is absolutely astounding.
I envisioned couchsurfing across Europe; we ended up hostelling and hoteling. (We did surf a few times though, and hosts generously drove us to the train station/lent us bikes/gave up their beds for us). I then envisioned us couchsurfing across North America, and instead, we ended up staying with so many generous blog friends. Not to mention the many others who took the time to show us around, take us out to eat, or put together adorable goody bags/welcome packs for us.
We also miss your pets! We’ve met so many awesome dogs along the way, which was such an eye-opener for me; to date, almost all the dogs I’ve ever encountered back home are outside dogs that belong to, erm, Westie trash types and fall into one or more of the following categories: dirty/mangy/loud/ill-behaved/scary. By contrast, I now know that clean, housetrained, inside dogs DO exist.
I think it was a little weird for T, but he quickly got used to the idea that we’d be meeting semi-strangers in almost every city we visited. There was Manda in DC, Sandy in Massachussetts, Asian Pear / Save Spend Splurge in Toronto, Windy City Gal in Chicago, Athena / Funny About Money in Phoenix, Revanche / Untemplater / Financial Samurai in SF, Tiny Apartment / Erika / Stacking Pennies / Tonya in LA. I can’t forget Lesley in Iceland (formerly of 23toLife.com), either, plus we narrowly missed a few others along the way (so close!): Leslie, Amber, Daisy, Katie, Stephanie (I’m really hoping I haven’t forgotten anyone! Eek!)
I can’t thank you guys enough, and hopefully we’ll be able to return one day to relive the magic. It’s probably going to be quite awhile before we leave NZ again though … so, come see us soon. Okay?
Aww, thanks for the mention!
Lately, I’ve seen so many gorgeous photos of New Zealand, that I think that my boyfriend and I will head over there at some point! When, I don’t know, especially since we’re not really the traveling type. But large pretty fields certainly sounds more like my type of travel than bustling through Paris and crowds of people.
Glad you both had a great time! I’m sure it’s strange to be back huh?
I think you received so much generosity because you seem really genuine. Seriously, if you would have been in my area I would have met up with you. Glad you had such a good time and I’m looking forward to seeing what you do next.
Awwh. Shux. Although I still say you and T are lightweights in buffets and AYCEs. 😉
LOL. Apparently! We have no training grounds here for bulk eating :/ Haven’t gone out to eat here yet, will report back on how we find the portion sizes when we do…
We couldn’t have had more fun with our “stranger”/friends. You did it! Went out there and traveled the world. The adventure continues. I’ve got my own post coming up soon.
It was so great seeing you and T! Hope you enjoyed the half smoke 😉