One of the last wonderful things I'll remember doing in London Town is also one of the simplest things. Miss Kirby & I packed up a picnic lunch and, delighted to see the actual! sunlight! that was making a rare appearance in the city, headed for Holland Park. These pictures are some of my favourites from that day.
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As I write this blog post, I'm lying on a mattress that's sprawled out on our living room floor.
Looking around the flat, I'm taking in my surroundings. There are moving boxes stacked in the corner, the corner where the treadmill used to lie and where Oscar used to sleep on. Looking around a little further, I can see the square alcove in the wall - we never did figure out what it was originally used for, but we turned it into a storage space for blankets & occasionally to store the cat toys. The huge l-shaped lounge, with its annoying pillows that always, always get messed up. Our orange kitchen, the one that is so modern that it doesn't need doors on any of the cupboards. The drawers, which we had to move all of our food products out of, because the cat figured out how to stand on his hind legs and open them. The full length windows with beautiful light and their view down Ladbroke Grove, the millions of buses with squeaky brakes, the ambulance, fire and police sirens that blare down our street every night, the tourists that hoard the neighbourhood each weekend for the Portobello Markets, that really pretty church I've always wanted to visit... this is our home. This was our home.
And even before this, our old apartment in the East side of London - with views across the Thames to the o2 stadium and to Canary Wharf. Our old noisy neighbours and our mouldy bathroom with its crusty ventilation fan. The place where we brought Oscar home as a kitten, lost him under the refrigerator that one time, and called home first.
So many memories. I could go on and on.
Somehow, I've reached the end of my London journey. I can't even describe what an experience it has been for me, but I do know that it's one I'll never forget. I'm surprised to admit that it even makes me a little emotional thinking of leaving here for good - who knew I'd grow so attached to a city thousands of miles away from 'home'? But, as people predicted, I learned to call it 'home' here too. And I will miss this place.
Jase and I accomplished a lot during our time spent over here. We moved in together for the first time. We celebrated our sixth, seventh & eighth anniversaries. We survived an apartment move, clear from one side of the city to the other. We adopted Oscar-cat and started our own little family. We worked and lived on a joint budget. We got engaged and we started planning a wedding. We used our long weekends wisely, and added some new European cities to our 'countries visited' list. We've grown up, so much, together.
I'll always remember these things as happening during the time I lived in London.
Tomorrow I set off on my travels - a month discovering Europe with two of my best girlfriends, followed by an amazing pre-wedding-moon with my amazing & hard-working fiancé. I still can't believe how fast time has gone, but here we are. Farewell London: thanks for the memories.
This blog will soon play host to some fabulous guest bloggers that I am lucky to call friends, so please show them some love while they're here. And if you're in need of some wedding-related rambles, I'll be posting at Weddingbee while I'm away - so make sure you add my feed to your readers.
Be safe & well, friends - I can't wait to speak with you again from the other side of the globe in a few weeks time. I hope you'll stick around as we embark on a whole new set of adventures back in Sydney.
“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.”
– Mark Twain
Sometimes stepping away from technology for a while can be a good thing. Travelling is a great excuse to take a few days off from posting - even though we got back from Paris last night, we've been out and about all day once again. Oh my goodness, it has been so wonderful having the Brother and his Girlfriend staying with us. It really has.
I keep having flashbacks to 2004 when Jase and I came to the UK; we were so tired and jet-lagged that we staggered around in a daze our first day before passing out over a plate of Chinese food that night. These two were so keen to get out and see everything that on the same day they arrived, they saw basically all of the big tourist spots in London.
And oh, Paris. Where to begin? It was a little grey to begin with, but the sun eventually came out which was lovely!
How was this week for you - what exciting things have I missed being away?
I think living in Britain has turned me into a whinging pom. Well, to be fair, I shouldn't blame the lovely United Kingdom for that; I've always had a tendency to be a bit of a whinger.
