…it all began in the spring of 2008 when I got this crazy idea that went something like “Why don’t I go to school in another country and see how things work out?”
That’s when I got hooked on travelling.
The spring of 2008 was the most eye-opening experience of my life. Five months of living in Rome, Italy, which was hundreds of miles away from the nearest Starbucks and thousands of miles away from the closest friend I had upon arrival.
During that time period, I lived and travelled through Italy, meeting a long-lost cousin who spoke no English and whose boyfriend claimed to have drank 20 liters of beer at a German Oktoberfest during his youth (no witnesses exist). Then on to Dublin, Ireland, where I spent St. Patrick’s Day amongst a group of red-headed drunkards with a group of close friends from Italy.
A short flight brought me to Spain, where Barcelona’s sandy beaches and Madrid’s clean “El Sol” neighborhood made me smile every time I took a sip from my KFC beer mug (yes, KFC has beer on tap).
Portugal treated me well, as a group of travelling German’s and Poles showed me around town in beautiful Lisbon.
Brusseles, in Belgium, was too short and sweet for my liking. But we had to make it to Holland! The train ride between the countries was serene: filled with tulips and windmills as far as the eye could see.
Finally, a flight into Berlin showed me why Germany is so amazing. We were supposed to hop a train to Prague that same day, but guess what? We fell in love with Berlin and ended up staying for an additional two nights before heading to the Czech Republic for a week surrounded by castles, medieval bridges and statues of the great astronomer Tycho Brahe.
I saw boatloads of new things coupled with a never-ending list of exciting experiences along the way during my travels. It is these experiences that have largely shaped the man I have become today.
Since that spring I have taken more pride in travelling my own country, the United States of America, and will continue to explore the world and all that it has to offer. Since my European excursion, I have visited Boston for St. Patrick’s Day, New York City, Denver, Louisville for the Kentucky Derby, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
My last adventure took me to Japan, where I visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara & Osaka for 2 weeks of absolute disconnect from the world — no cell phone or email for this guy!