summer

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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Spring to… woah!

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Maybe I wasn’t paying attention in Australia… but every year in Austria it surprises me just how much growth there is from spring to summer. Hubby took some pics in our back garden… the first just after he cut the trees back, the second near the end of summer when everything was at its peak. Check them out!

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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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Getting back to normal

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cows spring

I feel like it’s been a long road back to normal for me. It was only recently that I went to the supermarket without a mask. Most people waved goodbye to Covid ages ago, but having a young baby (and also never having had Covid) meant staying vigilant. It was my choice, of course. But having a child just as the rest of the world was emerging from Covid meant essentially extending the lockdown.

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Goodbye dark days… hello Summer

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Safety Beach, Australia

I’m usually a fairly optimistic person. But I have been a bit down lately, as many of you read in my recent blog posts. But I have to say a big thank you, to everyone that reached out to give me a bit of love and support, and reminded me that it is all going to be ok. Because it is going to be ok.

I was already feeling more positive… the sun was shining, the weather was warming up… and despite the fact that the world was still being super crazy, I was doing ok at letting go of things out of my control.

And then suddenly I found myself on a plane to Australia.

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

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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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Red Alert! – it’s a heatwave

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Pool party Austria summer

We are currently in the midst of a heatwave here in Austria. And yes I know, I do tease the Austrian folk about how much they complain the second the temperature goes over 25 degrees, but I have to say, this heatwave is a good one. It’s been consistently over 30 for more than a week now. And while that may be fairly ‘normal’ in Oz, it only tends to happen once a year here (if we’re lucky) – and it’s only June!

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Living on the edge… holidaying in Italy

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Trieste, Italy

In mid July, I went and did something crazy… I took a trip Italy.

Italy, as you surely know, had major problems with Covid early on, and it’s pretty much still seen as a no go zone by most. Almost everyone I know cancelled their planned Italian holidays this year.

But when a friend wanted to take me away for my birthday weekend, all we really wanted was to see the ocean, smell the salt and swim in the sea.

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