Sunday, July 11, 2010

The end! (we are back home for good!)

The journey is over!

We are back home after being gone for 55 weeks and 110,000 miles (which is 4 times around the world)!

What can we say in a few words?

The world, or at least what we have seen of it, is an extraordinary place with so much to offer!

There is NOT one place where we would not like to go back if we could.

People were genuinely friendly and helpful wherever we went.

On top of this, we were followed by a lucky star that made this year virtually trouble free (beside of spending a few hours in an Emergency room for Luca's Asthma crisis in Dubai and being pick pocketed in Peru for $40).

We learned so much that we need to go back to our notes and blog to remember it all! http://peronnardfamilyworld.blogspot.com

The kids were awesome, eating up and digesting the journey very well without any issues! They drove us crazy of course, but this is quite normal since we have spent during 1 year what families normally spend together in 7/8 years!

On the adult side, we are kind of ruined mentally (lol) and life will never be the same!

That said, we are ready to get back to a semi-normal life and to enjoy all the good things we have at home in Florida!

To the question what was your favorite place, we would say every place and especially the ones we have not yet discovered!

At the end of the day, we have one wish:

To inspire somebody among all of you to do same!

It is not for everybody, a year could be too much but if you can do it, DO IT!

BON VOYAGE and do not hesitate to contact us for information , inspiration, etc.

WE'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AROUND THE WORLD WHO HOSTED US, INSPIRED US AND MADE OUR TRIP EVEN MORE SPECIAL!!

Best wishes to all of you

The Peronnard family




FUN DATA (5th and final)

390 days on the road (minus 3 weeks RR at home)
41 intercontinental flights
31,000 miles driven (47,000 km)
200 hours in a plane
70,000 miles flown
110,000 miles traveled....or so
150 hours on a train (8,000 miles)
5 minutes on a Camel
150 hours on a boat/ferry or cargo
35 countries
X,000 times close to strangling kids (maybe more)
4 traffic tickets (Mexico, Malaysia, Australia and Indonesia) most likely more in the mail
1 customs citation (Chile)
1 typhoon
3 days wasted with plane delays or cancellation
40 rainy/snowy days (beside of Typhoon)
6 teeth lost for Luca and 3 more teeth on the move!
2 teeth lost for Eric (wisdom teeth pulled out)
15 pounds lost between Carol and I in the first 6 month...regained in Europe...too bad!
1 yoga session
0 McDonalds in Vietnam and Bulgaria (the only places)
0 Starbucks in Italy!
4,200 digital pictures
12 days on 2 wheels dodging traffic in Indonesia, Thailand, Morocco, Vietnam, Rome and France
7 dollars a gallon for gas in Northern territory Australia ( too bad we had an RV)
1,5 dollars a gallon in Indonesia (who cares, we had a scooter)
1 time face to face with a Great white shark
1 time scare of my life crossing a highway in Africa and looking for traffic on the wrong side! SCARY!
Climbed 10,000 steps in 1 day in Machu Pichu
Went down 14,000 feet elevation on a mountain bike on my Birthday
Driving at 130 mph on German Autobahn
Dozens of Museums, galleries, churches, temples and mosques visited, and even more for Carol
3-4 Cappuccinos per/day in Italy for Eric and I
Chocolate tested in every European country! Yummy!
Minus 8 in Irkutsk, Siberia
100 degrees +, in Argentina, Turkey, France and USA
0 sicknesses, nor injuries.....
0 flat tires
0 mechanical or electronic failure
0 luggage lost

Life is good!


Just a basic outline of what we did

1 comment:

  1. Welcome Home from the Engel family. We have so enjoyed your trip! Thank you for blogging so diligently!

    ReplyDelete