Four weeks in Australia – time for the perfect trip

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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Four weeks off… parenting

Australia sand beach

I just had four weeks off parenting… and it felt… decadent.

It was only meant to be three weeks, which in itself is more than a lot of parents can dream about. But then I came down with the flu upon arrival in Australia. So we decided to add a week to make up for the time I spent in bed.

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Did I just have the best three days ever?

Italy beach

This might sound bad, but last week my husband took Sammy, along with the in-laws, for a beach holiday to Italy. They went for the week, but I could only join toward the end because I had to work. You might think I’d be bummed… missing out on long beach days, and mouth-watering Italian food, and my kid running around on the sand with a big grin on his face.

Well… in a way, I was. But in another way, I was ecstatic.

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

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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Short trips – I will see the sea in 2021 – I will!

Trieste, Italy, Hotel Riviera

Despite over a year of living with Covid (or hiding away from Covid), we’re all still up in the air about what the future is going to bring. What’s the right thing to do? Should we be in Australian-esque-style lockdowns, or should we be celebrating Freedom Day? The government has an opinion, the scientists have an opinion and the people have an opinion… they don’t always agree, and no one really knows who’s right… if a ‘right’ actually exists.

In Austria, following the removal of almost all our measures in early July, our numbers are steadily increasing again, which is hardly surprising. So what do we do now? Half the population is already vaccinated, yet Delta is threatening to plunge us back into chaos.

I tell you what we do. We get in the car and we drive to Italy.

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Long Trips – Australia – the land of fire and flood and dangerous animals

Australia beachNone of which, by the way, I saw on my recent trip to Australia.

I hadn’t meant to go back to Oz at the end of the year, but with hubby’s new job, I suddenly found myself a-flush with more leave than him, and we decided it was a good chance for me to take the trip on my own.

So off I tripped… for a whole month… just cause I could.

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Safety Beach – my little slice of paradise

safety beach sailing clubGrowing up in Melbourne I’ve always been close to the beach. Our family holidays were often coastal and featured a lot of swimming both in surf and the calmer waters of the bay. From about the age of 10 my parents joined us up to a sailing club in Safety Beach, and from then on, until I decided I was too old to spend Sunday’s with my parents, we were there every week from November to April, rain hail or shine.

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Short Trips – Grado, Italy – for a Team Event that’s super awkward… oh I mean… cosy…

Grado ItalyEach year my company gives staff members a sum of money to undertake a Team Event. Since I started working there, our team has been a bit lax in organising something exciting. But this year we were adamant – we would do something awesome. So we got in early and we threw in some extra cash of our own and we… went to Italy for the weekend. Because why? Because we can.

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Long Trips – Christmas in Australia – warmth, sunshine, family & friends

Australia - catching up with family Portsea PubReturning after a holiday always leads to a multitude of questions: How was it? What did you do? And you answer: Yeah, it was awesome! We did heaps of cool stuff! But where do you go after that? How do you pick out just a few notables that that particular person might be interested in hearing about?

Well, I just spend a month in Australia. And it was awesome! And we did heaps of cool stuff! And if you really want to know more, keep reading!

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