Hi everyone and a happy Friday to you all. It’s been a while since I have posted a flower of the day but looking through my photo albums, I discovered that I have a copious amount of flowers to show case.
Today’s flower is the common hollyhock. I found this nestled against a wall when visiting my sister last year in Cambridgeshire. I loved the colour and the fact that it was sitting on its own. Simple yet effective. It is a stalk-flowering plant known for its height and beautiful flowers. Have you ever seen one of these?
I am also thinking of Cee and hoping that she returns to full health soon. She is always inspiring us to post flowers and for that I am grateful ☺️.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. This week I only have one door to show case, however, this is a special door found on a boat trip that I undertook last weekend.
The ferry to Bundeena with its fantastic wooden door for the captain’s use only.
We took a small boat trip from Cronulla, our nearest seaside town, to Bundeena, another smaller and more quaint little seaside town. I have previously created a blog post for Bundeena as we had taken a short trip there during covid times and absolutely LOVED it.
Cronulla to Bundeena – a little village in the Royal National Park
The boat ride takes about 35 minutes and costs about $8 one way. It’s a beautiful, relaxing boat journey and the best way to travel to Bundeena. I was thrilled to be able to showcase this boat journey with my friends from Melbourne and enable them to visit Bundeena for the afternoon.
I had great intentions to walk along the beach, have a nice lunch and complete the Aboriginal trek, however, my friends were more interested in finding the nearest pub! Luckily for them, we found a cool, cosy pub on the main street that also served street food (lucky for me). After a couple of tasty margaritas, we headed back to the wharf for the ferry ride home. Fortunately, the sun was setting and we were able to view the most stunning sunset.
A magical end to the day seeing this sunset. I was obsessed 😍
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of exceptional doors. I have only one door to show you this week and you may have to zoom in to see it. I absolutely love this house, the front porch, the blue rocking chair and all the greenery. The door is equally stunning with its deep green colour and wooden panels, tucked under its beautiful gable roof.
I have a small loop that I can walk if I need to increase my step count and breathe in some fresh air. It’s close to my home and takes you around some lovely tree lined streets with some fantastic houses. This one is my absolute favourite and I always smile as I walk past it.
Have a great weekend everyone. Today is my Friday and it’s a long weekend due to it being King Charles’ birthday (not sure why we need a day off but I’m not complaining).
I am very fortunate to know someone who owns their own boat or barge, as they call it and they are happy to take passengers on a river cruise along the Port Hacking river, located here in the Sutherland Shire. My friends have been inviting colleagues from our place of work to experience the river cruise, with different passengers taken on board each time. I think my partner and I are considered the resident guests, meaning we are able to attend every time, wow! I feel so lucky that we have been able to attend on the two occasions that have happened so far.
We meet at a nearby carpark at 7am, it’s nice and early and a great way to start the day. We hop on board and sail towards the Audley Dance Hall Cafe for breakfast, about 20 minutes from when we set sail. The river is so quiet and serene at this time and we have been lucky enough to spot some spectacular wildlife, including a sea eagle and a kingfisher.
The breakfast at Audley is tasty and it’s a great way to catch up with friends and share great conversation. After some time and having checked out the Audley gift shop, we head back to the barge and set sail back the same way we came. Instead of docking again, my friends take us on a little journey along the river to more open waters and we sail around the different suburbs of the Shire, taking in the beauty of the water, the tree filled shore lines, the impressive boats / yachts and the stunning homes built along the water’s edge. You can tell people have a lot of money if they live here.
All in all, the river cruise is extremely relaxing and enjoyable and I can’t believe we are able to attend for free AND it’s on our doorstep. Simply amazing. I hope my photos can show case the beauty of the river cruise experience.
We hop on board at the boat ramp and sail down to the dance hall and back again before heading out to the more open water of the river.
Hi everyone and welcome to another week of fantastic doors. It’s Friday morning here but I figure I’m still in time to post some doors. It’s 0630 and I’m currently on my hourly train ride to work, so what better time than now to look through my gallery.
