Homeward bound

We had a relaxing day yesterday. It was pretty hard to sit still but I eventually figured it out. We sat around a drank some coffee, walked down to the market and got food to make lunch, and
I did some yoga. Other than that not much really happened, but I think it was necessary.

Cyndie and I talked about the trip over lunch. We discussed what was the best, worst, neatest, what we will do different next time, and just overall reflected.

Here's a couple of things that made the top of the list.

Most amazing thing we saw:
By far St Peter's Bascilla

Most fun part: Cinque Terre hike in the rain (paragliding was a tie for me)

Biggest mistake/rip off: Laundry in Orteisi for 28 euro and they weren't even dry or ironed and smelt like smoke.

Things we'd do a little different next time:
Plan a little more about where we are going.

Things we are really glad we did:
Bought comfy travel pants, ditched the car and took trains.

Best meal: for me an authentic pizza shop in Selva, Italy. For Cyndie the pesto in Cinque Terre. Overall though I have to say I really wasn't impressed with the food at all, and we really tried to find authentic meals. America has much more of a diverse variety when it comes to food.

Some things that are just different in Europe:
Everyone smokes....everyone.
No variety in drinks.
Only bread, meat, and cheese for breakfast.
No road rage over here even though it's chaos out there. And people had every right to be mad at the American that didn't know what he was doing.
The two stroke motor lives on over here.
No bumper stickers on cars.
Much thinner people. Especially in Italy. We didn't see any over weight people there.
And lots lots more that I'd love to talk to you about.
Water is more expensive than wine and you always have to pay for it when ordered.
No ice used in drinks (this is a problem for me. I like cold drinks)
Everyone shuts down at lunch time for at least two hours. Grocery stores, post office, shops, even restaurants. If it's from 12 to 2 just forget it.
Italians dress really nice and everyone wears perfume/cologne.

A big thing we noticed over here is Jesus is everywhere. There is so many murals, carvings, statues, paintings, and churches with His face on them. The faith seems to be less divided and more united.

Funny story about our trip to the airport. I mentioned a nice lady that helped me navigate out of the city yesterday. Well her name happens to be Rosealee. We were at the bus stop this morning catching an earlier bus than expected and started talking to a nice lady. I felt like I'd seen her before and as soon as I mentioned our bike ride it clicked. She was the same nice lady. 600,000 people in Geneva and we get the pleasure to talk to her twice. These are those moments that I like to call divine intervention.

Oh and I just found out that airport security is very relaxed. Not sure if I'm cool with that one.

I think it's very important for people to get out and travel to experience different cultures. I strongly encourage you to just go and explore.

We're excited to be homeward bound.
God bless America.