Global Fashionista: July 2011

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Going home....

Julhe, Jimena and I

Honolulu, Hawaii

Hanauma Bay, Hawaii

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Iguazu Falls

Tango

Hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Pedro wishing me luck

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cristo Rendentor

Churro

Sedona, Arizona

Grand Canyon, AZ

Besos

Prague, Czech Republic

Parthenon
Athens, Greece

Heraklion, Greece with my crazy luggage on Apollo's bike

Santorini, Greece

Zakaria and I

Blue Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey

Lisbon, Portugal

Hello friends,

Well, the time has come that I must go home now. The journey around the world was only supposed to last 5 months and 12 countries. It has now been 8 months and 20 countries. I am currently in Santorini, Greece again. It's the only country that I actually came back to on this trip because I loved it so much. It helped that I also met a nice man named Zakaria who lives and works here. Alas, the time spent here was unforgettable and I must bid him adieu as well.

Let's recap my travels since November:

1. Dominican Republic
2. South Korea
3. India
4. Thailand
5. Philippines
6. Singapore
7. Australia
8. New Zealand
9. Fiji
10. Uruguay
11. Argentina
12. Chile
13. Brazil
14. Hawaii and U.S. (west coast road trip to California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Seattle)
15. Germany
16. Poland
17. Prague
18. Turkey
19. Portugal
20. Greece (2x)

My travels could not have been possible to go this long or this far without the help of staying with family, friends and CouchSurfing throughout the world. Thank You so much for offering me your open couch, spare bedroom, hotel room horse stable and co-op. Luckily I have not had to sleep on the floor in any of these cities. :) Through your unconditional generosity and love I have had the opportunity to see places I have never even dreamt of before.

I CouchSurfed with 24 different people all over the world in 21 different cities. 21 of the 24 CouchSurfers were complete strangers that offered up their home and let me stay with them. Now, many of them will be friends for life.

I wanted to send a personal thanks to all of you CouchSurfers for allowing me to stay with you and experience your city through the eyes of a local. Thank you for watching out for me and taking care of me so well.

1. Tobias- Munich, Germany
2. Stefan- Krakow, Poland
3. Phil- Cologne, Germany
4. Jose- Portland, Oregon
5. Wes- Santa Barbara, California
6. Ken- San Luis Obispo, California
7. Panche and Leanne- Brisbane, Australia
8. Pedro- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
9. Gustavo- Buenos Aires, Argentina
10. Pablo- Buenos Aires, Argentina
11. Patricio- Santiago, Chile
12. Julhe (My sister from another mister) Osnabrueck, Germany
13. Mike- Honolulu
14. Kim- Auckland, New Zealand
15. Chad- Brisbane, Australia
16. Matt- Sydney, Australia
17. Anita- Melbourne, Australia
18. Serenity- Singapore
19. Tom- Seoul, South Korea
20. Humberto- Lisbon, Portugal
21. Constantinos- Athen, Greece
22. Sinclair- Prague, Czech Republic
23. Tolga- Buenos Aires, Argentina
24. Elaine- Pyeongtaek, South Korea

I don't want to forget about my friends and family that also let me stay with them:
1. Anita- Mumbai, India
2. Auntie Vinia and Gigi- Manila, Philippines
3. Emma- Phuket and Bangkok
4. John- Sedona, Arizona
5. Beverly- Las Vegas
6. Nick- Las Vegas
7. Julhe's parents and sister- Frankfurt Oder and Frankfurt Main
8. Alan- Naga City, Philippines
9. Jen- Oakland, California
10. Crazy Pete- Tempe, Arizona
11. Nick and Anna- Seattle, Washington
12. Rachel and Tim- Yorba Linda, California
13. Kam and Meme- Miami
14. Dave and Yolanda- Buenos Aires, Argentina

I'd like to list the cities that I visited and how many trains, planes, automobiles, rickshaws, boats and ferries that I took but there are just way too many to track! You get the idea.

Thanks to all of you faithful readers that have followed me on my journey. I didn't feel alone knowing that you all were with me in spirit.