I have an array of doors still waiting to be showcased, however, this week I want to show you some of my favourite lighthouses. I absolutely love lighthouses and will make it my mission to go out of my way to find them. I love their architecture / design, their spectacular viewpoints and the fact that they emit light to help people at sea. What’s not to love! Plus they will almost certainly have a door. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite. These are all located within New South Wales, Australia.
Macquarie Lighthouse, VaucluseHornby Lighthouse, Watson’s BayCape Byron Lighthouse, Byron BayBradley’s Head Lighthouse, Cremorne PointNorah Head Lighthouse, Norah HeadBarrenjoey Lighthouse, Palm BeachRichmond River Lighthouse, Ballina
I find it very difficult to choose from these but I have always loved the Bradley’s Head Lighthouse for its delicateness and location. However, the Barrenjoey Lighthouse is very different from the others and its location is out of this world. I also love its colour and brickwork with the red roof to the side.
This is the walk up to visit Barrenjoey Lighthouse from Palm Beach.
Thanks everyone and have a great end to your week.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to a new week of wonderful doors. I have to admit (and you may have noticed) that I have lost my blogging mojo of late, even more so with my doors posts. There are two main reasons for this, 1. I have been so so busy with work and settling back into Australian life that I just haven’t had the time or motivation and 2. I am so disappointed with the lack of interesting doors where I live. I know that my first point also plays a factor as I need time to go and visit new locations but I would love to have some in my neighbourhood. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some lovely houses around but I guess a unique looking door just isn’t high on everyone’s list.
However…I was walking in our nearby coastal suburb, known as Cronulla, at the weekend and was DELIGHTED to discover some beautiful doors and homes. As sad as it may sound, it really made my day and brought a smile to my face. Some of the images, you may have to enlarge to see the actual door but I just loved the whole buildings and wanted to showcase them. Please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
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My favourite is number 2. I stood and observed this house for a good few minutes (hopefully not too creepily) just taking it all in. Such a quaint little cottage with great outdoor greenery, a fantastic roof and of course the yellow door with its little porch. FANTASTIC!
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. I am pulling out a few of my favourite random doors from my collection as I am really struggling to find some interesting doors where I live. These doors were taken in different countries and many even before I realised I had a love for doors. Please do let me know if you have a favourite this week.
Hello everyone and happy Thursday to you all. Today in Australia is ANZAC Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), a day to remember those who served their country as part of the armed forces and a day to think of those who lost their lives to war.
Although we didn’t do anything today to commemorate i.e. attend the usual Dawn services, it was still a good opportunity to reflect and think of those who lost their lives (dying for their country to give the future generations a better life) and those who made it home.
My only door this week is from an old pub situated at the heart of Sydney, known as The Glenmore Hotel. This is a heritage listed pub (known as a hotel as all pubs used to be hotels up until the 1980s, as this was the only way they could have a liquor license) built in 1921, just a stone throws away from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.
This pub is full of character and charm and you can feel the history as soon as you walk through the door. It made me think of the ANZACS and that maybe they would have had drinks in this pub.
The Glenmore Hotel – I must remember to take some images from inside the building as it’s really special. Sydney Harbour BridgeThe Australian Hotel ready for ANZAC Day celebrations View of the Sydney Opera House from the Glenmore Hotel rooftop bar.
Have a great weekend everyone and I look forward to checking out some of your doors.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. This week I only have the one door to show you, however, it’s a good’un, in my humble opinion.
We were visiting friends over the Easter weekend in one of our favourite spots, the Southern Highlands and I found this door in a very quaint little village called Berrima.
I also love the flowers in front of the door and they add a lot of value to the image. They are known as Japanese Thimbleflowers, very beautiful but don’t be fooled, as all parts of the flower are poisonous and can be fatal if ingested!
Ps. I love how I can add my door post to another challenge here on WordPress, Cee’s flower of the day (FOTD) challenge 🤗.
