Lesson Learnt

16 June 2011

Barcelona, España

There is a fantasy of bumbling through Europe without any planning and being able to see a lot. I was living it, but as of today, it’s over.

To live this, you need some money and more importantly, experience. I have some of both, but nowhere near enough to really bumble. Especially for a big, varied place as Europe.

I’ve just bought a very overpriced ticket back to the UK because it’s actually the cheapest way forward. But it’s backward. Don’t worry, I’m not retreating, because I do actually have to be back earlier than I expected, too.

I think I could have done just the same thing for a quarter of the cash if I had just three days foresight throughout, but I’ve opted for just the one or zero day foresight the past few months. Why I’m worrying about this now is that this is going to sting later down the track.

Regardless, I’m at least four years older than the average traveller and I’ve done a hell of a lot for very little considering my age. Now, I’ve got more energy, drive and practice, I feel the next trail will be something I can’t possibly expect.

P.S. Although this is all very deep and thought provoking and whatever, I’m sitting under a motorway on chairs that are bolted into the cement, angled intimately towards each other. It’s all in a tiny urban park with concentric circles painted on the ground. Buses and cards roar overhead every few seconds, rumbling the bridge ever so slightly.