This weekend has been big - and by big I mean crowded, noisy, dirty and LOUD. The mild version looked like this:
To give you a run-down on what the carnival is like for a resident, here's how it goes. We're woken up on the Sunday of the long weekend by a steel band procession.. that starts at around 6am. {Last year it scared the life out of us, this year I was prepared with ear plugs.} Tourists and spectators start trickling in as the morning progresses, and the floats then start to make their way down the circuit - starting towards Notting Hill and ending near our street. The floats aren't really 'floats' like you would imagine. Instead, picture huge trucks rigged with massive speaker systems blaring out reggae and calypso music at around 135 decibals, with guys on microphones screaming out random things like 'LADIES, PUT YOUR HANDS UP' or 'NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL TWENTY-TEN REPRESENT!'
Once you've heard it the first three times, it gets old fast. Each truck is followed by some people in costume, some people in drag, and a whole stack of random tourists dancing along behind them, usually carrying some form of liquor with them. And the noise, oh my gosh, the noise. Our walls shake. Our windows vibrate. Our ears ring. Our cat hides under the bed. It is LOUD. And as we wave goodbye to that particular truck as it crawls along the street with its little bundle of dancing groupies behind it, we're greeted with the next one.
Rinse, cycle, repeat.
It goes on until the last float finishes up at around 9pm. It would be nice if that was it, and we all went on with our regular evenings, but no. Unfortunately, you're left with the hundreds and hundreds of inebriated tourists who throw their rubbish all over the ground, blow their whistles and their horns, and smash their bottles well into the wee hours. They don't show you the aftermath on the news images, because it's hideous. People are disgusting. You see, by the end of the evening when the parade winds down, you can't walk on the street without bypassing piles of garbage, discarded chicken bones and all sorts of other lovely human waste products.
And did I mention that it goes on for two days? Again with the rinse, cycle, repeat. Imagine this scene: tenfold.
Oh my, this did turn out to be a complaining blog post, didn't it? Blame it on my pounding headache and blinding irritation with holding a freaking dance party in a narrow residential street. I get it, it's a celebration of the local communities around the area and has a lot of history to it - but I just don't understand why they make it so long, so loud and so obnoxious. I also don't get how people think it's okay to act like complete morons, just because it's carnival: would they smash beer bottles, throw crap on the ground & urinate on homes nearby if it was in their own street? I doubt it. They do it here though, and nobody lifts a finger to monitor or fine people for doing so.
Ah well. We'll see what the damage is like tomorrow morning. And looking on the bright side, at least that's it for us - we've seen our share of carnivals, we've appreciated our lovely view for what it is worth, and we're done now.
And as of tomorrow, my whinging will stop - as I have lots of fun things to look forward to. My baby brother and his beautiful girlfriend will be here in two! weeks! and I am thrilled to bits. Our travel itinerary is done, and we now have to go through the process of printing out dozens of confirmations before we leave. I have a feeling it's going to be a busy but fabulous few weeks. What exciting things are coming up for you lately?
Dayna asked: What are the top 5 things you want to accomplish during your lifetime?
1. I want to get married and start a family.
2. I want to build or buy a house and then make it into a home with the boy.
3. I want to find myself in a career that makes me happy. I want to make a difference.
4. I want to write a children's book, even if it's never published & for my eyes only.
5. I want to be happy and I want to keep my regrets as minimal as possible.
Janet asked: Do you plan on taking J's last name, and how do you feel about that whole decision?
& What will your bouquet look like, if you have picked it out?
Hands down, Once More With Feeling. It made me fall in love with Spike just a little bit more. I love that all of them sing.. even the ones that aren't that great at it. But a super close second would be Hush. It's such a clever episode, the premise behind it nifty and the gentlemen scare the pants off me. And I have to say, the scene with Giles & the gang communicating via overhead projector and whiteboards is hi-lar-ious. Buffy & the stake, ha, priceless.
I feel quite good about cheese. Cheese and I get along rather well. It pretty much doesn't get better than Brie or Camembert sliced on fresh buttery bread rolls. With a nice glass of sweet white wine to wash it down - heaven.
& When are you coming to Chicago to visit me?