Hello everyone and happy Thursday. I have had a couple of weeks off from blogging which has been so lovely but now I am ready to share my second edition of doors with an emphasis on cars. I really, really LOVE doors but I also can appreciate a really good looking car and as they have doors (often more than one!) I thought it would be fun to feature some more of my favourite cars over the past year.
As always, please let me know if you have a favourite image this week. I am displaying 10 images taken by moi, probably because it’s my 80th edition of Doors of WordPress so I figure it should be marked in some way.
I hope you have all been well and I look forward to seeing all your door entries this week for those participating in Dan’s Thursday Doors. Sadly, I am not a car expert so I can’t even name many of the cars, hence the reason they are simply numbered. Personally, when I look at cars, I look more at the shape, colour and its overall appearance / character.
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I have many favourites from this collection for all the reasons mentioned above but my absolute favourite has to be number 8. The colour is stunning and the model is fantastic. I think of its history, the nostalgia, the history and James Bond haha. I can just imagine driving this around the Amalfi Coast, with no traffic of course!
I hope you all have a lovely Easter holiday period and you are able to spend some quality time relaxing or visiting family.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. As I am running low on new doors I thought I would show a few of my favourite cars (I figured they have doors too right?!). These are classic cars that were pictured in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, just before we left for Australia.
There are a lot of wealthy people living in Hillsborough, therefore, classic cars is a big thing there. They are a real pride and joy for some folk and they really love to show them off in the village.
Let me know if you have a favourite this week. I apologise that I know nothing about cars and can’t even tell you what type of cars they are. However, I absolutely love seeing these classic cars and can really appreciate the time and effort it takes to keep these on the roads.
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I love all of these cars but I especially love number two. It’s the unusual and cheerful colour that really appeals to me and there’s something very “James Bond” like about its appearance. I could imagine driving this in the English countryside or the other extreme, driving along Route 66!
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another wonderful week of doors. Last weekend we were visiting family south west of Sydney in a quaint little town called Camden. It’s a one horse town built on a flood plain with an abundance of character and history. We just took a quick stroll up and down the main street but I was happy to spot a few doors along the way. Let me know if you have a favourite.
Happy Thursday everyone! The day is almost over here in Sydney and I will be heading to bed very soon but I wanted to share my one door with you this week.
My one and only door but it’s a good one (in my humble opinion). Sadly, there aren’t too many great doors around me so I will have to travel further afield when I have some time off.
I did manage to spot this door in Cronulla this week, a nearby coastal suburb that is great to visit for beach walks and a swim. We have been here twice this week already for walks after I have finished work.
It’s a really beautiful area and only a 9 minute drive from our place. I love the blue door seen in the right hand side and the curtains on the left are cool that they make the window look like a door.
I look forward to seeing all your amazing doors also for those participating. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. This week I have just two doors to show you from a day trip we took to the coastal town of Thirroul, 45km south from where we’re living in the state of NSW.
Thirroul is a coastal town with beautiful beaches and I feel that you can really tell from these doors and surroundings that these houses belong to wealthy people living at the coast. What do you think of these doors?
They are both very unique and captivated me for different reasons. The architectural design of the doors and buildings is exquisite for both homes and I love how the greenery really makes the doors pop!
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. I’m glad I have my doors post this week as Bloganuary has officially finished and I need something to blog about today. It almost feels like saying goodbye to an old friend, “see you next year!”.
I am showcasing a few doors from Sydney this week as I haven’t seen too many interesting doors from where I am now living…yet. Give it time Wayne! I always want things to happen straight away, let it go hahaha. Anyways, let me know if you have a favourite this week.
I love door number two but my favourite has to be number four World Square. What a fascinating door in the middle of a mall in Sydney’s CBD. It reminds me of something from Kill Bill the movie, when Uma Thurman is completing her training to become the world’s most deadly assassin. Have you ever seen this movie?
Firstly, thank you to In primo piano for the great Thursday Door logo for this year (that I intend to use for the first time) and Dan for hosting this weekly challenge for another year!
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. I have had a break from doors since Christmas, really to allow me some time to collect a few more doors and I was happy to see everyone was taking a break over the holiday period. Actually, I didn’t even manage to find many new doors, I guess I have been pretty busy with moving continents again.
