The Modern Nomadic Existence

Our trip is almost at an end and it is time for us to sign off, at least for now. It is hard to believe that three and a half months (101 days, to be precise) has gone by since we left Sydney on May 14. We have had some amazing experiences while we have been away, which we have enjoyed sharing with you all on this blog.

The fact that so many people spend so much money on getting from one side of the world to the other, just to see it, has got us thinking about how today's traveller is really the modern equivalent of yesterday's nomad. When you think about it, the modern traveller is really no different to the desert Berber... both of us continuing a long human tradition. Why else would we spend all our money, risk life and limb and throw ourselves off the deep end, just for the experience? And why else would we love doing it?

But enough philosophising for now. We thought we'd pick out the best and worst of our trip in this post to round things off until next time. So here we go...

Favourite town: Blois

Favourite city: London/Paris (I know it might seem like a cliche, but what can you do?)

Most beautiful city: Lisbon/San Sebastian

Craziest city: Marrakech

Most beautiful scenery: the Saraha proper/the French countryside

Favourite country: Portugal (Josh), France and Vietnam (Tova)

Most boring country: Andorra

Best beach: Estoril/Cascais

Funniest miscommunication: Becoming convinced that Hungarians used kookaburra feathers in their pillows and doonas, until we realised that they meant geese and ducks

Best quote: [Pedro's father Eduardo, in a strong Portuguese accent, after being told that smoking was being banned in public places in Australia] "But that is dictatorship!! I will never go there!"

Most random communication experience: Using our German skills with the car mechanic in Santiago and with locals in Vietnam

Most useful language: French (essential in France and Morocco, helped in Spain and Portugal)

Hardest place to communicate: Spain (they speak no English, no French, no German; just Spanish)

Best book read: Nicholas Nickelby, by Charles Dickens

Worst experience: Getting our car fixed/packing up the tent in the pouring rain

Second-worst experience: Being climbed on by a monkey (Tova)

Funniest experience: Tova being climbed on by a monkey (Josh)

Best experience: Being able to travel for 3 1/2 months!

Loved: Catching up with overseas friends and family

Best church: Westminster Abbey

Best Arab fortress: Sintra

Most walking in one day: Paris

Worst stomach difficulties: Morocco

Best R&R: Granada

Most amazing person we met: Elodie (the 8-year old who complained the least out of all the people on our journey into the Sahara)

Best campsite: Barcelona (Tova), Loire Valley (Josh)

Hottest place: Morocco

Coldest place: Paris

Sweatiest place: Vietnam

Best weather: Lisbon

Most romantic place: Château de Chambord

Worst airline experience (so far): Waiting for 3 1/2 hours in Casablanca for our flight to depart to London

Best food: Tapas (Josh), Parisian onion soup (Tova)

Cheapest country: Vietnam

Most expensive place: London/Paris/Vienna

Biggest surprise of the trip: Tova becoming a fully-fledged fish eater!

Thanks for coming along on the journey with us. For those of you living in Sydney, we'll see you soon... and for those of you who live elsewhere, for now:

Auf wiedersehn/ Sziasztok/ Au revoir/ Adéu/ Adiós/ Agur/ Até a vista/ M'assalama/ Gha-tamgraout/ Goodbye/ Tam biêt!

Love Josh and Tova x