剩下的路程，我准备骑自行车沿着悬崖上的小路走完. Part of me felt terrified because, 的声誉, 我知道这些道路会充满盲点，可能会导致致命的撞车事故. Except, well, I guess I’ll never know. As I was biking on the notoriously awful roads, 一时的疏忽使我陷入了最糟糕的困境, and I immediately got two flat tires. 

那是一个奇怪的时刻. 我意识到，尽管我很想完成我的最后一段 biking abroad adventure, it just wasn’t a realistic option. 我很累，修理轮胎要花很长时间. This was the end of my journey, just not where I expected it to be. 打败了, 我拖着沉重的脚步走向最近的出租车站，想搭上第一班去阿马尔菲海岸的车. Looking back at it now, though, I'm honestly not disappointed. 如果我可以选择，要么按照计划骑行，要么骑上维苏威火山, I’d choose Vesuvius again without a doubt. +, I ended up biking the same amount I planned on doing anyway, so the result was the same, 也许更难.  

When I stepped into that air-conditioned taxi, 我所经历的如释重负的感觉盖过了对我的旅程过早结束的悲伤. It almost felt like purgatory. 坐在黑暗中, 舒适的盒子, 我发现自己和我的出租车司机以及他的儿子对我刚刚完成的事情进行了深刻的宣泄. His son repeatedly expressed how insane I was for having biked from 弗洛伦斯 到那里(和) 和陌生人呆在一起). 我记得他问过我 what I thought about Northern 意大利 compared to Southern 意大利. (Of course) I said I liked Southern 意大利 这引发了一场关于意大利北部人如何更高傲，缺乏活力的独白. 基于 my experience comparing the two这有一些优点，但意大利北部似乎也更发达，更整洁. I’ll let you be the judge of that.

但是，最终，在炼狱之后有两个目的地:天堂或地狱. Needless to say, I had arrived at the former. 那天晚上，我坐在一家餐厅里，可以看到地中海的悬崖景色. The real relief was who I met up with at dinner - my friends Aly, 克里斯汀, 劳拉, 麦尔斯, 瑞安, 和韦斯. 尽管我很喜欢骑车环游欧洲，但这并不是我在国外学习时所做的全部. 通过我的东航卡帕项目，我结识了一些最有趣的人, 脚踏实地的, 但 starkly different people I ever met in my entire life. Our friend group came from different backgrounds, parts of the U.S., and we all wanted different things in life. 但即使在正常情况下，我们中的一些人也不会互动或成为朋友. 但是在我们这学期 宝博体育在美国，我们对世界的渴望盖过了我们在家乡之间的分歧. After an unparalleled level of suffering, 当我看到我的大眼睛时，很难真正描述它对我意味着什么, breakfast club family again.

从那以后，我的生活逐渐平静下来，这让人耳目一新，有时也有点悲伤. I’m cycling competitively for my school, focusing on my grades and jobs, 我通过这个项目结识的朋友遍布美国各地.S. At times it almost feels like it never happened, 这是一个短暂的梦，然后移植回我离开后几乎没有改变的生活. 然而,, 我花了几个月的时间来思考这次旅行，慢慢地解释了为什么这次旅行对我来说如此重要.

Obviously, I love to bike, I wouldn’t be competing now if I didn’t. 但更重要的是，骑自行车是一种旅行工具，我指的不仅仅是从a地到B地. Travel isn’t just eating gelato as the sun sets over 弗洛伦斯, gawking at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, or riding around the Amalfi Coast on a boat. Those memories are all great, 但他们不能被那些在荒郊野外光线完美的时刻所掩盖, 你看到了一些很少有人有机会经历的事情——这可能是由于熟悉和不熟悉. 另一方面, travel can be inherently stressful: missed 火车s, 乏力, unexpected housing changes, 不确定的弯路, 或者轮胎漏气.

但无论你是谁，旅行的本质是联系. 身体上的, you’re connecting yourself to a whole new location, whether that be by bike, 火车, 或飞机. 精神上, 你将自己的经历和价值观与一个可能截然不同的地方和人联系起来. 但我感受到的最重要、也是最意想不到的联系是情感上的联系. 从阿道夫到杰姆, to the waiters that stayed up to feed me after my first ride, 我记得他们所有人，感谢他们的善良和他们的故事.

What sticks with me to this day, 比我拍的照片或记忆中逐渐消失的意大利乡村形象更重要, was the feeling of genuine, unbridled joy I experienced when I finally saw my friends in Amalfi. After days of ups and downs, 美丽与痛苦, 完成旅程后真正的满足感是和那些我有幸在几个月的难忘回忆中成为朋友的人一起欣赏美丽的地方. 当我和他们围坐在一起时，我以一种纯粹而新奇的方式体验到了爱. It was something missing in my life that I didn’t know I needed. 

This trip was my favorite experience because it gave me confidence, 不仅仅是因为我有能力度过这段无与伦比的曲折之旅. I gained confidence that no matter where I was in the world, 我可以和真正爱我的人建立关系，就像我爱他们一样. 经过几天的孤独挣扎，我想不出比他们围坐在我身边更好的景象了. Travel connects you to a place, 当地居民, 但, 在某种程度上, 我发现最有效的联系是与朋友和家人分享你的经历.