As I start to reflect on what has now been the
best part of a year being an expat, I now also look excitedly to my upcoming
trip to Europe.
I will be flying into Munich on Friday 14th
June to meet up with the “annual get away” crew. As with our previous jaunts to Las Vegas, and
Prague, no doubt there will be much marveling at the architecture and we will
surely see the insides of many churches and museums. I’m even told the Germans brew quite a mean
beer so maybe we will get to sample a few of those, if the itinerary allows!
Then I join the boys on an EasyJet flight
into England late on Sunday 16th for just short of 2 weeks catching
up with as many friends and family as I can possibly fit in. Being the commensurate project manager, I
have a timeline, and an almost full spreadsheet covering each day that I am
there. There could yet be a couple of
slots made available so if you fancy a beer / wine / cup of tea, let me know. I have a UK phone number for the time that I
will be there. If you want it, just drop
me a message or a mail.
But what I will say, can you please
collectively (or even individually!!) not make it TOO enjoyable or I will not
want to return. And then I will have some
very big decisions to make. From memory,
England is bloody cold at Xmas.
What have I been doing in the lead up to
it, besides counting down for the last 3 months? I managed to complete level 3 of my Spanish
lessons. This means I have now done 24
weeks of lessons and have to say I have managed to learn a lot. Although the further you scratch the surface
of learning a language, the more you realise you have to learn. Having a Spanish speaker at work helps and
despite my feelings of inadequacy when we speak in Spanish, she tells me she is
very impressed with what I know, and my accent.
I must be doing something right then.
Muy bien! I have put a temporary
hiatus on my studies due to the holiday.
You Facebookers out there will know that I
recently did something in Sydney for the first time. Something I always said I wouldn’t do because
of the cost. No! Not that Steve. Kings Cross isn’t that expensive these days
;-)
 |
| Top of the world mamma! |
I finally did the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Climb. Taking the philosophy that a)
life is short, and b) I don’t really know how long I will be here, I decided to
take the plunge. And I thoroughly
enjoyed it. I joined a “Twilight Climb”
which entailed going up in the day light, and down in the dark. It was a fantastic experience and would
recommend anybody ever in Sydney to do it.
And rewarding yourself with beers in The Australian pub across the road
makes for a great day and night.
Whilst I was in the spirit of smashing the
#sydneybucketlist I booked myself onto another first, whale watching in the
ocean off Sydney harbour. I had a great
day, in the sun, on the water, but “whale watching – whales = watching”. Yes, as the season had only started the day
before, all I got to see was lots of dolphins.
However, all was not lost as I was given a voucher for a free return
trip to take anytime I like before the end of the season in November. So I may get to see whales yet.
 |
| Anybody seen a whale passing here? Not very big! |
Other than the usual stuff of crazy nights
out, a couple of rugby games (both league and union), and the daily grind of
work, nothing much else has happened. We
are now very much in Autumn, and I can feel it.
I am going to even have to buy a thicker duvet, or get a bed mate, as
the nights are getting very cold. Where did I put those pyjamas?
I have put in an early order for sunshine
whilst I am in England, so can you all see what you can do for me
#prayforsunforfran
With that, I will sign off and the next
time I speak to many of you may well be in the flesh. To say I am giddy is an understatement. See you all on the other side.
FC
