This Time 10 Months Ago

So to get you up to speed, this time last year I was getting ready (procrastinating) to get me on a plane to Australia! Yup, organised and prepared, so much so that I was ready to go, minutes before the scheduled lift to the train station by mother, ahem, with a mad dash to get on to the train. My advice, always think ahead, for the 'WHY?!' scenarios, such as not doing your packing until the morning you are to leave, finding that the bag you were going to put your neatly folded, years worth of belongings and essentials in, has a hole in it and likely to get bigger thus losing the majority of said years worth of belongings and essentials in transit or more likely, the bag being refused by the airline. All this can be avoided my friends, simply by doing it the day before (or earlier if you prefer), allowing you a little more time to run to Argos as soon as it opens, buy a bag fit for the job and running home to shove all your junk, sorry, I mean placing all your painstakingly hand-picked garments, lotions and potions into your shiny new bag and have it ready and waiting for you by the door so all you need do with the time you have before you leave your family for a year or longer, is spend it with them.

I think I would be a great mentor to myself if I could go back in time by a few seconds, but then isn't it more exciting living life on the edge!? Like choosing a Crunchie rather than a safe, good ol' bar of Dairy Milk or adding a shot of coffee in your latte for that extra buzz, living life to the max man within safe, hazard free boundaries for optimum life expectancy... (ha, a Crunchie, lunacy!)

So, I got on the plane, got off the plane, waited for a few hours, got on another plane, the 'losing the will to live' set in and I wanted to punch the man sat next to me, sleeping quietly, who'd been quite friendly and pleasant, even helpful when I'd queried something on the 'Entry to Australia Card' (can't remember the name of it) all because I'd been awake and sitting in cramped, uncomfortable seats for, oh nearly 24 hours. I left him to his peaceful slumber, rocking nervously in my seat... but I'm nearly 9.9% sure he was sleeping just to rub it in.

Ranting aside, I arrived at Melbourne International around 7:30am and was met by my lovely friend Hannah. The rest of the day is some what of a blur - jet lag is a bitch - but quickly fell in love with the city, perhaps with the odd 'WHY HAVE I DONE THIS?!' moment, but that's about as long they'd last.

Now the next few photos are of some of the flora in the Royal Botanic Gardens and they are just beautiful (the gardens), especially in Summer - these were taken in October - and of the Shrine or Remembrance. Note, when you think of Australia, the words 'sun' and 'fun' all year round might come to mind? The country is larger than that of Europe, warmer closer to the equator etc - yeh, I paid attention at primary school - do not be fooled, think 'opposite' to the climate in the north depending on what time of year you've left and maybe allow space to pack a jumper or 2. I asked my mum to send the thick-knits suggested be removed from the aforementioned shiny new bag, as it was rather bulging at the seams, based on the 'You're going to Australia, you won't need jumpers' idea, being tight-as with my savings, buying warmth was not a priority - I like eating and reserve my dollars to do so. 

 

...What? You think I'd go all in and show you the awesome stuff first?! Tough love! You'll have to check back here for more!