It’s hard to believe this nine-day, whirlwind tour of France and England is about to end.

It feels like we’ve been here for weeks — considering all the things we packed into this relatively short time — but it also feels like we could have stayed here months longer. There were so many things we just couldn’t do because of time, weather or lack of GPS. (In some cases, terrorist alert.) It would have been great to gaze at Paris from atop the Eiffel Tower, for example, or sip Pimm’s in an 800-year-old pub by the Thames. But we just didn’t have the time.

In all, it was quite the adventure, from missing our Eurostar rail from Paris to London — luckily we could catch the next (and last) train across the English Channel — to getting rained on as we walked toward Emirates Stadium to watch the Arsenal soccer team play. But all these expereinces — from sipping the world’s best hot chocolate in Paris to mastering the Underground in London — added up to a European adventure I’ll never forget.

Thanks to everyone who followed me — whether it was here, on Twitter or via Facebook — and made this once-in-a-lifetime trip that much more meaningful.

Next stop: Australia?

Gare du Nord

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We stayed one night in a small hotel near the Gare du Nord ("North Station") so we'd be close enough to Sacré-Cœur Basilica. The station, which sees about 190 million travelers every year, is within walking distance from the iconic Catholic church on the hill.