Reflection (probably the first of many)

So I have been absent from this blog recently, mainly due to being so busy that I'm almost falling asleep at around 7pm most nights (which is entirely out of character for me). I'll update you on all of the goings on now that things have settled down a little, but I find myself writing this after a few hours by myself and having time to reflect on the last couple of months.

The Bearded One and I have been in Australia now for a little over 4 months now and people have been asking me lately whether I'm feeling homesick. Honestly? I'm not. I obviously miss our family and friends like you wouldn't believe, but what I've called "home" for the last however many years of my life, isn't missed. The small town where everybody knows everybody's business, the mundane routine of work-home-sleep-repeat, not having the means to treat ourselves and the weather, isn't being missed.

We have been keeping in touch with our amazing family and friends like we are still in the same country as them and, therefore having the same relationship with them, is keeping me from missing home. They say it takes something life changing to show you who cares and we've found that to be so true. Having the support and love from of our nearest and dearest from literally the other side of the world means everything. Even with the long time difference, knowing that someone will reply to a message when they wake up/get home from work/have time, is so reassuring. They might not be around the corner, but they are there for us, proving that the distance isn't an issue. And it's safe to say, that Skype/Facetime is bloody brilliant.

I'm sat here writing this in our big back garden at our new gorgeous house and STILL pinching myself with how lucky we are to be here. Australia is truly beautiful (and we've only seen a small part of it). The scenery, the houses, the weather, the people, the cities, the beaches... everything is great. We're working hard to enjoy our "right now" and to make our future what we hope it will be. We're planning a low-key, relaxed wedding that we're really looking forward to. Going back to how amazing our loved ones are - 18 (EIGHTEEN!!!!) people are travelling from the UK to celebrate our wedding with us. We're literally the luckiest people and I feel overwhelmed with the amount of people making the trip.

That's probably another thing that isn't making me feel so homesick. We're having one big family and friends reunion for our wedding so we have that time with our loved ones to look forward to. We also met up with my little brother in March in Melbourne, after 6 weeks of being here, so we had our fix of home quite early on. Having those people around us for the wedding and the weeks leading up to it and afterwards, will be so special. We can't wait to show them around, take them to some amazing places, introduce them to our adopted family and show them just how fine we are here.

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Breaking in Patricia (our 4 wheel drive)

We've started to take our car, Patricia, 4x4'ing. And, my gosh, is it fun. 

Our first taste of it was a day out with The Bearded One's cousins (and a husband) to a nearby beach called Jindalee. The Bearded One, his cousin and I were in one car and his other cousin and her husband were in the other. The Bearded One's cousin talked us through the ropes and we gave it a go. Well, he did and I watched, saying that I would try it next time. 

After our tires were let down we were off, up and down small dunes, and we followed their car off road onto the beach until we saw grass and roads turn into sand and sea. It seemed fairly straight forward, but I wasn't the one driving... We drove along the beach, passing only one or two other cars, and made our way to a nice spot to have lunch. All in all, it was a lovely beach and made us hungry for more so we organised a trip to give the 4 wheel driving a go on our own. 

We visited Guilderton Caravan Park to stay on the Moore River for a couple of days. It was recommended by The Bearded One's cousin and sounded like a really nice area. Trying to set up camp on a very windy day right in front of the river was, in a few words, really flipping difficult. Oh, and add a temperature of around 33 degrees, and we had ourselves a near impossible task. We were trying to get the tent stable for around an hour and we were failing, fast. Just to prove our suspicions that Aussie's are very helpful people, a lovely man named Craig walked by offering to help. Hero! The 3 of us tried a little while longer and were STILL getting no where. I went to see the Caretaker of the site and he offered us another plot on the camp site, which had a little shading from the wind by a nearby wall. We took it with relief and, in just a short time longer, our tent was up and our camp was set. Our helper Craig was quickly named "Craig the Lifesaver" and was loved by us for the rest of the weekend. 

The camp site is on the area of the river where it meets the sea. There's only a small strip of sand separating the two and every now and again they meet. We walked up and down the river side and the  sea front, which offered beautiful views. There's also a look-out hut on top of a cliff that is accessed via some wooden steps, which is a perfect place to watch the sunset. We had BBQ dinners and breakfasts and drank cold drinks whilst trying to get used to the bugs you see when you camp here. There were reports of a snake seen in the camp the day before we arrived, but I tried not to think too much about that...

While we were in the area, we visited the Lancelin Sand Dunes. Wow! They were something else! There are dunes of all different sizes which are accessed by 4 wheel drive and it was some of the best scenery I've ever seen with my own eyes. You can drive up and down the dunes, or go down them on sand boards, we chose to drive them. I even had a little go, which didn't last long as I got us stuck. The Bearded One was shovelling the sand away from the bottom of the car and the tires for around half an hour before he got the car out. Safe to say that, with the heat of the day getting much warmer and the sand being blown everywhere, we were both very relieved. He then drove for the rest of the time, I'd had enough for the day (I didn't want to get us stuck again!). It was so much fun, with such a rush when you are driving up and down the dunes. After the excitement we headed back to camp for some well deserved ice cold drinks. 

