Monday 25 November 2013

to talk about good times..

I was recently asked about the last time I felt truly excited about something.

Instantly thoughts of my overseas travels came to mind. I have been lucky to have been overseas on several occasions and always look forward to the next trip.

I had gone to New Zealand in High School as part of a Netball sports trip but it took some 10 years before I ventured overseas again. I had always thought of travelling overseas but something always stopped me and if truth be known, I was probably just chicken. So, in 2005 when a friend of mine from Canada invited me to her wedding, it was the kick up the butt I needed to make the trip - no excuses now! I took 6 months leave from work, got myself a work visa and off I went!
Katie and I met when she did a Uni Exchange Year in Australia and came to Mt Isa on a teaching practicum and worked in my classroom.
After the wedding I went on to explore Canada on my own for a few weeks before getting some work at a diner in Banff.
Joe Btfsplk's Diner in the main street of Banff.... no longer there apparently :(

Some happy snaps...
Canada is such an amazing country and I loved every minute - except when I had to leave!
That year I also spent a few weeks discovering the UK. As it was my first time overseas and I was travelling solo, I stuck to English speaking countries!.

I didn't have a digital camera back in those days so my digital pics are limited! Loved the UK but got a glimpse as to why they are so miserable all the time....They never see the sun!



Sadly it took some time before I travelled again, I had settled back in Toowoomba, bought a house so money was often tight. It was only that I had enough frequent flyer points from my previous overseas trip that earnt me a free flight to NZ. So, in 2009 I did my first (and last) Contiki tour. This time travelling with some close friends of mine..

2011 was a big travel year for me! I had been working out west, living in teacher accommodation and working a job that had extra financial benefits due to the amount of time I spent away from home. In January I spent about a week in Vanuatu! Such a beautiful beautiful country, and so cheap to get there! Seriously, I think a week in Vanuatu is cheaper than a week at the Gold Coast! Vanuatu has been twice voted the happiest people in the world! As a tourist sometimes it's easy to forget that it's a third world country. The resorts and tourist attractions are so well maintained and the people seriously are SO NICE! My friend who was meant to come with me was sadly caught up in the massive floods that were engulfing so much of QLD at the time and I look back now and think that I was even lucky to make it to the airport and out of the country. Luckily I was also able to find another friend to take her place, as I'm not sure it would be somewhere I would want to travel on my own.
Was SUCH a hard time - Sunset Bungalows (Left) was where we stayed... I think you can see why! On the Right was the Day Spa where I spent the morning being pampered by a gorgeous little local lady who I swore was reading my mind!


The children performed traditional dances for us! They were so cute I wanted to bring one home! On the right is a local man who cooked us a traditional meal.
Later in 2011 I took some long service leave and travelled to the UAE and then onto Europe. A close friend of mine teaching in Abu Dhabi prompted me to venture overseas again. It also gave me an excuse to travel to a country I probably would not have travelled to solo!
So much money in this country it's ridiculous!!! Such beauty!
After a few days there I headed off to England solo for a few days, caught up with a few friends and then on a tour around Italy, Switzerland and France!

Some of the main highlights of the trip was spending my 32nd birthday at Wimbledon! Love tennis and during the rain delay of 3 hours got to see many of my favourite players! Nice was one of my all time favourite spots, possibly due to the cocktails on the private beach with our own personal waiter and the remnants at Pompeii were just crazy! Was determined to drink Champagne in France and do something reckless and out of character - parasailing over the Swiss Alps seemed to be appropriate! We were in Monaco the day Prince Albert of Monaco almost didn't get married to Charlene but saw them driving along the streets on their way to the Casino for the reception.

Now since that time overseas holidays have again come to a halt. This January I had hoped to travel to Vietnam but sadly that will only happen if the house sells but after 3 weeks on the market and not even a sniff of a sale, it's not looking likely!

A definite on the bucket list after Vietnam is the USA! Just a shame it's soooo far away! One day.....

Linking up with Kirsty at My Home Truths this week for I Must Confess... this week's prompt was to talk about time... seems appropriate that I link up given the title of my blog!

http://myhometruths.com/

11 comments:

  1. Yes, a lot of my favourite times are wrapped up in travel. I think part of it is we do more when we travel - there's no reason why we stop doing things when at home, we just do!

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    1. Absolutely! I also love some of the anonymity of travelling alone...no-one knows anything about you unless you tell them!

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  2. Ohhh so envious of your travel adventures - we married and settled down young so didn't do the travel thing, except for a couple of trips to NZ (mostly to see friends). We did buy a caravan & travelled Australia in 2001 when our kids were small and that was FANTASTIC.

    In recent years we have started spreading our wings and have done a couple of cruises to NZ, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. I also went to a conference in the Philippines in 2009 and had a 24 hour stop over in Hong Kong, does that count?!

    Anyways now both our kids have finished school we are thinking we need to do a trip as a couple next year but haven't decided on a destination as yet. Bali? Fiji? Hawaii? Italy & Malta?! No doubt when we decide I'll let you know on the blog!

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    1. I do love the sound of the travelling around Australia in a caravan! I have seen a bit of Australia but nowhere near enough! Exciting times ahead for you! Any of those places would be awesome!

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  3. Wow, you certainly have traveled a LOT! That is awesome. I've heard other rave reviews about Vanuatu also. Looks like a really tough time with those sunsets, but hey, someone has to do it I guess! :-) I don't remember the last time I was really excited about something. But I have 2nd and 3rd row seats at the Brisbane International at the end of Dec and I can't wait for that!

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    1. I would LOVE to go to the Brissy International Aroha! It seems such a waste for it to be in my backyard and not go!

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  4. My goodness, you are quite the traveller lovely!!!! You have been to so many places I wish I had. I also mourn the fact I didn't have digital camera when I travelled overseas. I have been to Vanuatu and yes isn't it gorgeous?! The people are so sweet. Can't wait to travel again, well hopefully one day we'll be able to afford it xx Em

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  5. Wow! What wonderful travels and adventures you have had. Nothing as exciting as that to report here. Sure looked like you spent your time wisely

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  6. Wow you traveled to some beautiful places! I've only been out of the state once so my traveling adventures are pretty boring in comparison! Fingers crossed for your house so you can jet off on your next adventure.

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  7. So very jealous of some of your travels but especially about getting to Wimbledon - that remins one of my life-long dreams! Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories!

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  8. Your photos are amazing. My favourite is the one of you with the kids in Vanuatu. I didn't know that they'd been voted the happiest people in the world - that makes me want to go there even more now! I've done a lot of travelling over the years, but you've been to many places that are still on my bucket list. I went to the airport in Dubai seven times in less than three years, but have still never seen the city itself - looks like you had some great adventures there too :)

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