I really do wish that I could have squeezed in Chicago to our travel itinerary later this year - I was gutted that the big trip in 2008 didn't go there, and I'm gutted now. But that just means I'll have to come back at some point!
Emily asked: What are your favourite things about living in England, and what do you miss about Australia?
I love lots of things about living in London - the history, the scenery, the public transport system. It's a very social city, where it's custom to head out to a meal or a drink at a pub after work or on the weekend. People come together a lot and I love that. It's the complete opposite to what I'm used to back home and it's something I'll miss when I go back - because though I'm from Sydney, I don't live or work in the city itself. As for Australia, I miss my family. I miss my good friends. I miss mild frosty winters and I miss warm summer thunderstorms. I miss cheap department stores and I miss lime coola flavoured cordial. I miss having a big old backyard to call my own. I miss space.
I'm not really into the whole 'parade around the city being obnoxiously drunk with a penis on your head' kind of hens-do. If I had it my way, I'd prefer to do something random and awesome like a spa day followed by wine tasting, games, movies and lots of giggles. The way I look at it is that I'm not a big fan of bars or clubbing at the best of times, so why would I want to do that as a celebration before getting married? But, as you noted, it's really not in my control - but hopefully the people in charge of helping me organise the hens will know what I like and work with that! As for Jase, well, that's up to him. Unfortunately his best man and one of his groomsmen both live in the UK and will only be visiting for the wedding - I hope to make sure they book tickets just a little bit in advance if they can get off work, so that Jase can have a shindig of sorts. The fiancé has it in his head that he won't be needing or having a stag do, because of that very reason - and I'd feel sad if he didn't at least have a special celebratory boys night out before the wedding. Lots of time to think about that part though; I hope you can avoid the penises!
Chantel asked: Where in Sydney did you grow up?
I was born in Auburn in western Sydney but my parents moved out further west when I was a toddler. I grew up there and my parents still live there - I won't name the actual suburb, but it's towards the Blue Mountains and is about 42km from central Sydney. {It takes around an hour to drive in, and another hour on top of that plus your first born child to find a parking space, haha.} I love where I grew up, even if it is considered to be the outskirts of Sydney - it's mainly residential and it's comfortable. I always grew up with a backyard and a frontyard to play in, and on quiet streets that you could roller blade or bike ride on. Our block of land is towards the Hills District.
Megan asked: What has been the hardest part about living with your fiance? What do you love most about living with him?
Finally (!) moving in together was brilliant, I was so looking forward to playing house and feeling like a grown up. Even though we'd been together for over five years at that point, living together is a whole new ball game - and we settled into it quite well. The hardest part was getting used to sharing my space. I was used to things being 'mine', to knowing where things were and knowing that they were mine, whenever I wanted them. Luckily, we co-habit well together, in my humble opinion anyway. We are good companions - we can easily sit next to each other and geek out on our own independent laptops, but then five minutes later be sharing stories and laughing out loud at random things. We're both pretty clean, so that's never a real issue. He thinks I'm a hoarder {it's true, I am} but he also doesn't like to throw things away. I cook, he cleans. I vaccuum, he grocery shops. And we take turns making the coffee/tea. We're a good little partnership and I love that.
Paula asked: If a movie of your life was made, who would you want to play you?
I think I would have to start by figuring out someone who vaguely resembles me. Since I don't know of anyone who automatically springs to mind, I decided to do that celebrity recognition thing that was popular oh, around five years ago? The names I got as potential face matches are: Katherine Heigl. {Ooh, that's flattering - she is beautiful!} Jojo. {Wait, isn't she like 12?} Amanda Seyfried. Out of those choices, I'd choose Katherine, yay for Izzy!
The cheese factor is killing me here: Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk past you again?
& In what sort of situation do you feel the most exposed?
I'd have to say anywhere where I wasn't surrounded by my own language. That lack of basic understanding makes me feel really small and uncomfortable sometimes, depending on where I am. At the same time though, I love that reminder that everything and everywhere is different, and sometimes out of your comfort zone is a good place to be.
