All Mixed Up, Don't Know What To Do

When leaving the Netherlands, I had about five days to kill before my weekend getaway to Stockholm. Knowing that I would need to be in Paris on Friday evening to catch my flight the next day, I decided to finally spend a few nights there and see what all the hype was about. However, five consecutive nights in Paris seemed a bit overkill so I spent a few in Belgium since it was on the way. Ahh.. such a tough life with tough decisions...

Since Belgium was not on my original itinerary or on my radar at all, it was an incredible surprise to just stumble upon such an amazing country. I posted up in Brussels for three nights with a mission to try as many Belgium beers as possible and infiltrate their sweet chocolate stash. As you can do in most major European cities, I went on a free walking tour to see the sites and bone up on my local knowledge. 

After learning all this history about Brussels, I wanted to see a bit more of the country. So, I decided to do a day trip to Bruges. Wholly shit! What a charming and sleepy little town! I spent the day wandering around as everything is accessible by foot. Even though the weather was pissy, that didn't stop me from soaking up the quaintness and thoroughly enjoying myself.

Now enters Paris. One of the most famous cities in the entire world! Rich in history, architecture & culture, it has been a hub throughout the centuries and even a city seized by the Nazis during WWII. Because I knew I would have to come back to Paris to catch my flight to Madrid, I wanted to get my site seeing out of the way so I could relax more on my next visit. Of course, I saw the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triumph and the local Christmas markets. 

Stockholm cold. I'm pretty sure that's a real thing. About a month prior to arriving in Stockholm, a late night, post bar, decision was made to book a flight to the latitudinally high and expensive capital city of Sweden in late November. Was this a decision made on a whim? Hah, you tell me. With my partner in crime, we explored the most northern place I have ever been. We had a short weekend and about eight hours of sunlight a day. So we had to make the most of it. Our adventures would not have been complete (at least not for Ellie) if we didn't go to the world's largest Ikea store while in the motherland. So that happened. 

Overall, Stockholm was another amazing and beautiful city. They have wacky rules and regulations when it comes to alcohol but I would really like to check out the nightlife there one day. I imagine in the summer it would be wild to go to the club and the sun's still out and then leave and it's already risen again.

After surviving Stockholm, it was another week in Toulouse, a few more nights in Paris and a single night in Madrid before my flight back to California. It was a great time in Toulouse catching up with all the people I met on my first time through! While there, I was able to churn out an entire Thanksgiving dinner for a bunch of Brits using just two stove burners, one pot and one pan. In paris, I had an impromptu visit from some friends from along the road, which was a nice surprise. I also got to see Simon and Jess for some Tapas y Cervezas in Madrid.

Well... this concludes my adventures. I have officially awaken from living the dream for thirteen months. I cannot imagine a better way to have spent 2013. Twenty-two countries and a life's worth of experiences. Damn, I'm glad I did this. Thank you to everyone along the way. Especially the ones who put me up in Europe! Also, a big thank you to everyone who joined me by following my posts. Now, please do me one last favor. Click on the address bar at the top of your browser (Chrome, I hope). Type in skyscanner.net or kayak.com or statravel.com and go book a flight leaving your country. Do it!