One for my baby, and one more for the road

IMG_5793 Wine glasses...waiting.
Originally uploaded by garthimage.

I am a few weeks shy of my one-year anniversary of being away from home. I look back on my globe-trotting adventures with fondness and no regrets at all.

Even the fuzzy 'morning after the night before' flashbacks - rather than being super cringe-worthy- have made me smile. And I guess that's the beauty of jumping in to this odyssey with both feet.

And while I've been using this blog as a way to share news, reviews, and photos with loved ones around the world, sometimes its the things I haven't yet told that have made the biggest impact on me. For instance, just this morning I realised that my entire holiday thus far can be described in terms of what I've been drinking. Consider the following:

Australia
Before I left home, I had farewell parties. And consistent with my theory that all good things should last a week, I indulged in more last-minute Aussie beers than were probably good for me. But it was summer back then, and Aussie heat and Aussie beer just go together, don't they?

Hong Kong
Still clinging to Aussie customs, I spent much of my two days in Hong Kong hydrating myself with Australian wines in the hotel bar. Oh and there was that infamous dark green sesame soup that I slurped....blech!

France
Touching down in Paris in minus four degrees, you'd be forgiven for thinking that hot chocolates would have been my drink of choice. But no (and basically because I dislike them immensely). Instead, I recall making a pact with Batreg that we would resist buying supermarket red wine that cost less than 2 euro. Anything above that price bracket was fair game. Not delicious, of course, but fair game. Bordeaux produced some rather average reds, but the rest of France delivered as far as I'm concerned. But then a return to Paris was an introduction to home made killer champagne punch. But the photos of that night speak for themselves so the less said here, the better.

Italy
Chianti, Prosecco, and Espresso. Need I say more?

Turkey
Will forever be remembered for the 500ml cans of Efes beer and Batreg declaring, "damn it , if I wanted to see any ruins today, I'd just look in the mirror". Priceless.

Scotland
Drambuie in Edinburgh, McEwens beer in Glasgow, and 7 bottles of assorted wine at my 'woohoo i got the job in Chicago' party. The photos of THAT event speak for themselves too!

Chicago
Blue Ribbon beer, Starbucks, Irish Carbombs, Jager shots with college students, and the list only grows....

And while this adventure has sometimes felt like the National Lampoons Pub Crawl, the glass has been half full the entire time!