Jess asked: Have you guys discussed a timeline for having kids? Ideally, how many would you want and when would you like to have them?
We'd like two. And depending on finances and fertility, maybe even three! Because of this, we'd like to start actively trying towards the end of next year - possibly falling pregnant by 2012? That would make me 28 and the boy 30. It might be a struggle conceiving with my PCOS diagnosis, but ideally I'd love to have at least one by the time I'm 30 myself - but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Terra asked: If money were no object, what would your dream vacation be like?
Oh, I could think of a million different options. The first would be to do an epic round-the-world journey, but to be in top quality hotels the whole way. Oh, and business class too - I've never flown business and I likely never will, unless the plane gods take pity on me and deem me worthy of an upgrade one day. I'd love to go to destinations like the Galapagos Islands or Antarctica, places that regular old me would never be able to afford to visit on a traveller's budget! But I'd also just like to have all the time in the world to see things, so I'd leave each place thinking that I'd seen everything I could have. Wishful thinking, oh yes! {I was itching to stay at the Grand Floridian Disney resort.. but nearly fell over at the prices, so we've gone for the budget Pop Century instead. Ah well!}
& Do you think you'll ever get another pet to keep OscarCat company or is he more of an only child sort of cat?
He definitely thinks he's an only child, and is spoiled enough to prove it. But, unfortunately for him, we have big plans in the pet department when we get home and have a backyard for them! We really want to get two bigger dogs - Jase wants a lab and I'm leaning towards a husky or retriever - and we want to get them fairly close together so that we can do all the training at the same time, and also make sure the pups know that Oscar Cat is in charge! I always wanted a second cat {as well!} but the more I think about it, the more I think we'll probably just leave him as an only cat-child. As much as I love kittens, having four pets seems a trifle crazy - especially if we end up with kidlets of our own as well.
& What's your guilty pleasure?
I like to read books in the bathtub. I like to eat nutella out of the jar with a spoon. I can happily waste hours of my life playing the Sims on my laptop. I make huge online shopping orders, get excited about them, but then close the pages down and walk away. I take pictures of my cat, so many that I fear one day he'll snap and punch me in the face. I nag Jason for back scratches and hair brushes. I wait until my icecream has melted before I mash it up with Milo.
Kirby asked: May I please pop streamers at your face when you land in Sydney in December?
Absolutely! Though if you could try to avoid my eyes, that'd be good. And you have to forgive me if I cry. Because it will have been a lot of very long plane flights and the shock of the streamers might just push me over the edge.
& What are your thoughts on the name 'Ian'?
It's a very handsome name, I quite like it. And you can't make any tacky nicknames out of it, so that's positive?
& Just HOW upset will you be if Wally barks at you when you first see him again?
I'm expecting him to bark at me - it will have been three years since he's seen me. But I hope he comes around and learns to love me. That would be lovely, especially until we get our own pups.
& What are your thoughts on the fact that my niece has been turned into a tramp and now does a 'booty dance'?
Well, I need more substantial evidence of her booty shaking before I decide. And as long as she's not being dressed up like one of those toddlers in tiaras while she shakes her stuff, I think it could potentially be quite cute?
Phew! That was epic - I loved all of these questions, especially the random ones. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I definitely want to do something similar in the future, so if you think of any other questions.. send them my way!
What's the biggest question on YOUR mind today?
I've only mentioned that Jase and I are taking the long way home about a gazillion times, but I just can't help myself! The reason this trip makes me so happy {aside from visiting lovely places, of course} is because it's one that I get to share with the boy, with just the two of us. Aside from little long weekend trips to places like Paris, Zurich, Bruges, Copenhagen & Prague, the last BIG trip we took together was New Zealand back in 2006.
