"Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End"

Well, you avid readers (BTW, statistics show that most of you have stopped reading anyway, but I understand that the trip was far more exciting for us than it was for you), this is the last post you will have to suffer through from the excellent adventures of Brandon and Josh. As Josh put it, "It is no longer The Adventures of Josh and Brandon, but The Adventures of Josh. The Adventures of Brandon." He is off to Florida in a few weeks for grad school, and I am off to NYC in either a few weeks or a few months (I'll figure it out soon enough). It will be weird to have your best friend living 20 hours away; especially since everyone who knows one of us knows the other. But I think some time off will be...interesting.

Some things I learned from the trip:

Your body can only take so much coffee and alcohol before it starts protesting.

Grocery shopping is far cheaper than eating out.

Learn about the political temperature of the country before visiting to avoid walking straight into a 300 person protest.

If you need to get something done then just do it. Hop on the train without a reservation if you have to.

Don't sweat the small stuff (and most of it is small).

Meat from lamb's head is foul. Especially the tongue...and the hairy parts.

Try to meet a leprechaun if you are ever in Ireland.

Never be afraid to talk to people.

If you are a beer person, then always try new beer (I tried 93 new beers on the trip!) unless you are in Scotland, then just drink scotch.

Have fun, do the touristy stuff, but then do what you want.

Always take the free walking tour.

Always wake up for the free breakfast.

Spend all of your change before leaving the country.

It's never too early to drink (only on vacation though....and holidays, weekends, and if you are a student)

Lemonade and apple juice tastes like shit abroad.

Network.

Keep in touch.

Don't be afraid to spend money on something you would regret not doing later. Even if you don't have the money. You will always make it back in the long run.

There are probably 10,000 more things I could ramble on about, but I'll stop there.

I may continue blogging (I'll change the name though) but I'll let you all know if I do.

Thank you for reading. It was a blast.

Josh and I were discussing a road trip of the States in a few years. We realized that we haven't even been to half of the states! We would probably invite more people though. Let us know if you are interested.

Anyway, thank you for following the blog.

Now off to the real adventure. The one that is us pursuing our big goals.

To Josh, it has certainly been a pleasure.

Love,

Brandon