However, I did manage to find five new doors in Randwick, the suburb I am currently staying at in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, not far from where I used to live. This is our last week here as we move into our new place next week. Hopefully I can find some interesting doors there. Please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
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My favourite has to be number 5 this week as I love the glass panels, the pillars on either side and the brick work of the house. What about you?
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. This week I am showcasing only one door but it is from a building that I have wanted to share with you for a few years now.
The Nellie Vickery Chapel is the smallest church I have ever seen, located in Waverley, Sydney and just around the corner from where I used to live in Bondi Junction. It is situated on the grounds of the War Memorial Hospital, which was once a mansion built and owned by Ebenezer Vickery. His family donated the exquisite home to the church after the First World War and opened as a hospital in 1921.
Many nurses were trained here over the years and I had the privilege of working here for most of my time living in Sydney. Such a wonderful place to work, boasting a fantastic architectural structure with beautiful gardens surrounding it.
I just happened to stumble across this little church one day (as it is tucked away in the garden) and I was so amazed at its quaint and historic character. I also thought the door was pretty special and the stained glass window is really stunning. Sadly I cannot find much information on the church itself but I believe it was added to the site at a later stage. If anyone else can enlighten me, please feel free to do so 😊. If I return to this site, I will make it my mission to find out it’s history.
War Memorial Hospital – the church is situated to the left, outside this frame and tucked away in the trees. What a fantastic building and is now listed. These statues were pretty scary when looking out at night!
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to my FIFTIETH edition of doors!!! I can’t believe I have had fifty posts showcasing doors, never mind finding so many doors to display. Thank you all so much for taking an interest, for your continued support, likes and comments. My doors posts are my favourite to compose and I really enjoy everyones thoughts when picking a favourite for the week, allowing us to connect and also enabling us to see things from different perspectives.
This week I have picked a few of my favourite doors over the last year that have not yet been featured. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite.
I love all these doors but I have saved my favourite for last. I love the stained glass windows and double doors. I also love the little cart and would love to have had a peep inside. I could imagine having holidays in this little mobile home, towed along by my car all over the country. Ah to dream!
Thank you all again and have a fantastic weekend everyone.
Hello everyone and welcome to another week of doors! Today is Friday here in Northern Ireland, so I am a day late with my doors, however, the weather yesterday was unbelievably good and I didn’t want to waste a second of it. When the sun shines, there’s no rain and the skies are blue, you have to make the most of it in Ireland.
I thought this week I would share some of my favourite church doors. I have so many photos of churches as I love the architecture and history of these buildings and thankfully they quite often have beautiful doors. Let me know if you have a favourite this week.
1 – Glaslough, NI2 – Mudgee, Australia 3 – Queenstown, NZ4 – Carlingford, Ireland 5 – Sydney, Australia
Happy Thursday from a very cold and snowy Northern Ireland. We are into our first week of spring here, so of course that means snow here! Without fail, we become excited when winter is over, only to be hit with a cold front. This happens year in year out, with the possibility of this right up until April and even May. I’m not sure why we are always surprised by this!!
For this reason, my doors for this week aim to brighten up your day or even week as I pick out some of my most colourful doors from my archive. Please let me know if you have a favourite.
1 – Dolls Point, Sydney2 – Woollahra, Sydney3 – North Bondi, Sydney4 – Banbridge, NI5 – Hillsborough, NI6 – Carlingford, Ireland7 – Newcastle, NI8 – Waverley, Sydney
I’m finding it difficult to choose a favourite but I really do love the yellow door from Carlingford. The colour and design of the door, fitting snugly into the brick wall just oozes quaintness overload for me. I hope these doors add a little colour to your week. Enjoy your day everyone.
Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.
So I have just transitioned to the Jetpack app (I wonder will I miss seeing the WordPress app on my phone?!) and now I appear to have prompts for writing. That’s pretty cool, especially on days that you’re maybe struggling to think of material. I maybe won’t always respond to these but this prompt I found interesting.