Did you know that my amazing fiancé has not taken a single day off work in the entire time he's been in the UK? Not a day. Not a sick day, not a half day, not a vacation day, nothing. He's a contracter, so he gets paid a higher daily wage but doesn't reap the rewards of sick pay, holidays or fancy benefits - so it's in his best interests, money-wise, to work as much as possible. There's that. But there's also the fact that he's the most super hard-working person I've ever met, and he's worked his butt off to be able to support us a) here in London, b) while I've been off work myself and c) for us to be able to have saved some income to take home with us.
I've been spoiled since arriving here. I spent six weeks in America in 2008, roadtripping with my best girlfriend. And in just a couple of months, I'll be doing it all over again, this time through Europe - all while the boy continues to finish up his contract and get everything in order here at home & is a single cat-daddy.
Say it with me now: luckiest. woman. alive. I know, I know. I'm super blessed in the travel {and fiancé} department!
So I am thrilled that now it's HIS turn to do some stress-free travelling on our way home. I've jokingly started calling it our Pre-Wedding-Moon, because this sort of trip would be perfect for a honeymoon, you know, if we were actually married yet! But since we're up in the Northern Hemisphere already and flights are so cheap, we're doing it now. And when it comes time for the actual honeymoon, we'll find somewhere with a smaller budget that is closer to home back in Sydney. Not many couples get to have two holidays away together in the space of a year.
Anyway, onto our trip.. this is what you call us taking the long way 'round back home to Sydney.
First stop: Orlando, Florida!
Jase and I will be flying separately for this part of the journey {remember this post?} so the boy actually lands in Florida a day or two before I will. We're spending six days in a Disney World resort and plan on doing nothing but relaxing, enjoying each other's company and nerding it up at the theme parks. I stopped by Florida as part of the whirlwind USA trip, but we only managed to get one day at Magic Kingdom and one day at Universal Studios then, and hardly got to see anything. This time around, there'll be plenty of time to take it all in with just the two of us.
{Photo by ME!}Next Stop: Las Vegas!
I spent ages figuring out this part of the trip, because I wanted it to be awesome for Jason. He's only been once, as a kid, and he was keen on the gambling aspect of it all - plus checking out all the hotels. I found a great deal on flights, so we booked it! And, best of all, I found a discount for hotels mid-week, and scored four nights at the Bellagio - talk about fancy! I've never stayed in a hotel that nice before. I can't wait to see what it looks like on the inside.
Next stop: Vancouver!
This is the part of the trip that we're really looking forward to - because neither of us have ever been to Canada before. Initially we weren't going to have enough time to spend in Vancouver, but since Norway was a bust, we quickly locked this in instead. A few people asked why, and to that I respond with this:
Next stop: Calgary and the Rockies!
This is the only leg of our travels that is slightly organised - because it's winter in Canada when we're there at the end of November, we couldn't find any of the cross country scenic rail journeys in operation. Instead, we're hopping on a short flight over to Calgary and joining a coach tour that will take us around the Rocky Mountains and National Parks. Weather permitting, we'll be stopping at lodges in Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise.
Next stop: Waikiki, Hawaii!
So we're going from an arctic winter to a super mild tropical vacation - I love it! The way I see it, we're gradually increasing our temperature from freezing to mild, ready to be thrown into a stinking hot Australian summer. You guys, we're going to be spending four lovely nights on Waikiki Beach before heading home, which is going to be fabulous. This alone is worthy of a pre-wedding-moon, yes?
I intend on drinking a whole lot of cocktails here, enough that I feel brave enough to don my swimming costume and lie on the beach. {I've spent hours google mapping the hotel location and ogling the blue, blue water.} We're planning on being good tourists and doing a luau while we're there, but also a day trip down to the Big Island to check out the volcanoes and national parks. I wish we had more time to spend in Hawaii so we could see the other islands too, but unfortunately we have to be home to pick up Oscar-cat.
After recuperating in Hawaii, we'll be flying home back to Sydney on a direct flight which I scored free for both of us, thanks to our frequent flyer miles. {Score!} And then, it'll be straight back to reality.. back with our parents for a little while as we find a rental apartment, find cars, find jobs. But we'll be home. And home will be just lovely.
You made it to the end; well done! Any suggestions for things to do in any of our travel locations?
