Around the world in 72 days

It all started when I was invited to a friend’s 30th. He was hosting the event in a villa in the south of Portugal. Knowing it was going to be the party of the century, how could I resist?

If I was going to be in Europe anyway, I figured I might as well catch up with friends in London.  

Another friend of mine was coming to the party and wanted to spend a little more time enjoying the European summer – so after considering our options – we decided to head to Malta for a week.

I also had relatives who were travelling around Europe at the same time as me and we were trying to work out a plan to do something together. I’d always wanted to explore Devon and the Cornwall coast but didn’t manage it when I was living in the UK so with a bit of persuasion – I added a road trip around England to my itinerary.

While I was on a roll ticking off destinations on my bucket list – I looked at whether there were any other European countries that I had wanted to explore. Last year I did a road trip through Eastern Europe with a friend and so we decided to head east again – this time to the Caucasus countries – Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

To get to Europe to begin with – you have to have a stop over in Asia or the Middle East – so I decided to drop in on a good friend who’s been living in Hong Kong.

I also had an invite to a wedding in Chicago – so this meant an around-the-world-ticket was probably my best option.

If I was going to be in America anyway – I might as well visit a friend who was in New York with work.

To get home from the east coast you generally have to stop-over on the west coast – and so a trip to San Francisco to see a friend was a given.

And If I was already going to be there – I figured I could knock off an item on my bucket list – cruising down the Californian coast to LA.