My favourite pair of shoes were a pair of Vans that my cousin recommended. They were black with brown laces and I found them to be stylish, yet extremely comfortable. I love a shoe that you can wear with chinos or jeans and appear smart but also look casual with a pair of shorts. The downside was that they didn’t last too long but I guess I wore them to death! They took me all over Sydney on many, many walks and also around Northern Ireland when I wore them home in 2019 when touring the north coast.
Visiting the Game Of Thrones spots in Northern Ireland. Check out my Vans 👆🏼
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another glorious week of doors. I have been thinking of Sydney, Australia a lot this week, therefore, I think it would be good to show some more of my Sydney doors, even if it’s just for me to be able to reminisce. Please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
My personal favourite is the first one. It’s the colour for me, so bright and full of life. The panelling and transom window are great features and I also love the greenery and picket fence in the frame.
Thanks for taking a look and have a lovely end to your week.
One word springs to mind for me, FOUNDATION. I have just returned from Australia back home to Northern Ireland and my goal is to build my foundation for the next chapter in my life. I want to buy a house, settle in a new job and decide what is in store for my future. I am really looking forward and thinking of positive things for the days, weeks, months and even years ahead. I hope you will all follow me on my journey and very good luck to all those participating in this years Bloganuary. I look forward to reading everyone’s responses and making some new friends here in the blogosphere.
Happy New Year everyone and here’s hoping 2023 brings us everything we hope for.
I love choosing 12 photos to highlight what I have experienced throughout the year and it’s a great little recap. This has been a big year with lots of changes, some good and some bad, however, I am grateful to have had a good year overall and ending 2022 on a positive note. Please feel free to have a look at my 2022 highlights below and feel free to share your highlights from the past 12 months.
JANUARY – starting the year off with a little trip to Mudgee, NSW. We had always wanted to visit here and this was the perfect place for us to celebrate 15 years together. FEBRUARY – This was one of our most epic destinations and a huge bucket list ticked off. Our trip to Uluru was one that we will cherish for years to come. MARCH – Rain, rain, rain. Two years of rain in Sydney thanks to La Niña. We had many days out in the rain, we wouldn’t let it deter us, it was certainly better than having bush fires. APRIL – a lovely little trip seeing the bestie in Melbourne. So good to catch-up after so long apart and seeing these Brighton boxes was another item ticked off the bucket list. MAY – Seeing Dermot Kennedy in concert was pretty special, especially with my Irish friends. JUNE – BBQ with the boys. Some of my favourite people, fantastic Lebanese food and this was the beginning of my many leaving parties as I leave Sydney for the time being. JULY – the beginning of our travels. Queenstown in New Zealand was an absolute highlight. We loved it here. AUGUST – Next on our travels was Bali, Indonesia. Stunning place to visit and we welcomed the sunshine after being in NZ at winter time. SEPTEMBER – a big reason for me coming home was to see my sisters become married. A beautiful day and I love this photos with my sisters. I’m a lucky guy to have not one but three amazing sisters 🤍OCTOBER – the main reason for me to come home, my family. Precious time with my niece and nephew, priceless! NOVEMBER – my baby sister has her wedding. A lovely day and feeling very proud here 🤍DECEMBER – Home with my number one person. Grateful to be here together and look forward to 2023, side by side ❤️
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors, the last one before Christmas. This week’s Thursday Doors challenge is to show your favourite doors of the year, thanks for that Dan, not an easy thing to do! I have chosen my top 8 doors of 2022, from Australia and NZ, all the way to here in Northern Ireland. I have ranked them in my order of preference, some have been shown already and some are newly featured. Please take a look and enjoy these magnificent doors and hats off to their owners for doing such a fantastic job.
The sunset I am sharing today is from 12 weeks ago in Bondi, Sydney. You don’t actually see the sunset but the colours that were on show were absolutely stunning. I haven’t seen anything quite like the colour changes here of the sky anywhere else, from yellow to orange and then pink to lilac. I was just standing in the middle of the road, outside our friend’s apartment, in complete awe, as were many other locals.