Thanks to everyone who jumped in and left a question for me over the weekend - it's been great to have some food for thought while I try and arrange the other random bits of information that are spinning around my brain right now. The travel plans are pretty much all officially booked now, so I'll be sharing those details with you soon as well.
So without further ado, here's the Q&A responses; this will be broken into two posts, so it's not too heavy on the eyes.
Valerie asked: Since you're getting married, I'm sure people will be asking you this soon: Do you and your wonderful fiancé plan on having kids?
We definitely plan on it - and hopefully not too far into the future. Obviously we're not going to be actively trying until after the wedding next year, but all things going well medical-wise, I hope to fall pregnant the following year. That will give us some time to enjoy being 'us' and getting settled back in Sydney. Of course, who knows what will happen - depends on how much of a hindrance my PCOS diagnosis will be when it comes to fertility.
Britt asked: What made you guys decide to move abroad? Were your families ok with it?
We had talked about it for a while before we made the decision, for a good few years actually. We'd both travelled together to Europe back in 2004 and had fallen in love with it, and Jason's older brother had already moved here with his girlfriend at that stage. I wanted to get a few years of teaching under my belt before we could really consider it, as did the boy with his IT career - and then one day he found a job, interviewed for it, and was offered - it all happened really fast. He ended up moving over mid-year in August 2007 while I finished my teaching year out and joined him in December 2007. The rest is history! His family was very supportive, and knew it would be a good move career & finance wise. My family were supportive as well, but not as pleased when the original twelve months turned into two years, then three.. hee. They're pretty happy we're moving back home soon!
& What is your most favourite aspect of your wedding so far (besides your groom of course!)
Hee, I do rather like my groom. From the little bits I've managed to scrape together so far, I have to say my favourite thing has been how supportive everyone has been so far. My parents have been great, driving to random venues and bridal shops while I've been away, my girlfriends have tried on dresses and got excited over little things like stationery with me, and it's sweet to see the boy starting to look forward to it a little bit more since it's not quite as far away in the distance any more. (I may or may not have a countdown going.)
Britt is getting married in just over a week - squee! You should totally stop by her blog & send her some well wishes.
Mary & Britt asked: Where else do you want to live? Will you move abroad again?
To be honest, once we're based back in Sydney I don't think we will move again. I'm itching to get back home, to get back to the suburbs and to eventually own our own home. At the moment, we have our little plot of land ready to go, but we're not in the right position to build yet - so we'll get there, slowly. Plus, our stint here ended up being 3.5 years for Jason/3 years for me, and I don't see us living abroad again when we have a family. Plus, I think my mum would kill me if I left her to go overseas again!
Amanda asked: Would you like to have coffee with me?
Um, yes! Let's hurry up and organise it soon.. this year is going by way too fast.
& Have you done your US electronic travel notice thingemy? They're going to start charging, so do it while it's free.
Yes, we certainly have. I did it as soon as I found out we were definitely going home via the USA. If you follow me on twitter {@breathegently} you probably already have a brief idea on where we'll be going, because I hollered out for help & advice so many times in the past few weeks. But still.. you'll find out for yourself soon enough!
& What are you planning on doing once you get home? Going back to work? Same field/different field?
I'm not entirely sure. Logically, I feel like I should go back into teaching - maybe just as a relief teacher for a little while to get my foot back in the door again. The problem is that we will be home in December, as most schools are closing for the year - and they won't re-open until late January. I'd prefer to work almost straight away when I get home, as we'll both need income in order to find an apartment or house to rent and to pay off wedding costs & start saving for a home. If I don't teach, I don't know what I'll do; possibly look at something else within the education field, maybe recruitment - but I'm open to anything. If you know anyone with jobs going in Sydney, holler at me.
Becky asked: Have you ever been to the U.S.? Would you ever come to Washington, D.C. (hint, hint!)
