i'm finally going home.

after travelling so much over the past three years, i think i'm retiring. not completely from travelling, but from long-term backpacker travelling. the body is getting tired, the tolerance level is not as high as it used to be, and the desire to see all of the world is waning. i'm missing the comforts of home, my dog, and maybe the simple life. but i must thank everyone over the past 6 months who've been kind enough to allow me to stay with them. it was great having their company, them playing host, and of course, such a big benefit for the travel budget. so thank you to ricky and paola in barcelona (who've hosted me more times than i can count), alison and sebas in barcelona, philippe and gaelle my french connection in piedralaves, marta in madrid, d-diddy and c-sparks in london (who were kind enough to let me extend and extend and extend my stay), freya in glasgow, renate in norway, and of course lucy in scotland (mami knows papi).
my last port of call on this trip, north berwick, scotland
and getting killed from the backpacker team in north berwick
i now head home ready to start the next phase. not sure what that means, but i'm sure it'll figure itself out.....so yes, this is my swan song. i'm hanging up the backpack, and nothing but 5 star hotels and restaurants for this homeboy.
for michelin's 5-star rated biggest smoothie, check out, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

Leaving Spain

I said my goodbye to Spain yesterday, flying out of Barcelona, and feeling a bit sad. I've spent about three of the last five months here, and it's hard not to get nostalgic. Barcelona has been a home away from home thanks to friends like Rique and Paola and also Alison and Sebas who all opened their homes for me while travelling. It's nice to be with locals, since you see the real Barcelona versus the watered-down Lonely Planet version. Needless to say, I wouldn't have been able to afford Barcelona without their hospitality. I was also nostalgic about my time in Piedralaves....I wrote about this a few posts back, so no sense in re-writing what has been written. I'm going to miss the Spanish culture, lifestyle, and all the wonderful people I met.....(but not gonna miss the food since it's not very vegetarian friendly). But now I'm in the wonderful tropical British Isles where the weather is a balmy 50 degrees F, under rainy, cloudy skies. I'll be here the final 2 weeks of my trip (aii mami!). I haven't been posting much and haven't been taking many photos either. I think it's a sign that it might be time for me to go into backpacker traveler retirement. But I'll make that decision at the end of the season when I return to the states. So this is not my swan song yet....but it could be coming soon.......
hell is not in any Barcelona guidebook

Speaking of white birds, Dónde está Che Pelotas?