Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas! (Travel Eve)

Well, I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it enough at parties/gatherings/on facebook/ when talking to bus drivers etc – I’m going away to Australia! And going with the natural path of such a journey, I am going to try and write a blog. ‘Try’ being the operative word as I tend to get crazy busy and leave such things to one side, but I’m hoping this project will be a bit different.

It’s not a decision that came out of the blue - I’ve wanted to go to Australia and New Zealand since I was a teenager, and I did go at the end of 2007 for a 3 week holiday. 2 weeks in the North Island of NZ and 1 week in Sydney. And I have wanted to go back ever since.

  

Tomorrow (Boxing Day), I will fly out of Manchester to London, then London to Seoul, then Seoul to Sydney where my lovely friend Loz will collect my jetlagged self at the airport. I cannot wait to see her!

My rough plan is work in Sydney, then travel to New Zealand (both North & South Island), maybe head over to Fiji and then back to Australia – I’ll see where the road takes me after that. Back into Manchester end of August.  

Buying the ticket was an interesting day. I only planned to pop in and look at prices… I had been dressed as a sailor in the Manchester Pride parade with my good friends Paddy and Richard (if you do one thing in your life, take part in a parade- it’s amazing!).

After chair dancing in Paddys silver truck to ‘Y.M.C.A’ along Sackville Street in Manchester, I took off my sailor hat, changed into more suitable shoes and headed to the travel agents. It was only after hhmming and ahhhing about prices, dates and making a payment that the lady behind the desk asked me, ‘So, why are you covered in glitter?’. Ooops..

And since then things have been hectic.  I’ve played a vampire slayer in a play (‘Once Bitten!’), left my house, sold my little car (Cecil) for scrap as I wasn’t sure what else could fall off/fail/break/rattle, left my job and now I am staying (stranded?) at my parents house, typing a blog on Christmas Day. 

 This last month has been like one long leaving do. Note: You should always live like you’re about to go to Australia* - I’ve seen and met so many amazing friends, visited places I love, both new and old to me, danced, laughed, done things I wouldn’t normally do and just made the most of my time.

So Manchester, I am leaving you on an absolute high- thank you!

Bring on the travelling..

Natalie, Myself and Mark at my leaving do..