Oh my lovely, I have been there before - and to Washington to boot! You can read about my epic USA adventure by clicking here. I did start recapping everything but apparently I got tired at around the Texas mid-way point of our trip. Lazy blogger! I would love to come back to D.C. at some point in the future, we had such a good time checking out the monuments & museums. Would you ever come to London/Sydney?
& Since you and J are taking such big holidays at the end of this year, are you going to take a big honeymoon or scale it back a little?
We'll definitely be scaling it back. I keep calling this trip our pre-wedding-moon, because we'll be visiting some pretty scenic and amazing places together. It just makes more sense for us to see the northern hemisphere now while we can, rather than adding on a crazy long and expensive flight back here again in the future after the wedding. We haven't decided on honeymoon locations yet, but we're thinking of somewhere closer to Australia: maybe New Zealand or the Pacific Islands. {Bora Bora, I'm looking at you. Lush!}
Kathy asked: What have been the 5 highlights of your time OS?
1. Finally moving in with Jason - our first five years together were spent living with our parents.
2. Getting to revisit some of my favourite countries on several occasions, especially France & Switzerland.
3. Oscar. He's one of the best things that could have happened to us, and we love him so.
4. Being self sufficient, saving our money {thanks to my hard-working fiancé} & getting ready to take the next step.
5. Realising how amazing Australia is. Being away from where you grew up makes you appreciate it so much more.
Nathan went crazy on Formspring & asked several questions: What is your biggest failure?
There are two things that come to mind when I think of failure. The first: health, body image and weight loss. I've always struggled to get it under control and even now, years later, my sole focus still remains on getting healthy. I hate that it's always been such a struggle and I hate that I didn't manage to have this sorted out years and years ago. The second: not being as social as I would like. But I've grown to love this - not everyone is meant to be a social butterfly, and living abroad and away from friends & family gives you a good indication of who really is a good friend. I've always said I'd be happier with just one or two really close friends than a room full of acquaintances, and I stand by that.
& What is your adult beverage of choice and which one is guaranteed to be your poison (bad experience)?
I'm not a big drinker, I never have been. If I am drinking, I'll tend to go for vodka and lemonade or vodka and diet coke - mainly because they're light in calories. The drink I've had the most, er, tipsy experiences with would have to be cider. I never drank it before I came to the UK, but since I don't like beer, I had to find something I liked that was on tap. Queue the cider. It's great, but wow, it hits me really hard.
& Body hair: Like? Dislike? On You? On Others?
This question made me laugh. I've never really had a big stance on body hair.. to each their own and all that. I'm blessed in the fair hair/pale skin department, so I've never really worried much about body hair. My mum taught me two things: don't pluck/wax your eyebrows & don't shave above your knees if you don't have to. I haven't done either of those things in my twenty-six years. Again, all praise goes to the pale genes for that. What I do dislike on me would be the chin hairs that sprouted when my PCOS problems went nuts. Those I could live without, they make me really self conscious. On others, I don't mind. Jase is really cute with a five o'clock shadow, I like guys who are fairly natural in the body hair department. I have to say, I'm not a big fan of a full blown 'stache. Unless it's like this:
London in the midst of grey and dreary weather is perfect - moody, full of history & like it's meant to be that way.
Since our flights have now been booked and our e-tickets are waiting patiently in our inbox, I can break the news:
December 7th, 2010
I was out of the house most of this weekend, spending quite a lot of time with a few visitors that have been in London recently. I was really excited to meet Emily {aka Emily Jane, awesome wedding-winner extraordinaire} during her whirlwind trip back to the UK with her fiancé, and we quickly coordinated a time and place to catch up.
I have to say, I'm rubbish at making decisions and picking venues to visit. I do have one favourite place that I love to stop by every once in a blue moon; it's not in my neighbourhood at all and requires a bit of a journey, but it makes for an awesome brunch spot. It's located near Tower Bridge and it's on a little cobblestone street full of shops and apartments that are completely precious. How can you not love it; it's oh so London. {And check out that sky!}
The restaurant is filled with random mismatched furniture, which I was admiring while I finished my banana oat smoothie. It was about that time that I noticed that the table we were sitting at was actually an old desk, complete with drawer. Being the nosey person that I am, of course I opened the drawer. I was not expecting what was inside!