We floated on the river on a blow up boat, paddling out as far as we could before it involved too much work. It was such a great way to enjoy the river - floating and relaxing, away from any people, sun bathing and taking in the scenery. We also sunbathed on the beach which we had all to ourselves, playing music with a couple of beers. Literally heaven! 

We plan to do more 4x4'ing and camping trips as the weeks go on. We really enjoyed the camp site and this trip put us in good practice for more of the same. And no snakes! Phew!

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Giants, animals and private beaches

The last couple of weeks in the sunshine have been great. We've had nice, relaxing things planned with the family, have met some more great people and have explored the area a bit more.

We spent a night in Perth city on Valentine's Day. Its a really nice city and not too big, we found that you can pretty much walk everywhere. We had some drinks and met up with The Bearded One's cousin, who let us share her hotel room for the night (3 in a bed for Valentine's Day, so funny) which was so nice of her. After the jet lag we were starting to feel more normal and laughed so much. The Perth International Arts Festival was on during that weekend and the city had Giant fever. There were these 2 HUGE Giant puppet/doll-like things roaming the city, both had a story and a planned journey walking around the streets. We had heard so much about it on the run up to the weekend so were excited to see them after our night in the city. After breakfast we walked across a park to see the Giants wake up, dance and get ready for the their day wandering around. They really were quite impressive, these ginormous puppets being controlled by people travelling on them or near them with ropes and cranes. The city was buzzing and it was exciting to be a part of the event.

We visited Perth Zoo with The Bearded One's cousin and his Gran. It was a lovely day spent walking around the different areas with various animals. We missed some of the animals that weren't visible that day (must have been too hot or something) but a performing rhino more than made up for that. We were standing near the fence and he walked straight up to us, plunged into a puddle of mud and rolled around in it until he was totally covered. Then he flicked wet mud everywhere - a bit landed on my finger, it was gross and great all at the same time. We went to see the crocodile and listened to a talk all about his life. He was massive and he crawled right up to the window towards us. It was so strange to be so near to something so dangerous but not actually be in any danger. It was also the first time we'd seen koala's - they really don't move at all, getting all stoned on equikiptus, and we properly saw some kangaroo's. We'd seen some really small one's roaming around in a park a few days earlier, but these ones were of all different sizes and there were so many. We were lucky enough to have a photo with one! (he was such a poser)

We spent a few hours at the AQWA Aquarium with The Bearded One's cousins, second cousin and his Gran one morning. It was seriously impressive! I've been to a few aquariums and this was hands down my favourite. They had a moving floor through the deep sea area where fish, sharks and stingrays were swimming above and all around us. We ended up going through it more than once as it was so good. They had magnified areas so that you could see fish and coral up really close, jellyfish areas in the middle of the room so you could see them from all angles, a shallow water area where stingrays were roaming and loads of exotic fish everywhere. To top it off I stroked a shark (!!!!) and a star fish that day! They were in a touch tank for the kiddies, but thats not the point... I felt like I really achieved something! Especially considering I'm not a massive fan of the sea. Such a geek.

Then we went to Rottnest Island for a day trip. We travelled by ferry from a harbour close by to where we are staying. It was seriously beautiful there. The population of the Island is something like 450 and its actually quite a big place. So you can walk for miles (sorry, kilometres - still getting used to things around here) and not see anybody. We arrived mid morning and had a short walk around the coastline before having a well deserved couple of beers at a nearby bar. The sea is gorgeous there, so clear and blue. The Bearded One and I said its the clearest sea we've seen so far. After our beers, we walked along the beach until we got to a road and then took the historic walk route to yet more beautiful scenery. There aren't any cars on the Island and you can take/hire bikes to get around. We ended up walking for hours in the heat, but it was so worth it to see things that you would't have seen from the road. We even came across some beaches that we had all to ourselves, heavenly! We set up shop at a beach called Salmon Bay where The Bearded One snorkelled - I'm not quite ready for that yet, got to work up to it. I did actually go in the sea and managed to get the water up to my chest! (If don't know me that well, I'm not a fan of the sea, never have been). I've been told that I can't properly enjoy what Australia has to offer without going in the water, so I am trying my best. Safe to say I was very proud of myself that day!

In amongst all of these adventures we've seen sunsets, been to braai's (BBQ's for those not down with the South African lingo), shopped in many Op Shops (second hand shops for those not down with the Australian lingo) where I've found some SERIOUS gems and we have started looking for venues for our wedding (more to come on that later). So exciting!

All in all everything is great here on the other side.

