"Do you miss Australia?"

Bundeena Sunset, New South Wales

A question I'm frequently asked and one that I still can never confidently answer. 

In short, yes. I do miss it. A lot. 
In long, well yes I still do miss it but you see, I miss a lot of places. All the time.

I miss Germany and the voice of the train announcer before each stop. I miss walking around London for the first time and the smell of the tube. I miss waking up to the sun and waves in Byron Bay. I miss Portugal and the living room in my Lisbon hostel. I miss Scotland and the pebbled streets and accents.

I'm always missing something, I've left my heart in so many places that missing somewhere I'm not seems to be second nature. But is it that I miss the places, or is it the moments?

I miss the feeling I had when I was there. I miss the memories and I miss what was and what could be. The ruby red stain on my tongue from too much wine. The warmth of a foreign bed. The chill of the autumn air. The taste of the Indian food in a German city. 

Travelling is the best thing I've ever done. I've learnt lessons no teacher, friend or coffee shop hottie could ever teach. I've seen things I never thought I would, and never thought I should, but it makes me who I am today. I have never so confidently embraced myself as I do today, my eyes have been opened to the blessings of everyday life and I'm not the same person I was before I saw the other side of the world.

But maybe that's what it's taken for me to realise I miss Australia. I was always grateful for the country I lived in and the beaches in which I swam, but it's not until it's gone that it's missed. As much as you appreciate, love and cherish something it can still be missed. But missing does not mean you need to be there. Or right now anyway.
There is so much more in this world to be appreciated that it'd silly to go back just because it's missed right now.

I miss Australia and the accents (ah, so much). I miss the simplicity, freedom and comfort of the familiarity. I miss the summer (sometimes). I miss warmth of the sparkling crystal clear ocean. 

I miss Australia. With all of my heart. But I miss most places.

The world is in your hands

"The world lies in the hands of those that have the courage to dream"

 - Paulo Coelho

Dear Life, I LOVE you

"And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to the meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time"

Oh darling, let's be adventurers

I CANNOT EVEN WAIT. 

It's only 3 sleeps until we embark on our European adventure. The excitement is bubbling uncontrollably. I'm getting a slight nervy, but so thrilled - so the good out weighs the bad.

We are going to 4 different cities and 3 different countries. 

Something fresh and new. Something summery and warm. Something beachy and adventure filled.

The adventure starts in the much anticipated Lille in north France(!!!). I can't wait because since the day I saw the heavenly looking bearded man depart from the bus at 4am that warm Autumn morning too long ago, I have longed to return. Then we head to Barcelona where I expect to eat myself into multiple sangria/paella induced comas. From there, onto Lagos and then Lisbon in Portugal. Woo yeah. Let's do this!

My instagram will probably be the hotspot for all things Lagos beachy and French feasting. 

Nomadic

"When I say I want to travel I don't mean I want to stay at resorts and go on tours with tour guides or buy key chains from souvenir shops. I don't want to be a tourist. When I say I want to travel I mean I want to explore another country and become part of it. I want to discover small coffee shops in Germany and Italy and France. I want to walk on beaches in Australia and browse the book stores of England. I want to hike the Great Wall of China and go cliff diving in Hawaii. I want to meet people who are not like me, but people who I can like all the same. I want to take pictures of things and places and people I meet. I want my mind to be in constant awe of life on earth. I want to see things with new eyes. I want to look at a map and be able to remember how I was transformed by the places I've been to the things I've seen and the people I've met. I want to come home and realise that i have not come home whole but have let a piece of my heart in each place I have been. This, I think, is what is at the heart of Adventure and this is why I plan on making my life one."

Travelling, and it's lessons

Travelling taught me so much about life. About myself. Who I want to be. And what I want for the rest of my years. 

I left Australia two weeks after my 19th birthday. It was my first solo (kind of, I was with a friend) trip overseas and literally a dream coming true. It was a goodbye that no one was sure if it was to be 3 months or 2 years. 

I boarded the much anticipated flight to London.

And it begun.

Here I am, exactly 6 months later, living in England and loving it multitudes.

Which has now turned into goodbye that I feel could be a few years.

There have been mistakes, missed buses, lost phones but there have been memories, laughs, dancing and happiness.

When travelling with only the necessities your days become simpler and definitely more carefree. You leave behind all those journals you've half started, random coin collections, the convenience of a car, the commitment and 'security' of a job.

It wasn't until I was waking each day from a night spent making new friends (or doing washing at 3am), after an hour of sleep in a foreign bed, just to get the free breakfast at the hostel or walking the lengths of cities to save on trains and buses, that I felt complete contentment in my life.

It wasn't until I spent my days alone in countries where I can't speak the language and nights on buses knowing the sunrise I'll see in the morning will be a different country, that I realised the blessing that is my life.

The most terrifying part of all of it was settling back down, this time in England, getting a job and knowing that I have committed once again. Still adventuring and travelling in bursts, but not a nomad again yet.

"The less I needed, the better I felt."- Charles Bukowski 

I got that Bug

pisa, tuscany, italy

You always hear people say they've caught 'the travel bug' after seeing different parts of the world. 

I'm just going to say that I have caught this bug. It's a beautiful thing, travelling, and I want to do it for the rest of my life. 

"I'm not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world". 

You are so beautiful, to me

A passionate hobby of mine is driving down roads I've never been before, literally.

I have lived in the same area for the whole, nearly, 19 years of my life, and to my surprise I can have a new adventure each day with the copious amount of roads I've never thought the venture down before.

It's like looking at my home town with a whole new set of eyes. That road that I have driven past, every day, in past years is suddenly a part of my life, and, in a way, a part of me.

I don't know what my life would be if there wasn't something new for me to learn everyday or an adventure to embark on, the thrill of my life is exhilerating, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

My next best hobbie slash illegal movement is taking photos whilst driving. I'm a sucker for this one. And below is a series of photographs, so similar it almost hurts, but they make me appreciate the wonder of my world, I hope you enjoy.

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought."

- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi