What’s next? Now that I’ve spent the past three weeks traveling, much of it on my own, where do I go from here? I loved the cities I returned to and the people that I visited. London holds a special place in my memory. It should have been the end of the trip and I should have been tired, or reluctant to be on my own again. Instead, London felt like home – that certainly gave me something to think about.

I’ve a personal resolution to get a ticket to Paris as soon as I know for sure that Yves and Anne will be there next summer. I have a similar resolution to see Janna and Axel again as soon as possible. I want to visit Greece. I still haven’t been Scotland. And, Australia? In college, I promised myself I’d go there before I was 28. No one who knew me would be too surprised to see me take an international teaching job in the next year or two.

In London, an Oyster Card is a prepaid card for the Tube that charges the traveler for each ride, but is incredibly economical compared to buying one ticket at a time. You often see commuters holding up their wallets to the scanner, not even removing the card. The little envelope that comes with them is an advertisement for Ikea, and Londoners carry it too, packed with cards and passes. When you’re done with your trip, tourists can turn it back in to the office to get their 3 pound deposit back.

Basically, an Oyster Card is a pass that allows you to go anywhere, no matter what zone of the city’s transit you’re traveling in or if it’s peak hours or not. In fact, you don’t have to pay attention to any of those details, just know where you’re going and where you’ve been.

I kept my card, didn’t turn it back in. There’s a good chance I’ll need it again.