That's it! I'm Outta Here!

Well, dear readers, my Europe adventure ends today. At 3:55 PM, London time, I will be boarding a plane, flying over the ocean, and returning to my little life in Toronto.

Provided I don't screw up and get lost. Or the London Tube breaks down. Or Air Canada fucks me over. The third option is the most likely.

It has been often said that, when you take long journeys alone, you learn a lot about yourself. I'd agree. Here are a few things I learned about old Jimmy Kayak:

1) I have a HORRIBLE Sense of Direction.

Actually, I already knew this, but I didn't know it was as bad as it is. Living in Toronto, you have the ugly but reliable CN Tower to bail you out. It's always south. Unless you're in the middle of the lake. Then it's north. But you have bigger worries.



On this trip, I've gotten lost many, many, many times. Usually this wasn't such a bad thing. I like walking around and looking at stuff, so getting lost just meant I got to see stuff I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

But when you're stomping around a strange city, at night, and you're tired, and it's raining, getting lost is very bad indeed. I need to trust my instincts better. And by that, I mean I need to trust that my instinct to go in a direction is wrong, then go in the opposite direction.

Oh well!

2) I'm very good at reading maps.

Luckily, this skill bailed me out when I got lost. It's relatively easy for me to find where I am on a map, using side roads and major landmarks. For this reason, I always made it back to my hostel at night, and never had to sleep in the gutter.

Good for me!

3) I RULE at transit systems.

The Tube? Bah! Paris Metro? Pa-LEAZE! Berlin? I mocked thee! Brussels? Well...Brussels is a little complicated. But you don't need to use that one too much anyway. Brussels is small.

A couple of pieces of advice that I'd like to pass down to the uninitiated are:

a) Keep your ticket on the Tube. You need it to get out!

b) The systems in Prague and Berlin are NOT free! You gotta buy a ticket and then stick it into a machine to have it stamped. If not, you may get a free ride...but you may also get caught by a plainclothes inspector, and have to pay a fine.

The fine's not horrible (40 euros or so), but it's still more expensive than buying a ticket in the first place.

Just sayin'.

4) I over-pack.

A good piece of advice I got before I left was to pack the minimum amount of clothes I thought I'd need...then only take 2 thirds. I wish I'd followed that. I packed a bunch of stuff that I never ended up wearing.

Poor Europe. It never got to see my super cool Clash Japan Tour t-shirt.

5) I like home.

I've now, officially, visited 7 countries and a whole whack of Caribbean territories. All of them are cool and beautiful in their own way.

But I'm Canadian. I like Toronto. I like our laid-back ways. I don't like that our Parliament is currently full of douchebags...but I like the fact that I have the freedom to call them douchebags. I like my job. I love all my friends. I love my family and my super cool girlfriend. I love my cat. I like my apartment (especially my little porch), and I like that, when I get home, I will see all these things again.

I also learned one final thing. Trips like this are taken for many, many reasons. Some people take them for adventure. Some take them for the status of being able to say they did. Some people take them to find themselves. I thought I was taking this trip for all three...but I really wasn't. The first two are nice, but as for the third, I discovered...

6) No matter where you go, there you are.

See you soon.


Jim out.