hotels and/or hostels
• People who speak French, don't like to speak English
• World War 2 is a much more vivid piece of history in Europe than it is in the U.S.
• Every country has kind people
• Every country has rude people
• Every country has people in a hurry
• 19 days is too long to be away from my wife
• In Paris it doesn't seem to matter if you have a ticket for the train
• It doesn't what country you are in or what language is spoken, if you ask enough people, eventually they will get you to the right place
• Acting like an ignorant American is sometimes helpful and sometimes not
• You can communicate a lot with hand gestures
• Eleven generations is not too far back to make a meaningful family connection
• European bathrooms are cooler and more ingenious than American bathrooms
• Standing on the grounds of important family history, even when you are removed from it by years beyond your age, can evoke powerful, unexpected emotions
• Leaving your son in another country is hard