Beautiful Bondi
I hope you enjoy the colours and have had a lovely relaxing weekend.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another Doors of WordPress. This week I thought I would show case some more doors from Sydney, as it has now been two weeks since we left and it is never far from my mind.
After our New Zealand holiday, we had another trip up our sleeves before heading home to Northern Ireland. Initially we were planning on Tasmania, however, New Zealand was freezing and Tasmania would be freezing too at this time of year. So we decided to cancel Tasmania and head somewhere hot. Bali had never really been on my agenda but it’s pretty close to Australia and a popular tourist destination. After some research online and speaking with friends, we settled on two locations to try, simply to break up the trip and have two different experiences. We opted for Ubud for the scenery and peacefulness, contrasting with Seminyak for the beaches and tourist vibe.
This was to be a relaxing holiday, lying by the pool and absorbing some much needed vitamin D. Normally I really dislike these types of holidays but I was fine on this occasion as we had just travelled quite a bit and packed up our whole life. Rest and relaxation was most definitely welcomed.
Arriving into Bali was a lengthy process with four different queues needing to be passed. Covid screening, obtaining and paying for your visa ($100 AU), immigration and declarations. I’m not going to lie, this was tough going after a long flight from Australia and we arrived late at night. By the time we passed immigration etc it was 12pm. Luckily we had pre booked a taxi and he was very kind to wait for us as we had another one hour drive to our hotel in Ubud. I felt so bad for the driver but he reassured me that this is the norm.
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Element Bali Ubud – this was our hotel in Ubud for 4 nights and to be honest, it was the highlight of the holiday. We are absolutely amazed by this hotel and how fantastic it was. The staff were unbelievably friendly and accommodating, everything was so clean, the food drinks were delicious, the location to town was pretty good and we loved the amenities. We used the spa, the gym and the pool and were so pleased with them all. I would definitely recommend staying here if you ever come to Ubud. You can check it out here for yourselves.
Things to see in Ubud : We hired a taxi to take us around the key sites of interest that we had been researching. The Monkey Temple is a huge tourist attraction but we don’t really have a love for monkeys so we avoided that one.
1 – Seeing the rice fields. This was great to see how the farmers work the fields and grow their best prized crop.
2 – Tirta Empul Temple. A very busy temple for locals and tourists alike. This was built around a bubbling spring and is a fascinating place to see Hindu devotees purifying themselves by ways of ritual bathing.
3 – Sampling the Luwak coffee. This coffee is famous for its unusual methods of creation. The Luwak animal is a cat like creature that feeds on Luwak coffee beans (among other things). When they excrete the beans, the outer shell is removed to expose the inner bean, which in turn is used to make coffee. Seen as a delicacy, this was an honour to taste, alongside some really different and unusual tea and coffee varieties, such as avocado coffee and lemongrass tea.
4 – Saraswati Temple. This just looked amazing online so we really wanted to visit. It can be found in the heart of Ubud centre and was built to honour Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom and learning.
5 – Dinner at Chora. I found this restaurant on Instagram (the benefits of social media) and thought it looked interesting. It was fab! Great healthy food with a Mediterranean influence, fantastic service and a truly serene experience.
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Aloft Bali Seminyak – We loved this hotel and it had such a great location. It’s a good distance from the town but you are in a quieter location and very close to the beaches. We would walk 5 minutes to the beach and then walk along for about 30 minutes to reach Seminyak town. The rooftop pool and bar was lovely with stunning ocean views, the hotel served up some great food and drinks, plus the staff again were so, so friendly here.
To be honest we didn’t do many tourist things here in Seminyak and we were happy just to relax. Also, I did have a case of Bali belly during the trip (a common occurrence here for Westerners with sensitive stomachs), I think from the water, so I was out of action for a couple of days with pretty bad stomach cramps. However, I can show you a few places that we enjoyed eating in when I felt better, asides from the hotel where the food was really delicious.
