A Little Trip Home

Having just returned from a wonderful holiday, I thought it would be a good idea to write a little about my time at home in the UK and our trip to Melbourne. It certainly was a busy month! A jam-packed itinerary combined with jet lag and returning to work straight away meant that I returned to Perth feeling absolutely exhausted. But it really was an amazing five weeks and I really feel that I made the most of it, packing in seeing so many friends and family every day.

I started off my little trip with a weekend to Melbourne with Rich for his cousin's wedding. Originally Rich wasn't going to come to Melbourne with me and I was going to the attend the wedding alone, as he couldn't get the time off work, but he was able to negotiate a week off unpaid so that he could make it, which was fantastic. I have been to Melbourne before but I was very excited to go back as it's a great city and I hadn't spent that much time there before. Rich and I were staying in a backpacker's hostel, which may seem strange now that we're not backpackers anymore, but to be honest we just like staying in hostels; it's cheaper than a hotel and fun, so why not?! We had quite a nice private room and it's not as if we planned to be in the hotel much anyway! We spent the first evening having a wander around the city and eating lots of yummy Asian food - no surprises there with Rich!

The wedding was the next day and as we were staying in the CBD (Central Business District, aka the city centre), we had to navigate public transport to get to Vermont (a Melbourne suburb), which would take us around an hour and a half by bus, train and a panicked sprint (in heels in my case) to the church. We only just made it by the skin of our teeth! It was a lovely service and we were very happy to catch up with Rich's family members, some who had flown in from the UK and others who had flown from Taiwan. We'd been to their wedding in Taiwan in November, so it was great to see them again and catch up.

The following day there was a family lunch with the newlyweds, so we once again headed into the suburbs, had a nice pub lunch and then made our way back into the CBD with Jon and Wei-Nu (Rich's cousin and his wife that live in Taiwan) for Saturday night dinner and drinks in the city.

As I had known that most of the weekend would be spent catching up with family, I wanted to make sure that at least one day would be spent sightseeing. I booked Rich and I onto a Great Ocean Road day tour for the Sunday, which was an incredible day out. I hadn't got to tick this off my bucket list the last time I was in Australia so I was happy that I could cross it off this time. We started off very early in the morning and were picked up in Melbourne by our brilliant tour guide, who would be driving us in his little minivan throughout the day and stopping off at some wonderful sights. We drove along the beautiful coastline all the way to the 12 Apostles, which is 227 km away from Melbourne. During the day we stopped off at some beautiful places and saw koalas in the wild, dramatic coastlines and even penguins coming back onto the beach after they'd spent a hard day out at sea fishing. It really was a beautiful day out and the scenery was spectacular.

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The time had come for Rich and I to part ways as I was flying back to the UK and he was flying back up to the mine site for his next 'swing'. As mentioned he couldn't get the time off work to come home with me, which was such a shame and we were both very gutted that he would not be joining me for my visit. I was so excited about going home though and I knew it would mean I could focus on seeing all of my friends and family for as much time as possible. We'd at least had a lovely weekend in Melbourne together. We parted ways at the airport and I began my epic journey across the planet. I flew from Melbourne to Delhi in India, which took 12 hours. The flight was fine and the time seemed to pass quite quickly. I then had an eight hour stopover in Delhi airport, which I wasn't looking forward to as I went against the advice of the booking agent and didn't book the hotel for the long stopover, thinking it would be a waste of money and that I would be fine without it. I just wanted to cry when I got to Delhi and everyone that was connecting to London had indeed booked the hotel, knowing they'd all go off for a nice shower, a relaxing few hours and ultimately a nice block of solid sleep. I was insanely jealous and so annoyed at myself for being such a cheapskate as always. I resigned myself to the fact I'd have to curl up on a bench, but then I discovered the pay-per-hour popup sleeping pods at the gate. It was pure bliss! I managed to get about four hours sleep, which definitely made me feel more alive for my arrival into London, after another 8 hours of travelling on another plane, a long wait at London Heathrow airport and a long coach journey to Dover. It had been a tiring day, but I was so excited to see my dad and sister, who'd organised a welcome home buffet for me.

