And I will see (many of) you soon.
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 14thJune 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 😉
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| 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.
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| 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
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