And then there was one.

The silence is deafening.

What was once a virtual hostel, full of luggage, make-shift beds and filled to capacity of 8 of my lovely friends, my flat has started to transform to its old self.

Evidence of its formal self are everywhere. Left over toiletries, collected souvenirs, a pile of blankets, pillows and towels, folded up and deflated airbeds, and a hard drive full of memories.

It was an amazing two weeks with many lifetime, unforgettable memories of the trip. There were many blogworthy moments on this trip.. its hard to keep them straight in my head but here are my "unofficial top 5"

1. Conquering Cinque Terra - over 9 km of hiking, all 10 of us made it to the end.
2. London Eye - Meeting up with Jim and Phuc to make the group complete, the London Eye ride was unforgettable.
3. Dinner, Drinks, and Wine in Cinque Terra - The 2nd night after the long hike we went out and had a brilliant dinner and wine by the beach. We headed back to the hotel to continue the party. We clicked.
4. Budapest partying - Partying till the break of dawn. We all got a little closer this night.
5. London Partying - After a whirlwind tour of London in the rain in one day, Bri, Dan and I chugging redbull and vodkas in a empty club before the rest of the crew show up.

There are many more memories, but these stick out in my mind. Honourable mentions:

1. Missing the flight back to London - resulting in rebooking flights/trains on an internet kiosk in the Genoa Airport. Damn taxi strikes. Unforgettable.
2. Prague Police - Getting caught without train tickets and being fined 2500 KC.
3. The 10 Euro Bribe - "Shhh!" Without "train reservations" for the train ride to Prague, we had to negotiate the 45 Euro charge to a reasonable number.
4. Running for the Milan train. - After booking all flights, we had to make the train to Milan. Taking a cab and running for the train just like the Amazing Race.
5. 35 and white wine. - Nuff said.
6. 9 is enough - Fitting 9 people in my flat, coordinating shower orders, and making the early flight out to Genoa.
7. Krakow clubbing - Women outnumber men yet again!

I'm already going through friend withdrawal. Being surrounded by so many close friends in two weeks, then returning to reality is painful. I was spoiled by the constant hanging out of laughing and bonding. Its sucks to get back to reality sometimes, especially after a trip like this.