It was so lovely to see them and it felt like I hadn't been away as we caught up.

The next few days I was reunited with many of my friends and it was great to see so many people and to pick up where we left off.

Reunited with these lovely ladies

Me and my lovely dad

Had such a lovely time with my sister and all her friends and family at the wedding reception last night

Lovely afternoon with _carla32s and _jadec01 at Kearsney Abbey. ☀️_._._

Afternoon tea with these guys

So good to see these two for curry and wine in the capital

I didn't want to feel as though I was just sitting at home during the day when my friends were at work so I decided to revisit some of my old haunts.

Stunning summer's evening stroll._._._

Would you just look at that sky! 😍_._._

There'll be bluebirds over _The White Cliffs of Dover._._._

I love that the sun decided to come out earlier after a very drab start... more of the same please England! ☀️_._._

Walking around all my old haunts._._._

Whitfield Rec_ the place of my childhood. 💚__Came for a little walk as it's such a beautiful day today

One of the things that I didn't even realise that I missed about home is the long summer evenings. Beautiful 9pm sunshine. 😍_._._

The green, green grass of home. 💚_._._

I visited rather a lot of places in the UK. I felt like an Aussie tourist on holiday!

I went up north to Sheffield to visit my oldest, best friend. We had such a fabulous weekend and she might even be planning a trip to Oz next year, which will be super exciting for me (and for her!).

A visit to sunny Sheffield

Beautiful walks in the Peak District._._._

Tasty lunch in a cosy pub, a 5 mile walk in the Peak District, delicious coffee and cake, and spending the evening watching an old school fa

All we have done the last couple of days is stuff our faces with so much incredible food

I went to Herne Bay with my sister to an Alice in Wonderland themed tea room, which was amazing!

Alice and the Hatter in Herne Bay was such an amazing tea room; the Alice in Wonderland themed decor was so cool and we enjoyed a scrummy af

Lovely day in Herne Bay with _x_jenniferlaw_x in an Alice in Wonderland themed tea shop and having a wander along the pier

I had a day out in my favourite city in the world, London. I definitely felt like a tourist on this day - I couldn't wait to see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. I was seeing everything with fresh eyes and everything looked amazing and beautiful to me, even though I've seen it a hundred times before. No matter where I go, I will always have a special place in my heart for the 'Big Smoke'.

Oh heyyyyy London. 😍__No matter where I go, you will always be one of my favourite cities. 💜_._._

Great day in London... eating, walking and seeing the sights with my sister, _jens_stylesecrets._._._

The main reason I went back to the UK is for my best friend, Carla's wedding. We went to Paris for the hen do a couple of weeks before the big day and it was AMAZING. Paris is the most beautiful city and the six of us had the best fun imaginable on our little weekend getaway. So much fun was had, there were so many laughs and we saw some of the most famous sights of France's stunning capital city. It truly was the best weekend ever and we all had major Paris blues when we returned home.

My best friend gets married today! Can't wait to be your bridesmaid and watch you marry the man of your dreams. 👰_._._

Bonjour Paris. 🇫🇷_._._

Can't wait to walk down the aisle in less than two weeks with my one of my oldest, bestest friends

So much love for this city and these girls. 💛_._._

Home from the most amazing weekend in Paris for my bestie's hen do

P A R I S.__Carla's Hen. 🐓_._._

Next up was a weekend to Horsham in Sussex to meet up with my friends from university. We have remained close friends even though we graduated SIX years ago now...sigh... It really was wonderful for the five of us to be reunited. We even had a little day trip to Brighton.

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Immediately after the uni reunion I headed for Colchester to visit Rich's sister, brother in law and 1 year old niece. We had a lovely couple of days and it was great to spend some time with Lexi and enjoy some cuddles. She took a little bit of a liking to me, normally preferring to stay close to mum and dad, but was happily sitting on my lap for over half an hour, happy as Larry! Zoe and I also went out for a GORGEOUS meal, the food was just absolutely incredible. It really was so lovely to see them all.

