The End

Well, after 35 days and 16 cities, I’m officially BACK in New York.



It’s been an unbelievable experience that has absolutely flown by...

...from meeting Nobu Matsuhisa in Tokyo and climbing the Great Wall in Beijing...

...to island hopping in Thailand and popping champagne with celebs in St. Tropez…

...I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Thank you to everyone who has followed along since the beginning. We’ve tried to provide you with that quick fix escape from the daily grind, a few laughs, as well as an insider’s look at a number of amazing cities around the world. Hopefully, these experiences will motivate you to ask for those 2 weeks of vacation and plan your own exotic adventure….just don’t forget to lob out an invite to me, as I’ll more than likely hop on board.

I’d like to end the blog just how it started… with a little help from my good friend Jimmy Buffett…

Back at home, it's afternoon
Six thousand miles away.
It will still be there when I get through
Attending this soiree

There are jobs and chores and questions
And plates I need to twirl,
But tonight I'll take my chances,
On the Far Side of the World.

Yes, that's the way it happened
On the Far Side of the World.

Prague

After missing our flight out of Mykonos (shocker), we only had 16 hours to experience Prague

We were able to hit the major sights...



...as well as sign up for the official Prague Pub Crawl...



...which ended at the 5-story Karlovy Lazne, the "biggest music club in Central Europe"




Before we knew it, we were at the airport boarding our final flight of the trip...direct to New York

The guys from school will appreciate the humor in this last picture

Mykonos

The majestic beauty of the Greek Islands provides a stunning backdrop for one of the wildest party scenes in the world



We dropped our bags at the hotel and headed directly to the day beach party at Tropicana...



We've learned quite well how to properly blast bottles of champagne...



Here's a few more of the "bloggable" pictures from the 3 to 4 days spent at Tropicana



"Excuse me, Miss? Have you ever seen this before?"



Sometimes I wasn't even the one leading the swing dancing



After Tropicana wound down, we would head back to the hotel to re-charge the batteries and get back to neutral.

After being warned by the staff not to cannonball into the main pool (directly next to a full outdoor dining area), Mark opted for our private mini pool...



And promptly rode the spine toboggon down the stairs to our room...



For the early part of the evening (from 2am until 5am), everyone hangs out in downtown Mykonos.

We most often opted for our favorite spot, Scandanavian Bar...



We were shocked (and slightly concerned) to meet Zeus himself...the only guy in the Greek Islands that was bigger than Mark.

These two were literally comparing max lifts using an LBs to KGs converter on the guy's cellphone.



I think you can tell who the victor was...



As the downtown area shuts down, the masses hop buses, cabs and Vespas BACK out to the beach.... a little place called Cavo Paradiso...



...where night soon turns to day...



"Excuse me, Miss? Have you ever seen this before?"

Apparently so, as Max looks away unimpressed in the background...



We did manage to class it up a bit and eat a few dinners at the Nobu next door to our hotel



The man himself was not there to greet us this time, but we sure did him proud



The most surprising trend sweeping the world is the "summer scarf"... no exaggeration, 2 of 3 GUYS were rocking this accessory at the bars AND at the beach.

Damian and I gave the look a try... and both failed miserably

Roma

Mark met us in Italy to join for the last 10 days of the journey... and of course was appropriately dressed in a blue v-neck t-shirt



"Can you please send these 3 shots to that group of girls over there?

"Oh and send a shot of water to that guy they're with as well"



A long catch-up session, overindulgence in some fine Italian wine (and a few too many cocktails at the Hard Rock) knocked us out early on the first night...



WAHOOWAH! As you may know, Jefferson modeled the Rotunda at UVA after the Pantheon here in Rome...

... thank you for inspiring the venue for many great memories at school



A few more of the must-hit sights during my first visit to Rome



"Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?" - Maximus



St. Peter's Basilica at sunset...



A few quick pull-ups before hitting the town...



Wasn't too surprised to find some New Jersey love in Italy...



... though the cars were a lot lighter than the ones Mark usually lifts back home



Great company, authentic food/wine and a Pantheon view accompanied by accordion music certinaly made this a memorable last meal in the city