18 Months Down...ZERO to Go!

I guess the title of this post is a bit of a lie...

Jeff will be here one more month, as he has to tie up some loose ends on projects and his position.  But I knew I needed to make an 18 month post to wrap things up, because I'm not sure Jeff will continue to the blog while still living in England.

Every six months I give a bit of an update on places we have been and how life is going.  For example, I created the 12 Months Down post right after the new year, showing you all the places we had traveled in a year's time.  And in our 6 Months Down post I talked about the bests/worsts things about living abroad.  This post will be a bit more nostalgic knowing that I won't be posting another one of these six months from now. Continue reading to see how I honored our 18 months abroad. 

A Final Total of Countries Visited:

1. England 
2. Ireland (2x)
3. Italy (2x)
4. Greece
5. Germany (2x)
6. Czech Republic
7. USA (2x, plus 1 extra for Sarah)
8. France (2x, plus 1 extra for Sarah, AND driving through to get to Belgium)
9. Scotland (2x)
10. Spain
11. Croatia
12. Netherlands
13. Belgium
14. Hungary
15. Denmark
16. Lisbon
17. Wales

Jeff may have a couple trips planned with friends and/or an independent trip.   Not sure if they will ever make it on to the blog.  We spent our last six months here really trying to check off cities and places in England that we had not been to.  Things like theatre nights, Liverpool, Lake District, Farne Islands, and spending time with friends was on our agenda.  We had covered so much ground that first year, that it was nice to stay local for a while.

Like our 12 month post, I have taken a screenshot of our calendar.  The first picture is a duplicate of the first 12 months, and the second picture is from the last 6 months. 


Here is the key:

• Green = Trips/events around the UK
• Purple = Europe (outside UK)
• Orange = Visitors
• Gray = Chilled in our own city/home
• Blue = U.S.A
• Little Red Triangles = Notes on the event/location/activity

First 12 Months: 

Last 6 Months: 

Breakdown of 18 of Our Trips 
I tried to think of a way to tie in "18" and a way to give closure to these amazing trips we have taken.  Jeff and I have compiled a list of some of the "bests" and "favorites" of our time abroad.  It was really hard to narrow it down to just 18.  I think my original list included every country and many trips around England, but I knew I needed to stick with the theme of "18".  I'm sure if you ask us "Where was your favorite church?" or "Who had the best street food?" we would answer in a heartbeat.  Feel free to comment below if you come up with one on your own. 

 

This is a scheduled post. I am not sure if the links work. I promise to check once I am settled in the states, and I'll fix it if the links do not work. Thanks in advance!

We are looking forward to life post-fairytale.  We have some great mini-trips planned with our families already.  We are also looking forward to getting into our townhouse, starting our new jobs, and seeing all of our friends/family on a regular basis and NOT through a computer screen.

A special note to all of our followers over the last 1.5 year.s  It was a pleasure to write to you and share our experiences (both the good, the bad, and the ugly).  Jeff and I agree that we would do this experience all over again if we had the opportunity.  We look forward to coming back to a few places we never made it to.  Is that bad that I am already thinking about coming back? 

Have no fear, this is not the last blog post. I will continue writing until we are both settled back in the states for good.  You will know when it is my last post!  Don't start going through withdrawal yet.

On to our next adventure Post-UK...