We landed in Miami, and I sent my family a note that bigtrip2016 was officially over. Since then, I have come to realize that although the travel portion of the journey has ended, the experiences and memories will endure much longer. In fact, the stories will evolve and change in focus and each time will be retold with different punchlines and meanings.
Thank you for following along with us, and here’s our recap of the hard facts upon which we will base our stories.
BIGTRIP2016 BY THE NUMBERS
Basics
- Departed MIA December 22, 2015
- Returned to MIA July 23, 2016
- 214 days (including one leap day)
- 4 continents (North America, Australia, Asia, Europe)
- 17 countries
- Furthest north: Inverness 57.5º N
- Furthest south: Sydney 33.9º S
Transportation
- 23 flights (16 Oneworld, 3 Sky Team, 4 no alliance)
- 8,901 miles driven by Todd
- 2,016 in Australia (Britz Campervan)
- 5,891 in Europe (Peugeot 5008)
- 994 in the UK (Toyota Auris)
- 11 high-speed strains (3 in China and 8 in Japan)
- 1 cruise ship (Holland America Oosterdam)
- 8 countries where we used UBER (Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, UK)
- 1 river boat (Li River, China)
Accommodations
- 13 Starwood hotels (over 1,000,000 SPG points used)
- 2 Japanese ryokans
- 1 campervan (Australia)
- 1 yurt (Lake District, UK)
- 1 treehouse (Loire Valley, France)
- 1 houseboat (Amsterdam)
- and more (see Accommodations)
houseboat in Amsterdam
Activities
- 95 tours taken
- 6 “free” tours (tip only)
- 2 mines (one salt, one copper )
- 69 museums
- 52 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- 25 movies watched by Nati (mostly on planes)
- 21 performances attended (from Magic Flute in Sydney to The Play That Goes Wrong in London)
- 20 hands-on classes and workshops
- 6 in cooking
- 3 in combat (samurai, gladiator, fencing)
- 11 in general culture (tea, drumming, perfume-making, surfing…)
- 13 episodes of < 3 (take a look at the last one: “The Inverness Highland Games”)
- 6 bike rentals
- 3 mountain luges
- 14,127 photos and videos taken by Victoria
Mona Lisa at the Louvre
Museo Galileo, Florence
bike rental, Venice
fresco class, Florence
Animal encounters
- 1,000,000 bats, bats, bats from Cairns, AU, to Windermere, UK
- 5 troops of monkeys (Nagano, Chang Mai, two in Phuket, Gibraltar)
- 2 not-really bears held (1 koala, 1 panda)
- 2 slugs by our beds
- 1 elephant ride
- 1 camel ride
- 1 vicious leech attack (Blue Mountains, AU)
Patara Elephant Farm, Thailand
Uluru, Australia
Currumbin, Australia
Purchases
- 62 souvenir pens (Lucy) and key chains (Nati)
- 8 SIM cards
- 2 goddess dresses
- 1 Ninja outfit
Random
- 13 Mexican restaurants (don’t judge)
- 7 fireworks shows
- 1 dentist visit (Lucy cracked tooth – France)
- 1 speeding ticket (Spain, via speed camera)
Regrets: 0
Traveling–it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.
–Ibn Battuta
bigtrip2016.com 
Regrets: 0
Love that.
Loved traveling along with you on bigtrip2016.com, but happy to have you back and hear all your stories in person!
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What a great 7-month ride! I loved all the numbers – how did you keep track of all those details? What an awesome experience for all of you, and one you will relive and retell and laugh about with each other, your children, and grandchildren!
0 regrets – best final number says it all! BUT… the 14,127 photos shows the joy of the journey:-)
xo
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I’m happy to show them all to you one by one! 😉
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Welcome Home😀
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¡ Qué triste cuando se acaba! Nos “invitan” para la próxima aventura. Gracias por compartir sus experiencias con nosotros que nos montamos con ustedes en el viaje.
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Glad you made it home safely and with
memories and stories to last a lifetime. Can’t wait to hear more of them.
There’s no place like home. Welcome back!!!
Xo
Sent from my iPhone
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Holy moly….I JUST learned that hitting the “reply” button was all that you needed to do to leave a comment….it’s that simple. SERIOUSLY?!? That comment form looked so complicated. I’m only 7 months too late. Yikes!!!
Nevertheless, happy you are home!
Hugs to everyone!
-Carmen
Sent from my iPhone
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One amazing family
One endless life experience
Welcome back friends 😘😘😘😘
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What an amazing Trip and experience around the world….Thank you for sharing it with us. Forever treasured. Did the binder survive?
Would love to get together to hear all about it. Glad you all made it safely. Purchases? Ninja outfit:))
Welcome home my friend …….
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I won’t say welcome “home” because I’m sure that this experience made you citizens of the world so welcome back!!! I’m glad you all were able to have this experience and look forward to reading more about your travels. (I’m behind;) xo, Ms. Kathy
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Welcome home! Your trip was amazing. It was fun following your adventures.
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It was a pleasure following along. Welcome home!
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What a wonderful experience! This site has been terrific, I’d love a follow up book 🙂
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Dear Victoria,
I love this “final” (probably not…) list. Oh, the stories you all will tell! Best of all– 0 regrets.
Ellen Bulkley
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Welcome back to you all! Loved sharing your journey with you…we are looking forward to seeing you all! Hugs!
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Welcome back!! So nice to see you at school today!! I loved this “By the Numbers” post – gave a great numerical overview of the activities and events you experienced!! Wishing you, Lucy and Nati, a wonderful school year at SSEDS!!
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