Blogs from Tullamarine, Victoria, Australia, Oceania

We begin. Although it feels like the planning and preparation (in order to prevent PPP - cleaned up in some deference to my new and emerging audience, although truth be known they are already more corrupt than my small but loyal followers) has been going on for ages the necessary process through airport check in, emigration services and the almost obligatory 2 hours wait in the airport lounge has began. I’m always constantly amazed at just how many people are flying. The airport was a hive of activity and really abuzz with people, passengers and personnel. Obviously Tullamarine is not the only airport (otherwise we’d have nowhere to land!) and relatively simple maths (well at least no decimals!) would reveal just how many flights and flyers are out there. Our Emirates flight has connections all over ... read more

Well it’s 4.30 and I’m sitting at departure Gate 11 at Melbourne International waiting for my 6.00pm Emirates flight. The amount of times I have been to this airport, and this is the first time I have walked through those doors that lead to international departures. I was waiting for a big delay but pretty much just went straight through border security, etc. I even remembered to take the lappy out of my carry on bag…. Go me! My travelling companion is Horsey Travels, it’s my third trip with him. He is a bit of a photo bomber. I almost managed to walk past all the duty free shops…. Almost.... read more

Arrive at Dubai airport around 0100. Straight to the Emirates lounge, no problems with this one and we have another shower which is much better this time. Change into long pants for the first time in along time. Getting ready for the cold....... Go and get a Moët for both of us to celebrate our holiday. Nice way to finish off. Have to board again, only a short break but that is much better then the long layovers for some. Now we are on our way to Kuala Lumpur then home to Melbourne. A much quieter passenger list this time, no dramatic passengers but still very full. Catch some sleep but still weary. Land at KL after about 8 hours. Find the Emirates lounge, but no go like Istanbul. Bugger. Anyway, some duty free shopping done ... read more

Geo: -37.6866, 144.883It's time to catch up to Kate. An overnight flight to Abu Dhabi (Yabba Dabba Doo), Then hopefully a quick changeover, and on to London. ... read more

Our last day in Australia before flying to Rome in the wee, small hours of Monday morning! After helping Michael celebrate his 50th birthday down in Drouin we spent Saturday night at Bernie's Mum and Dad's place. After breakfast we loaded Gidget and Finbar into my little car as the CX-5 is having a holiday too ... in Drouin in Mum and Dad's garage. The weather was pretty cold and wet as we drove back to Hallam. With the weather turning so wintry in Melbourne it made us very happy to think that we would soon be enjoying springtime in Rome! Back in Hallam we finished our house cleaning and crammed all of worldly possessions for the next eight weeks into our bags. We both felt like we were packing a fairly minimal amount of clothing, ... read more