Journey's End

So, some people have been requesting a sort of after-trip post.

To be honest, I haven't gotten around to posting anymore simply because I'm lazy and just wanted to relax and kick back for the rest of my vacation.

Getting back into my normal sleeping habbit has proven to be quite a pain, but I'm just about there (at last) and just in time for work (which will start again this coming Monday).

But anyway, in retrospect I really loved the US. If I could, I would probably move there. And while I'm dreaming of that I might just as well wish I could move to San Diego :p Which was my favorite spot and felt like a little bit of heaven. Of course, it helps to have a close friend there as well.

I'm not sure if I ever will, since as soon as I mention it in all seriousness I get nothing but stern looks from (of course) my mom, but also from a few friends who'd rather keep me here. Now, I've always disregarded those things and went on and did my own thing anyway (like when I moved to Wales) but since after this trip I won't have the money for travel for a little while yet I'll still be here for most likely at least a number of years still.

But to get back on the topic of our vacation!

Most of the hotels we had were good/passable. There were a few exceptionally good ones (such as the Radisson Woodlands in Flagstaff or the Marriott in Santa Maria, Shilo Inn in Palm Springs) and some that were less than pleasing (such as, surprisingly, the cleanliness at the Warwick Hotel in San Francisco, though their reception desk service was top notch). All in all, since the hotels were only for sleeping at anyway it didn't matter all too much but still, those little things can really add or subtract from the overall vacation.

Other than that, I was able to get used to the long drives near the end but it's something I can't really compare to here. I hear people in Belgium complaining about a 2h to 2,5h drive to the coast, but that's really nothing anymore now. During our roadtrip I think 2,5h drive was the shortest trip and we only had it that short once on a whole day if I remember right.

On another note, as far as the casino's in Las Vegas are concerned, there really only was one where we received in a less than openhearted/friendly manner and that was the Paris Casino. I do prefer the south end of the Strip over the north end though. The MGM Grand, Excalibur, Bellagio, New York New York, Planet Hollywood (former Aladdin),... were all more on the south end of the Strip and those I really enjoyed. On the north end of the strip there really was only one casino that I really liked and that was the Venetian, the most beautiful of the casino's (in my opinion) on the whole Strip.

And lastly, well, now that we're back home.. Christophe was already back to work the second day after we returned and I haven't really heard anything anymore since (which is pretty much normal outside of work anyway) and it seems that the post cards have finally started arriving as well so our journey has pretty much come to an end at this point.

Whether or not I will ever do a tour of the East Coast and if anyone will join me is still open for the future. Though I still have friends I need to visit in New York, various places in Michigan and other states, but we'll see how it goes in the future. Nothing is certain yet.

Anyway, should anyone want to know anything about any part of our trip that wasn't covered in the blog, feel free to ask or just drop an e-mail or sms or whatever you like :-)