Writing conclusions and ending journeys

I have always found that writing conclusions is the toughest part. On the one hand it is a relief to end an assignment, yet the pressure to summarize all that you've learned and add some parting wisdom is always a formidable challenge. So I think it best to end this blog with an introduction.

It has been 25 years since I was last in Europe. But in a way that really marks the beginning of the Gary and Beth genetic journey. Gary and I as juniors at the University of Notre Dame had the unbelievable opportunity to study abroad for a semester in London. It was there in January 1989 that I met Gary on the first floor of the five floor flat we would live in for the semester. To this day I remember meeting him as he had the best teeth (eight years of braces will do that for you) and a firm handshake. We were instant friends. (The romance didn't start until 1991.)

So it's been a quarter century since my last trip to the European continent -- the birthplace of Gary and my grandparents (Italy, Poland and Ireland). We decided this time to visit places we didn't see the last time we were here. We spent a significant part of our time in an area largely closed off to most travelers in the late 80s because of Communist rule. Once again we discovered beautiful churches, stunning seas, great coffee and beer, and fantastic public transportation. But this time we also discovered what the Internet can do for travel from booking on Airbnb, to using Wikipedia instead of audio tours to witnessing the sights of Plitzvice online first so we know we have arrived at a somewhat hidden national park.

But perhaps the best discovery is the Internet's ability to shrink our world so our parents can follow our journey almost in real time, to the ability to keep track and communicate with all our new European, American and Asian friends via all our social networks.

Sure it is hard to write a conclusion to such a wonderful journey so perhaps it's best to just simply thank Gary for his year long effort of planning, studying and overseeing this five week adventure and to promise to help more as we prepare for sabbatical 2019.

Farewell. Awesome trip!!...