The stats are in! The Best and Worst List of the Past Year Around the World

The statistics are in. I have tallied the details from my travels the past 12 months.


Here are a few stats from August 2010 to August 2011:
20 countries
60 cities (not counting repeats)
85 cities (counting repeats)
12 currencies
38 planes
21 trains
10 boats
1 cruise ship

Itinerary and course of travel for the past year:

Leg 1 drive across the US beginning August 16th, 2010:
Los Angeles, California 

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Lake Powell, Nevada 

Bryce Canyon, Utah

Route 12 through Utah 

Aspen, Colorado 

Denver, Colorado 

Des Moines, Iowa 

Chicago, Illinois 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

New York, NY

Leg 2 European train tour:
Paris, France

Brussels, Belgium

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Cologne, Germany

Berlin, Germany

Prague, Czech Republic

Vienna, Austria

Budapest, Hungary

Milan, Italy

Venice, Italy

Rome, Italy

Naples, Italy

Pompeii, Italy

Assissi, Italy

Betona, Italy

Berlin, Germany

Paris, France 

London, England

Back to US to repack: 

Cincinnati, Ohio

Leg 3 South East Asia:
Singapore, Singapore

Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Singapore, Singapore

Krabi, Thailand

Koh Phi Phi Islands, Thailand

Phuket, Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Singapore, Singapore

Leg 4 Middle East, The Mediterranean:
Dubai, UAE 

Abu Dhabi, UAE 

Sharjah, UAE

Los Angeles, California

Rome, Italy

Betona, Italy

Perugia, Italy

Cosenza, Calabria, Italy

Leg 5 Back to the US for the holidays:
Cincinnati, Ohio

Miami, Florida

Boca Raton, Florida

Del Ray Beach, Florida

West Palm Beach, Florida

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Leg 6 Spring, Middle East,  N. Africa, Mediterranean:
Dubai, UAE

Sarasota, Florida 

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Hamptons, Long Island

Cincinnati, Ohio

Marrakech, Morocco

Essaouira, Morocco

Madrid, Spain

Formentera, Spain

Ibiza, Spain

Los Angeles, California

Cincinnati, Ohio

Leg 7 Summer Mediterranean Tour:

Barcelona, Spain

Valletta, Malta 

Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Naples, Italy 

Pompeii, Italy

Sorrento, Italy

Positano and the Amalfi Coast, Italy

Rome, Italy

Pisa, Italy

Florence, Italy

Corsica, France

Ville Franche, France

Monaco, France

Barcelona, Spain

Sardinia, Italy

Rome, Italy

Athens, Greece

Mykonos, Greece

Delos, Greece

Mykonos, Greece

Finish:
Back to Cincinnati August 11th, 2011

The Best and Worst List of the Past Year:

Favorite countries:
Italy and Greece

Favorite cities:
Prague, Czech Republic; Mykonos, Greece; Siem Reap, Cambodia; Dubai, UAE; Barcelona, Spain

Favorite foods:
Dubai (Lebanese) kibbeh nayeh, any Southern Italian cuisine, Greek horta and tyropita

Least favorite food culturally:
Cambodian; Czech Republic, Dutch

Favorite drinks:
Moroccan tea and the ouzo cocktail "Plomari Splash" at Solymar restaurant, Kalo Livadi, Mykonos, Greece

Most bizarre drink:
Luwak poop coffee in Bali, Indonesia

Most fun had:
Dubai and Mykonos

Most eye opening experience:
Reading the book 'Somaly Mam' on my way to Cambodia then visiting the kids in the Cambodian school for orphans (see Siem Reap, Cambodia and The Smiling Mom )

Most peaceful time spent:
6 days at the Hostal La Savina in Formentera, Spain; 2 days in the Riad Mimouna in Essaouira, Morocco; any day I am in Mykonos, Greece

Most touching moments:
Receiving an email from Rodrigo, the waiter in Madrid (see A Special Encounter in Madrid ) ; looking into the eyes of the poor and begging children in Cambodia; having a romantic interest tell me the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" is what he thinks of me and standing in front of the site where a terrorist bomb ripped through a tourist cafe a week earlier in Marrakech.

Most terrifying experience:
Being harassed in German by a vagrant in the subway late at night in Berlin

Most beautiful spots:
Formentera, Spain; Mykonos, Greece; Phi Phi Islands, Thailand; The Amalfi Coast, Italy, Route 12 through central Utah, USA

Most beautiful water to swim:
Sardinia, Italy; Formentera, Spain; Mykonos, Greece

Favorite sightseeing spots:
Phi Phi Islands boat ride, the opulence in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the Gaudi architecture in Barcelona, the Kasbah in Marrakech and strolling along the city streets of Prague

Favorite cultures:
Greek, Italian and Moroccan

Least favorite culture:
German

Best beaches:
Formentera, Spain and Mykonos, Greece

Best bargain hunting shopping:
Any open air market in South East Asia

Best bargain for a hotel:
Hostal La Savina, Formentera, Spain; Sea Side Studios, Kalo Livadi, Mykonos, Greece

Cheapest places to visit:
Bali, Indonesia; Cambodia

Most expensive places to visit:
London, Paris, Madrid and Mykonos, Greece (during the month of August)

Best spot for singles:
Mykonos, Greece and Ibiza, Spain during the summer months

Worst place to be without a hotel room:
Amsterdam, Holland (see Amsterdam, Holland )

Place I liked the least:
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Most difficult place to maneuver without knowing the language:
Sardinia, Italy (and I even know a little Italian)

Most pleasurable language to listen to:
Italian

Most unpleasant language to listen to:
German

Most difficult place to learn your way around with or without a map:
Palermo, Sicily

Best public transport system:
Barcelona

Number of countable romances this past year:
5

Number of opportunities for more romances: 
Countless

Amount of money spent:
I don't want to think about it, but not as much as you may think

Value of the experiences had and people I have met: 
Priceless