I'm not going to go right out there and name the restaurant, though if you look carefully enough at the images, you might get a bit of an idea. Or, you know, you could just ask ~ it's definitely worth a visit if you're in town.
Maybe when you visit, you could add your very own messages to the drawer. And perhaps you will find the messages that Emily & I added to the stash. This has to be one of my favourite places in London town.
Have you ever encountered a random surprise or note somewhere unexpected?
Remember how I'm a slightly obsessed planner and an organiser?
Well as I mentioned a few days ago, I've been spending a lot of time planning for how the end of the year is going to work for us. It was one thing moving from Sydney to London - trying to plan for a life on the other side of the world with just one suitcase and a carry on bag to contend with. But that little life experience was nothing compared to how difficult it is preparing for the opposite journey home. People, it is harder than I imagined. Insanely difficult.
I should put it out there and say that we'll be officially out of the UK by November - which is only just over four months from now. I've already started the ball rolling for Oscar's departure and he's now the proud owner of an import licence from the Australian government quarantine officials, woohoo! Very soon I'll be handing over an extraordinary amount of money to a pet transportation company to arrange Oscar's flight details, travel crate, quarantine stay and vet fees, and then he'll be ready for the travel process in November when we are.
And as for Jase and me? Well, I've become a one-woman planning machine. I've started getting quotes for excess baggage. I've started donating things and throwing out items we won't be taking home with us at the end of the year. I've started researching travel deals some more and have been frantically trying to make dates match up to go on a travel adventure or two prior to heading back to Sydney - and that part has been more than a little bit stressful. It's not just our own travel dates that I have to work with here: it's tour operator dates, it's the date I return from Europe, and it's Oscar's travel preparation and flight dates. And, oh yes, it's the expiry date on Jase's UK Work Permit in mid-November that we've been working with, too.
Wait, did I say mid-November? Silly me! After finally working out dates that matched up and getting a mock itinerary scripted - with papers and dates and prices strewn all around me, I had this horrible feeling that we were forgetting something. I went and checked the date on the boy's Visa and then I died.
Okay, so I didn't really die, but my heart did stop beating for just a few seconds & I believe I looked a bit like this:
(!!!!!!)
If you go back and read my last sentence, you might recall that I don't get back to London until the 8th. And the boy has to leave the UK by the 7th! Cue panic and freaking out. Basically, we're going to have to readjust everything - dates we leave, who does what, plan plan plan and so on and so forth. While I was going to be the one in charge of Oscar's vet visits and final transportation, that is now going to fall on Jase - so I'll have to get him up to speed and in charge of the paperwork very soon. It also means that he'll be finalising all of the apartment cleaning and handing the keys over - and then he'll fly over to our first travel destination and wait for me to join him a few days later. It's crazy: it also means that after living out of a suitcase for a month in Europe, I'll have no home to come back to - so I sense a whole lot of washing will have to be done in a random European laundromat somewhere along the way!
We'll manage, we always do. And I'm glad we found the spanner in the works this early on before all of our travel plans were booked and set in stone. See? Always have trust in your gut instincts. I firmly believe in mine!
We haven't done things the easy way; we never have. If we'd wanted that, we would have stayed back in Sydney, got married, bought a house and a dog and maybe popped out 2.5 children, or whatever the 'average' is nowadays. Instead, we've had an awesome adventure. We've travelled. We've saved. We rescued a cat, who is possibly the best thing that's happened to us since being here. We've lived together and learned together as a couple before finally getting engaged - and now we get to plan the long way around back to where we started from.
Wish me luck with this travel planning: to be honest, I'll need as much as possible to make this all work!
Happy July, friends. I have to say, this is one of my favourite months of the year - mostly for selfish reasons. It's the halfway point of the year, it's usually leading into cooler weather (back home in Sydney anyway; here it's the start of warm European summer) and it's my birthday month. I love birthdays. Love, love, love.
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