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Our first week in the sunshine

So I'm sitting here in sunny Perth and its 33 degrees at the moment. 33 degrees! When we left the UK it was -2. I can't remember when I last felt heat like this (if ever) and it feels so great. We've been here almost 2 weeks and it hasn't really sunk in yet that we aren't going home any time soon. It still feels like we're here for a holiday, maybe a few weeks, and we will be going home with a nice tan and a photo album full of memories to share with everyone. I was so eager to lay in the sun for hours when we first got here, so I could work on said tan. You know what it's like in the UK - as soon as the sun comes out, you have to literally run while putting on your bikini in order to catch a bit of it before it disappears. While worrying about missing out of vital time in the sun, The Bearded One says to me "we've got the whole year to get a tan". It wasn't until I heard these words that I started to think that this isn't just an ordinary holiday.

It's seriously beautiful in Perth. From what we've seen so far the beaches are gorgeous, the weather is hot but there's a breeze to keep you a little cooler, the people are so lovely and shops, banks, etc are close by. We've yet to put together a plan of action but I'm sure we'll stay pretty local in between travelling to other places, exploring some more and seeing what this lovely area is all about.

Everybody we've met so far have been so welcoming. The Bearded One's family here have made sure we've got everything we could ever need and have kept us sane through the jet lag. It's so nice to see familiar faces and meet the other members of the family that I've heard so much about.

Our first week has bought beach days, pool days, walks along the beach front, early morning bike rides (before it gets too hot), sunrises, sunsets, exploring the surrounding areas, finding our feet and trying to settle in. We've also organised a bank account and a Medicare card (should we need a doctor or treatment for anything) and we've bought a car. We decided to buy a 4x4 so that we can go on some road trips we've been planning. The Bearded One has also got some work with an old colleague who came out here a couple of years ago. He's going to do some days here and there, in between our exploring, to learn the ropes and get used to working in the heat.

We're absolutely loving it here and are looking forward to what else this adventure will bring.

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The moment we've been waiting for

I drafted this post when we were on our way to Australia and didn't get around to posting it due to jet lag / enjoying the sun / finding our way around...

I'm writing this post from the air, somewhere between Kuala Lumpur and Perth. It's the second flight of the day and the last leg of our journey to Australia. I'm in a state of extreme tiredness (for the life of me, I cannot sleep on planes), feeling emotionally drained, but above all - more excited for words.

I can't believe it's happening. It's actually happening. The Bearded One and I are going to live and work in Australia. It's been a long time coming - years of talking about it, deciding what time is "right", planning and budgeting - and here we are. It's been a weird 8 weeks or so - selling our house, exploring some of Europe, not working and getting as much friends and family time in as possible. It's crazy to think after years of discussing it with a handful of people, it's here. It still doesn't really feel real.

The last few weeks especially have been tough. Having to see as many people as possible, actually pack up the belongings we have left after selling up and plan a leaving party. For those people that couldn't make the party and wanted to say goodbye in person - we planned dinners, drinks and earl grey dates to make sure we saw them before we left. I always knew I would find saying goodbye hard, even though I'm going to speak to my loved ones everyday (no exaggeration - especially the besties (they know who they are), we message each other constantly and I wouldn't have it any other way).

I've had a close group of friends and my family around me everyday for as long as I can remember. It's not a case of "oh, its lovely that I speak to such and such", it's a case of "I NEED to speak to such and such". These people are my everything - my advisers, my shoulder to cry on, an ear when I need to rant and they make me full on belly laugh. Obviously they will continue to be all of these things, but it's quite hard getting around the fact that you can't just pick up the phone, hear back from them straight away or pop around for a cuddle. The time difference will put a stop to that for the time being. They will get back to me when they wake up or finish work and the hugs will be virtual - over Skype. It will be fine and we will cope.

There has been a lot of tears from me. A LOT. Gradually saying goodbye to various people left me crying every few days or so. Receiving messages of love and luck from near or far also had me weeping (my problem is that I re-read everything, a few times. So the tears for a single message usually happen more than once). Our leaving party had me in tears most of the evening - my make up ended up being non existent and I bet a few people thought "oh dear, pull yourself together girl". But I didn't care. Each tear was real - for each person, and each of their lovely send off speeches.

Our leaving party was so much fun. We booked Cafe Tarifa in Oxford, it's one of our favourite places. The atmosphere is great, good music, fantastic cocktails and the decor is so unique - gold walls, guitars, sunken bar, lanterns, candles and incense. We've never had a bad time there and knew it was the perfect place to get all of our loved ones together for a send off. We've heard that everybody had such a great time that night and most fell in love with the place, just like we did.

The tears in the airport were quite ridiculous. I was receiving lovely messages all morning and with each one I cried (remember I said I re-read everything? Yep, I torchered myself doing that too). But when The Bearded One and I sat down for breakfast and a pint, we knew this was what we've been working so hard for and were happy to have finally made it happen.

