I still call AUSTRALIA home...back to the homeland for 3 weeks...

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(I apologise now for the blurry photos i have attached. However, they were all taken with my phone so bad quality should be expected.)

So when my Boss said that he needed someone to go and visit some Universities in Australia, I volunteered!

Being summer in Oz, I had difficulty finding appropriate clothes to pack. I hadn’t needed a skirt or singlet for about 7 months and now I was 26 hours away from 30-40 degree sun. I couldn’t wait!!!!

I hadn’t told mum and dad that I was coming back for a visit. They knew that I would be home at some stage, but I thought that it would be kind of fun to surprise them. I told my brothers in great confidence that I was coming back so as they could arrange for me to be collected from the airport (thank you Chris!). But, by the time I arrived at Tullamarine, I think my parents were the only 2 people in Victoria that didn’t know I was coming home.

My 3 weeks in Australia were so jam packed full of visiting people, catching up with friends and attending dinner after dinners. It seems as though I visited home at the right time of year, with heaps of other events to attend…I arrived on the Island during Grand Prix Weekend, was lucky enough to be invited to the Flemington race day by my brother (thank you Darren!), and also managed to get tickets to ‘A Day on the Green’ to see Martin and Clare play as well as Lior and John Butler Trio (thanks Marty & Clare).

Of course, how could I forget…I was actually home to work. My boss had said that I could go home and have holidays in Australia on one condition…that I go to Queensland for 10 days to work. This also meant, that for 10 days I would be staying in nice hotels, spend my afternoons in the pool and eat out at great restaurants. My parents also came up to QLD for the weekend to spend time with me, and I managed to catch up with my Auntie Bev & Uncle Jim and close friends who live in QLD too.

I flew back to Melbourne for a couple of days to do some last minute shopping, last minute goodbyes and see the Island for the last time for a while. :(

All in all, it was a whirlwind tour home, and I am so lucky to have such great friends and family who would put aside some time from their busy lives, to accommodate mine.

I am not sure when I will make it home again…if I am lucky, maybe August/September…otherwise…see you all for Christmas!
It was snowing when I arrived back in London. The days are getting longer though and my Summer abroad is just around the corner. Tuesday night I am going to the West End Theatre district to see Wicked, and I am also planning my next trips to Ireland, Scotland and Krakow.

I will stay in touch and I’m thinking of you all!!!


(More photos are on page 2)

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