Camping, camping and more camping... I never did much of it during my childhood and therefore as an adult, was quite surprised to discover it is among my most favourite past times. Whether pitching the tent in a well manicured park with all facilities at hand, or heading off the beaten track where hot water is an unthought of luxury and one must head off into the bush armed with loo paper and a spade...whatever the case, its truly one of my great loves. Although I camped my way around Europe last summer with May, Adam has not been near a [View Full Entry]

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Adam and I officially became 'Aunt Miranda and Uncle Ham' when Maria and Luke proudly announced the birth of their first son, little Liam, at the end of January this year. I was at work in Belfast when the call came through to me that the little one had at last arrived, and I spent a good while jumping up and down in the paediatric treatment room whooping with joy whilst co-workers looked on with a mixture of concern and curiosity. Half a world away no doubt the new Aunt Kyrie and Grandma and Grandpa Odell were doing a happy dance [View Full Entry]

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The premier league season is wrapping up here, so its high time we made it to a game. We drove north to the city of Middlesborough to watch 'Boro' take on the biggest and the best...Man Utd. It was a bitterly cold, grey day and not long into the match, it began to snow! This did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, with the Man Utd supporters just right of where we were sitting providing almost as much entertainment as the players on the pitch. The players themselves barely seemed to blink at the snow that fell. It certainly [View Full Entry]

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We have officially commenced a career of hiking...None of this pussy-footing around, straight to the big guns for us! To Snowden and beyond!!! It was with such enthusiasm we headed to Wales for a weekend in the glorious Snowdonia National Park. It was a last minute decision really-a product of a 5-day weekend thanks to Easter and our mutual employers' policies of an aditional 'Easter Tuesday' holiday day..no complaints from us! So it was that we set off on the coldest Easter Saturday on record for several decades. Where just weeks ago we'd been reacquainted with the sun, basking in early [View Full Entry]

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How good it was to be home again! I'm sure Adam was apprehensive about the long flight ahead as he watched his very overtired wife become increasingly hyperactive and over-excited at the very thought of boarding the plane to carry them home! I was however on my best behaviour for the flight, entertaining myself (while managing not to drive Adam too nuts) for the entire 23 hour journey. The touchdown at Sydney was magic...coming out of the arrival gates to our family waiting...priceless. And while we arrived back to tales of the pitiful summer had by all, and witnessed first hand [View Full Entry]

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Our first (would-be) 'White Christmas' was magic, albeit decidely devoid of the white fluffy stuff to which the title owes. We braved the craze of Dublin airport two days before Santas arrival, and managed to smile at the mayhem that reigned, despite the lengthy queues in every direction. It was a huge relief to touchdown at Skarvsta airport where we were happily greeted by a very heavily pregnant Maria and an excited, though nervous father-to-be, Luke. It was absolutely wonderful to see Maria 'glowing' and the soon-to-be new arrival was a huge talking point among all of the family throughout the [View Full Entry]

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Our first European Christmas! A much looked forward to, highly anticipated event! At last the chance to see a picture card white christmas! Winter certainly descended upon us very fast. It felt like one minute we were in t-shirts and jeans...the next we were layered up with thermals and jackets and big winter coats...hats, gloves and scrafs to boot! Outdoor to indoor transitions suddenly required the removal of layer upon layer til one was surrounded in a cafe by piles of one's clothing! The dark was the other big sign that heralded the arrival of the festive season. In these past [View Full Entry]

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I have a love/hate relationship with aiports. At times, airports can be among my most favourite places in the world...I love the arrivals bay where you experience (either first-hand or by osmosis) all the happy meet and greet cheer. Then of course there's the thrill of the departures bay where excitement looms about the adventure ahead. Conversely, bidding farewell to loved ones can be absolutely heart-wrenching as we experienced when we said goodbye to our own loved ones coming to this side, and arriving in a foreign land can feel incredibly lonely. However, my most recent airport experience was absolute 'class' [View Full Entry]

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If any place in the world can be described as truly picturesque, the Cinque Terre would certainly lay claim to the title. I have never felt my breath taken from me as often as I did over the five glorious days we spent here. It is truly one of the most beautiful places I’m ever likely to see in my lifetime. In the quest for a solid dose of sunshine before the long British winter looming, we flew into Pisa. We were thrilled to arrive to a balmy evening and immediately stripped off our layers of clothes to take full advantage [View Full Entry]

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A much anticipated event, the arrival of our dear friends from home! After being met at the train station by Adam and taken back to our apartment to rest, the lovely Leah and Tony were awoken from their jetlagged slumber by a very over excited Miranda who came running into the dark apartment yelling out greetings...consequently scaring them out of their skins! After a shakey beginning, a lazy weekend was spent in Leeds catching up on all the news and the happenings from home. A day trip was taken to the city of York where more cups of tea were drunk [View Full Entry]

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