Day 262: Highlights From The Past Two Months...

Dear Friends,

After an evening of hitch hiking – instead of snoozing on a couch in Brussels, I find myself inside my tent, on the side of the highway. Overcome by the urge to write, I am at a familiar loss for words. By no regret of mine, so much has happened since my last blog entry that I don't know where to continue the story. I could start from...

Camping on Inisheer by the ocean and a ship wreck.

Camping on the cliffs of Moher (that's my tent).

Celebrating my birthday with the circus in Western Ireland.

Climbing mountains in the Connemara.

Rainy hitch hiking in Ireland.

Trippin' as an angler fish.

Performing for CouchSurfers at Edinburgh Rocks.

Introducing a Brazilian to the wonders of Fluff.

Hitch hiking the Scottish Highlands.

Meditating with Tibetan monks.

Getting tickets to Glastonbury from a couple I met in the Sahara Desert.

Experiencing the construction of one of Europe's largest festival.

Participating in a world record breaking game of Twister.

Enjoying amazing artists like Paul Simon.

Witnessing the massive mess left behind.

Magical sunsets.

Exploring the legendary realm of King Arthur.

Having to share the bed with hosts (4) my entire time in London.

Hitch hiking across the English Channel with crazy Hungarians.

Sleeping 'rough' in Paris.

Getting a tour of Paris on motorbike.

Climbing the Eiffel tower.

Celebrating French National Day with fireworks, friends, and wine.

Enjoying Rodney's "picnic du jour" ... everyday!

Meeting a childhood internet mentor in person.

Savoring the fruits of a wild plum tree.

Exploring the old railway and catacombs.

Getting soaked underneath Paris.

Meeting some authentic catophiles underground.

Partying in the catacombs.

'Cavesurfing'

Falling in love with more than the city...

...having to leave a city that's stolen your heart... and now, sleeping next to some gas station off of the motorway, behind a large metal box producing loud clicky-clacky noises.

How my blog will continue from here is uncertain. For the same reason I stopped blogging, I probably won't blog as frequently as my feverish three times a week. Western Ireland's beauty was so overwhelming that I couldn't write fast enough. While I'm about two months behind on experiences these tales will have to wait till I'm home to be told... and be told they will!

Though I have developed an aversion for speaking about the future, I fancy writing a book when I get home. On what, exactly, I'm not sure. Something about my past 11 months traveling, perhaps? I know that I don't want to teach people how to travel or make a recommended list of places to go. While these may be included as byproducts, I believe it will be mostly selective content from my blog though with more meta bits about how I've developed as a Ross throughout my trip. I guess we'll wait and see.

I look forward to writing Ross Roams again. When words come to me I'll do my best to deliver them faithfully. I am excited to share more intimate thoughts, though not experiences. For these, words are useless to convey.

Brussels is an overcast beauty with amazing architecture and enough chocolate, waffles, beer, and fries to keep me happy for a lifetime. Although I'll only be spending another day or two here I look forward to spreading my experiences (like Nutella on a waffle).

Vaarwel!