Bye Bye Europe

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Well, after more than 3 months on the road, I'm bidding adieu to Europe and on with the rest of my trip. I've been lucky to meet some lasting friends (and more)in Europe, to visit with my mother and sister, Kat, and to see a great deal of the continent, although not as much as I had planned.

The last week has been a whirlwind through Belgium and The Netherlands --- Belgium, Brugge, The Hague, Amsterdam, Maastricht, Arnhem and more. I drove and completely got that need out of my system -- too many kilometers on very nice highways, but also too much too fast. Mom and I had a lot long car-trip bonding conversations. Kat's Stanford soccer team walloped the Dutch women's club champions. Alas, due to the nature of her group team travel, Mom and I didn't see much of her, and ended up waiting around in squares for them. We managed to get lost a lot though, mostly once we got off the autoroutes. I say a big yes to Brugges and Amsterdam and a thumbs up to Maastricht, but wasn't bowled over by Brussels (overpriced, too big and not enough interesting stuff to see).

Tonight I depart for Capetown, South Africa. I leave behind a boyfriend in Italy and good travel friends in Amsterdam and London. I hope I manage to find good people on the next part of my travels. On with the safari which starts on Saturday!