I couldn't think of anybody better to do this with. If you don't personally know The Bearded One, let me tell you, he's the most amazing person I have ever met. He's literally my favourite thing and I, still to this day, can't believe he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. I am, without doubt, the luckiest girl in the world to have him by my side. And I can't think of anybody better to explore the world with.

You guessed it, I'm crying while I type this.

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Amsterdam - Still one of our favourite cities

The last leg of our Europe trips was Amsterdam. We both visited in March 2014 and explored the city via most of the tourist things to do. We had lots of plans in the city during our earlier visit - Anne Franks House, Heineken Museum, canal boat tour at night, live music at the Bourbon Street Blues, visiting The Bearded One's Gran's old house... This time around we wanted to just relax and see the city at a more leisurely pace.

The only thing we didn't end up seeing the last visit was the I amsterdam sign so that was a priority. We'd had a really relaxing day, with good food and some day time cocktails and took a walk to the sign. They had an outdoor ice rink there that day, so obviously we had to join in. It was hilarious, us both trying to skate (which neither of us had done in years), while being a bit drunk and trying to stay upright on the ice. It was so funny!

We ate some really gorgeous food, visted coffee shops and the Red Light District, drank cocktails and walked a lot. We absolutely love this city. It has so much character and hidden gems. It's funny, when you mention you are visiting Amsterdam to some people. You can see the look on their faces, they're clearly thinking that you are going to look at prostitues and visit coffee shops. Of course these are areas of the city that us, and many others, go to see when in Amsterdam, but there's so much more to it. It's relaxing, the buildings are beautiful, there's water everywhere, the Dutch are so hospitable and there's so much to do. Sure, you have to be open minded about parts of the city and people are probably just fascinated by those areas because it's not something you see so publicly in the UK. 

We also added a padlock to a lock bridge. This is something we've always wanted to do and to do it in Amsterdam made it extra special. The myth is that you write your names on a padlock, lock it onto a bridge and throw the key in the water. We had 2 keys with our padlock so we locked it onto the bridge and threw one key into the water on one side of the bridge and the other key into the water on the other side.

Overall we had a fantastic time there and, without doubt, will go back as many times as possible. 

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Bridlington & Melrose - Visits to see family that aren't "just around the corner"

Just before Christmas we drove to see my Nanna in Bridlington. It's a small seaside town in Yorkshire and she lives right near the beach. I usually visit her with my family and The Bearded One hasn't been to her place yet, so it was nice to get the chance to visit together.

We visited mid-week so there wasn't much night life, but we had some lovely food and found this little pub near the promenade that had character. During the days we walked along the seafront, did some shopping and some day time drinking (obvs). The weather was cold but the sun was shining most of the time. 

It was really nice to spend some quality time with Nanna. We went out for dinner one evening and found ourselves laughing the whole time. Although she has traditional views, she has such a brilliant sense of humor and understands most things modern (I mean, she does have Facebook). Her and The Bearded One get on really well, which makes me so happy. She doesn't take any nonsense, and would, without hesitation, tell him or I if she didn't like something about him (phew!).

We spent most of both evenings in the pub with character. During one of my trips to the loo, The Bearded One carved something into the side of one of the benches in the pub (he wasn't the only one who had "vandalised" the property, don't worry). Something so simple, but meant so much:

From Bridlington we travelled to Melrose in Scotland to visit some of The Bearded One's second cousins. We absolutely love Melrose. It's this beautiful, small town on the Scottish boarders, where his Mom spent some of her childhood. The town has such lovely history for the family and it's always so meaningful when we visit.

The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, even on the drive there. You can tell when you're close, as the views change from concrete and buildings, to these green fields and hills, some with snow on the top. When you get there, throughout the town you can see beautiful views where ever you look. The most prominent view is of the Eildons, which is a set of 3 hills that surround the town. The Bearded One and I have actually climbed 2 out of the 3 hills on an earlier visit (the biggest 2 of course). That was tough, but so rewarding and very cold, when you get the top. There was a lot of goats up there too...

Another favourite for us in Melrose is a visit to The River Tweed. It practically runs parallel to the town, with fast running waters and a beautiful bridge so you can see each side of the river. Every time we visit the town we go for a walk along the river to skim stones through the water and just reminisce about previous visits.

We stayed with The Bearded One's second cousins who run a B&B. They were so hospitable and couldn't do enough for us. I had come down with this awful cold, that up until that point I had managed to avoid, and they gave me medicine and made sure I was warm enough. Them, and the other members of the family that live in Melrose, are some of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I'm lucky enough to now call them family.

If you ever fancy a relaxing, scenic break in beautiful Scotland, you should visit Melrose. Why don't you see if the family have any rooms available, you won't be disappointed with the hospitality!

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