![#30 Go to the London 2012 Olympics with my family](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dscf3263-470x140.jpg)
I actually can’t think of a better time to arrive home than during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Maybe it was the fact that my family…
![#29 Visit a place starting with each letter of the alphabet. X to Z.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/426-470x140.jpg)
X is for Xindong Lu in Beijing I was on my way to see an Irish priest in Beijing (and no, this isn’t the prelude…
![T to W (continuing with the alphabet challenge)](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dscf2639-470x140.jpg)
T is for Tai Kang Road in Shanghai’s French Concession Shanghai is definitely the city in China which most people instantly fall in love with….
![#28 Write yourself a postcard from every country you visit on your trip (suggestion from Ruth)](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dscf3769-470x140.jpg)
I love this suggestion from my friend Ruth. When you’re on the road for a long time you have the tendency to forget about the…
![#27 Shop till you drop in Beijing, China](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/415-470x140.jpg)
Anyone who knows me knows that I love to shop. I’d been so good in the lead up to my trip, watching every penny I…