I have spent so much time in cars, on trains and on planes it almost put me off travelling. But not quite. I finally understood the true meaning of cabin fever while travelling the 16 odd hours from Dubai to Sydney. I watched movies, twiddled my thumbs and relived my time in the mother country, and so, a blog post was born.
For the most part I stayed chez maman, where I spent my time shopping, watching TV and perfecting the art of slothfulness. Mother ran a tight ship, a good restaurant and a top taxi service. I ate my fill and melted my credit card in the shops. You can’t beat British clothes for value. I filled my case, and filled most of David’s too.
The weather was unseasonably kind to me so I took advantage of mother nature’s good mood and ran rings round the town. It’s lovely and leafy in my mum’s neck of the woods and I loved looking at the changing colours of the leaves. Mother Nature, you’re so smart! It’s always a bit of an adventure running round a new hood, especially when you get lost! Really, my sense of direction is so poor, I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag.
Talking of getting lost, mum and I went for a walk around the local nature reserve. It was such a pretty spot. The lake we walked round turned out to be a group of lakes that all looked exactly alike. I can’t tell you how or why but we got spectacularly lost which was kind of embarassing and scary all at the same time. The place was desserted and I had visions of being airlifted to safety until a random passer by (guardian angel) showed us the way out which was a relief but an anti climax, nonetheless.
I also headed north for one night only to see David and the outlaws. It’s the first time we’ve both been in Britain but in different towns. We just had to be where our families needed us the most. Sometimes you just gotta do, what you gotta do.
This trip was all about family. I got lots of one on one time with my mum.
I even squeezed in a rendezvous with Linda and Geoff, my “surrogate” parents. We all went out for lunch, a proper family outing. I loved the food, the company and the country views.
I must have driven mum up the wall and over the other side with my funny food foibles. Am I the only person on the planet who really loves rice cakes? How do you eat yours? My mum lives around the corner from an award winning chippy which I felt compelled to visit on my last night in town. It was as if an invisible force field was dragging me towards an inevitable chip-fest. This humble paper parcel may not look much, but it contains a zillion calories and will instantly transport you to Chip Heaven.
Forget the Big Fat Greek Wedding, me and mum went to London for a Big Fat Family Reunion with my aunties, uncle and most of my cousins. It’s so long since we were all together in one place that no one can remember when it was, but if I was to give an educated guess, I’d say, at least 15 years have passed since our last family fun day. Better late than never, hey?
Time was tight but I’m pleased I got to see some of my friends, old and new. I love that our friendship doesn’t depend on being together and that we can always just pick up where we left off. There are also lots of people I wanted to see but couldn’t. If only I had a time transporter!
I arrived in Sydney and was greeted by beautiful sunshine and look who was waiting for me at the airport!
What with all the fun, friends and family, planes, trains and automobiles, it’s been quite a ride. Jet leg aside, it feels so good to be back on Australian terra firma, because it’s true what they say, there ain’t no place like home!
Jet lag is playing havoc with my body clock. If you have any jet lag busting tips, please, don’t keep them to yourself!
