Travelling

Four weeks in Australia – time for the perfect trip

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Australia pool

After the sicknesses that plagued my last trips to Oz, it was time for the perfect one. I got on the plane… completely healthy. I arrived in Melbourne, completely healthy. And damn was it a good feeling.

I’d been a little more hesitant about going this year I was off by myself again, and the guilt and sadness at leaving my 3-year old behind was a little more intense. Last year he barely noticed my absence. This year, he was well aware. He didn’t mind me going, because he got to stay home with Papa. But at the same time he wanted to come with me, because he didn’t want to miss out on ice cream.

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My obsession with Aesop

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Aesop

Aesop, for those of you who don’t know it, is a luxury skincare brand, born in Australia in the late 80s. And although it’s now been bought out by L’Oréal it’s still got that Aussie feeling to me.

I remember coming across it in my 20s… sure it smelt great, but it wasn’t cheap. And as someone who slaps on a bit of moisturiser (maybe) in the morning, definitely not for me.

But every now and again I’d come across a sample and think, well that is nice.

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Beachside at an Italian Christmas Market

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Lignano beach Italy winter

Christmas markets are something Austria is definitely not lacking in, but when we heard that our regular summer beach spot, Lignano, was holding a Christmas market over December, we thought… why not? Something different. And definitely warmer than cold ol’ Austria. So, we packed ourselves and the in-laws up, and off we went to see what it was about.

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I know… let’s go away four weekends in a row… what can go wrong?

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sea in croatia

I love summer. With good weather, long nights, the swimming pool open and the garden to nurture, there’s plenty to do. So, since Sam’s not yet in school, we generally plan holidays in shoulder season when it’s quieter, and cheaper. But all of a sudden, summer was about to end, and I hadn’t organised anything.

That’s how it came to be that I was due to head away every weekend in September.

And guess what? It was too much.

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Australia… on my own

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Australia alone

It was only going to be a quick trip… it was! Three weeks from start to finish which amounts to 2.5 when you take out the flight times. We didn’t want to put Sam through another long flight and jet lag, so the decision was made that I would go on my own.

I was excited. This was going to be my trip. This was going to cancel out all the disasters from last year’s trip – the snow, the Covid, the everything. I was organised, my excel sheet was planned out and it was going to be great!

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Why I always buckle up on the plane

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Aeroplane aisle seat

There have been a few incidences of bad turbulence in the media lately, and it got me thinking about turbulence. It’s one of those things you try not to think about when cruising at 35,000ft. Much like those weird beeps and noises that sometimes happen during take-off and landing, you curl your fingers tighter around your arm rest (or your vodka tonic) and tell yourself it’s normal. Nothing is going to happen. I mean, it’s not like we’re going to drop out of the sky.

Except sometimes you do.

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Australia with an 18-month old – part 3 – Australia

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beach australia

In the thick of it, it honestly felt like everything that could have gone wrong did. If I’d known how hard it was going to be going into it I probably wouldn’t have done it.

But it had been almost two years since I’d visited Oz. I’d had a kid in the meantime. And last winter almost killed me (or at least threw me into a deep hole of depression that a holiday to Australia probably could have fixed).

So, we went for it. We endured the flight, the jet lag, the covid, the weather, the constant moving around with a toddler, the terrible sleeping from said toddler. And then we faced getting back on the aeroplane and doing it all again.

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Australia with an 18-month old – part 2 – the flight

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airport with toddler

I’d read a lot of stories online of people who travelled with kids. And there was one general consensus. The difficult age is between 1 and 3. Before one, kids are more flexible, sleep a lot, and their bodies don’t react as much to things like jet lag and so on. After 3 they are old enough to understand what’s going on and old enough to be reasoned with (to some extent).

The bottom line was… when I looked into the question of ‘should we do a long plane trip with an 18 month old’ the answer was… DON’T.

It can’t be that bad, I thought. And in any case, we don’t have a choice – I want my friends and family to meet the little dude before he’s not so little any more.

It WAS that bad.

So, if you’re thinking about it. My advice is… DON’T. lol. But read on. Enjoy my pain.

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