Day 242 – Brussels, Belgium – 12:15 AM

I’m still alive and kicking out here on the road!

I apologize for the lack of activity on Perpetual Footsteps  over the recent weeks.  My whirl-wind two months traveling through Europe ends in a few days and my lack of down time has limited my ability to provide updates to you all.  In addition, photographs from each stop have amassed in large quantities and I have yet to sort through many of them.

Now to provide a brief synopsis on my recent movements.  My last post described my hike in Kotor, Montenegro.  After Montenegro I traversed the Adriatic Sea on a ferry from Croatia to Italy.  I worked north through Italy for just over a week stopping in Bari, Rome, Fano, Florence and Venice.  The three major tourist cities (Rome, Florence and Venice) removed quite a bit of tread from my shoes with all the miles I covered walking from attraction to attraction.  Every time I turned a corner, there sat another museum, Church or set of ruins that I wanted to explore.  I met a number of other backpackers during my stay in Italy and their camaraderie made the time that much more special.

From Italy, I traveled by train to Switzerland.  My plan was to spend two days in Interlaken followed by two days in Lucerne before continuing on to Paris.  However, my pattern of reserving accommodations last minute finally came back to bite me.  I was unable to find a hostel in Lucerne and hotels were quite expensive.  As a result, I remained in Interlaken all four days.  While there, I completed a 13-mile hike that provided breathtaking views into the two valleys that abutted my vantage point.  Turquoise lakes and small houses dotted one valley while massive, snow capped peaks overlooked the other.

Next, it was on to the “romantic” city of Paris (someone else’s words, not mine).  Don’t get me wrong, Paris was a nice city with a lot of buildings and roads.  However, I did not believe it lived up to the reputation it has garnered over the years.  Maybe I need to spend more time there in the future in order to truly grasp its appeal.  During my four days I managed to cover most of the Lourve, a massive four floor museum that covers every time period imaginable.  I walked to the Euro Cup fan zone in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower for the Italy/Spain and England/Iceland soccer matches.  It was quite the experience to be among the English fans as their team took the lead early only to have their hopes dashed soon after.

On my third day, I took a trip to the small city of Bayeux, two-and-a-half hours north of Paris.  Bayeux is the origin for most tours that cover the historical D-Day sites.  I joined a day long tour that covered many of the main points of interest (Sainte-Mère-Église, Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Point Du Hoc, Angoville-au-Plain and the American Cemetery and Memorial).  Words cannot describe how I felt as the day progressed.  The bravery, courage and fortitude of the Allied forces that played a role in the events of June 5, 1944 and beyond will forever be something I hope to emulate.

Yesterday I arrived in Brussels, Belgium.  This is my last stop in Europe.  On Tuesday, I will fly to Morocco for the final twelve days of my round-the-world adventure.  It has truly been a special eight months.  I sat on the train yesterday and found it remarkable that I actually accomplished what I set out to do.  I made it around the world.  But, it’s not over yet!!

 

* I know this synopsis of my recent weeks failed to go in depth into my time in Italy, Switzerland, or France.  I will see most of you upon my return to America in a few weeks and will go into greater detail at that time.  For those subscribers that live around the world, rest assured I have been jotting down notes.  Summary posts are in the pipeline when I have a bit more time to compile my thoughts and go through my photos!  You’ve stuck with me this long, don’t abandon ship now!!