So it seems I actually miss Chris. I suppose the precursor to that is I’m sitting in Dubai airport waiting for my connecting flight back to Perth with my grand adventure having finally come to an end. There doesn’t seem to be much else to  do at 2am other than to reflect on what I like to think are some valuable lessons learned from my travels. Here they are in no particular order:

• There is more than one train station in Florence.
• Always check your tickets before you leave to make sure you’re going to the right train station.
• Don’t fly Easyjet unless there’s no other way out of the country.
• Try to avoid buying anything in Switzerland unless you really do have money to burn or it’s on sale.
• Paying a lot of money doesn’t necessarily get you the best accommodation. Sometimes less is more.
• Just because a restaurant has a good review on Trip Advisor, doesn’t mean it’s good. Then again, sometimes a good review is just a good review.
• When hiring skis, find a place right next to the chair lift. Also, don’t assume that just because you receive confirmation online they will actually have your skis reserved for you.
• Don’t drink the vodka at Russian karaoke/hooker bars.

So now I’m broke, I have no job, I’m too scared to get on the scales to find out how much weight I gained but I *did* have a great time and Paris is calling my name. So stay tuned for further adventures when they let me back in the country (in about three month’s time). There will be tears, there might even be dancing, but by god there will be alcohol – à bientôt!