Lovely couple of days in Colchester visiting Zoe, Carl and Lexi (Rich's sister, brother-in-law and niece)

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Before leaving Colchester, my car decided to break down and I had to be towed home and make small talk with the truck driver for two hours. It's all fun and games! I made it just in time to a BBQ at my sister's house with her husband's family.

I spent a bit of time checking out some local attractions, such as Dover Castle, Walmer Castle, Deal, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Rochester. Kent is so beautiful!

Castle on the hill. 💚_._._

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Lovely day in Canterbury._._._

The day had finally arrived for my best friend's wedding. It was such a beautiful day and it was lovely to be a part of it as her bridesmaid. She looked absolutely stunning and had gone to so much effort to plan such a wonderful, gorgeous day. I felt honoured to have been a part of it. We have been best friends for seventeen years and I felt so glad I was able to be there to see her marry the man of her dreams. Real friendships know no distance.

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Such a fabulous day yesterday for our best friend's wedding. So lovely to be a part of the special day. 💗_._._

So much love

Really think I need to superimpose Rich's face into this. 😂 Best laughs with my girls and their guys. 💗_._._

My time in Kent had come to an end and I started to say my (somewhat emotional) goodbyes to all my lovely friends and family. It had been absolutely amazing seeing them all and I felt so torn about going back to Australia. On the one hand I was so excited to get back to Perth, but part of me was really sad to leave the UK. I felt like I wanted everything; I wanted to be in Australia more than anything but I also wanted to be at home. I'd been so homesick a few months ago so I knew that this trip was always going to be a test for me as to whether I truly wanted to be in Australia or not and I soon discovered that I really really do want to be here. I was having the best time imaginable at home, but even after about a week of being there, I found myself getting excited about getting back to Perth. Of course I was missing Rich, but it wasn't just about him; I missed Perth itself, our lovely house, Freo, everything. By going back to the UK, I'd realised that I was making a life for myself here in Perth and that it was truly starting to become my home. And it was a really nice feeling to feel like that. I was worried that being at home would make me want to stay there, but that wasn't the case at all. I was sad to leave everyone behind, but that's par for the course when you live overseas. I'm just glad that I felt like I was excited to come back. It shows me I made the right decision by moving out here. It's not that I don't love Dover; it's my home and always be. It will always hold a special place in my heart, but sometimes our hearts lead us elsewhere and I am so glad I followed mine to Australia. I am starting to think that it's one of the best things I have ever done.

My holiday in England wasn't over just yet; I said my goodbyes and travelled to Bournemouth to spend a bit of time with Rich's mum and cousin and her four children. I also had a little visit from my friend and her family who live in Southampton.

The following day, Rich's family and I headed over to the Isle of Wight for his cousin's wedding (round two of their first ceremony in Melbourne). It was lovely to catch up with a lot of Rich's family as they all make me feel so welcome and I feel as though I am part of the family, even if Rich wasn't there with me.

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My last day in the UK was spent with friends in London who Stef and I met when we were picking fruit in Australia three years before - we drank rather a lot of wine and caught up as though we had never been apart.

The morning had arrived for my flight back to Perth and I was just so ridiculously excited. It had been an amazing five weeks catching up with so many people, but I was more than ready to head back to my life and to Rich, of course. I had felt a bit sad that he wasn't able to join me on my adventure, particularly when I was visiting his family as I know how much he would have loved to have seen them too. I promised everyone I would deliver lots of hugs to him from everyone in the UK.

On the way back, both of my suitcases were massively overweight (I was taking a LOT of stuff back) and the airline check-in girl waived the £90 fee, as she was obviously just having a very good day - I felt SO lucky! I was prepared to pay the fee, but I felt like someone was looking down on me that day as I got the front row seats of the plane too, meaning a whole lot of extra leg room for free. It was a great flight experience and I'd most definitely fly Etihad again.

I arrived back to Perth feeling super excited and I couldn't wait to see Rich and settle back into everyday normal life. Going on holiday is lovely, but there's nothing quite like returning home. And that's how I felt; that I'd returned home.