1 – Shelter Restaurant. Shelter is a contemporary Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurant located in the central part of beautiful Pererenan. The food was absolutely stunning and the service was exceptional. There was a great tropical vibe and the musical really set the scene, even the bathrooms were impressive. This was our favourite place to eat from the whole trip (maybe as it was also my birthday).
2 – Da Maria. This was a fantastic Italian restaurant actually on the same street as our hotel. It’s great when you can walk to the venue and we had heard great things about this place. Food was lovely and there is a real buzz in this place.
3 – Potato Head Bali Beach Club. This is a really cool place if you want to come and chill out for the day. We loved the food here also and it was just a short walk from our hotel via the beach before you get to Seminyak Village.
One thing you do have to do in Seminyak is watch the sunset from the beach. You can be anywhere on the beach but we found the sunset to be popular near our hotel. The actual beach is called Pantai Batu Belig. People come to just sit on the beach and take it all in, it actually reminded me of Ibiza sunsets.
That’s a wrap on my Bali trip. It’s a beautiful place with the most gorgeous people. This was a great trip for rest and relaxation before heading home to Northern Ireland. Follow my journey home and I aim to highlight the numerous places NI has to offer.
Thanks for taking a look at this Bali blog post and have a great week everyone.
Happy Sunday everyone. I hope you’re all having a good weekend whatever you’re doing. We are adjusting to life at home and catching up with family and friends. Today’s sunset picture was taken last week on our last evening in Bali. We were sitting at the rooftop bar at our hotel and we were fortunate to be able to witness this sunset. I love the colour of the sky and the way it contrasts with the dark and moody looking cloud coverage.
Happy Friday everyone. My flower of the day was taken in Bali. I was amazed to spot this as I have never seen anything like it before. It is a species of costus and is native to Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Two things spring to mind when I see this prompt. Firstly, the image says Week of August 8 which makes me think the monthly word prompt is now weekly!? I asked WordPress about this and they stated that they are trialling more frequent word prompts. Fair enough and I think it’s a good idea, especially if you are maybe struggling to think of a blog topic.
Secondly the word prompt featured is transition which jumps out at me as I feel this is personally very appropriate at this time. I am making a huge life transition in the coming days. As many of you know already, I have been travelling a lot over the past few weeks and next week I will be heading to Northern Ireland after three years of not being able to visit home. I have packed up all my belongings and moving across the world to finally reunite with my family and friends. Whether I stay there or return to Australia remains to be seen but for now I will be concentrating on catching up with loved ones and reacquainting myself with life in Northern Ireland.
I will be keeping you all updated and sharing plenty more on my blog as the next chapter of my life commences, hopefully showcasing the best places see in Northern Ireland, Ireland and even Europe. I would like to say thank you all for your continued support and for creating such an amazing blogging environment here on WordPress.
After Hobbiton, we drove for a couple of hours to reach our final destination of Auckland. We were here primarily to catch up with a good friend who lives here but also we were keen to see and experience what this city has to offer. I will highlight the places we managed to visit while in Auckland for three days.
1 – Cheltenham Beach
A beautiful beach with views of Rangitoto, a volcanic island off the coast of Auckland. It’s the youngest volcano in New Zealand being just 600 years old.
2 – Maungauika/North Head Historic Reserve
This stunning coastal walk takes you along the entrance to Auckland’s harbour. This site once belonged to the Māori people and then became a prominent defence base when threat of war was high. It’s interesting to see the tunnels here and you can even see the old disappearing guns that were very much ahead of their time. Look out to see breathtaking views of Auckland harbour and city.
3 – Takapuna Beach Path.
Take a stroll along Takapuna Beach, where you can see amazing views towards Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands and the Hauraki Gulf. I couldn’t help but smile at Minnehaha Avenue 😁.
4 – Wine tasting at The Hunting Lodge.
There are many, many vineyards to check out in Auckland but we went with this one. We loved it and the beer paddle was a wee bonus.
5 – Sunset at Muriwai Beach.
Stunning sunset and the beach is made of black volcanic sand.
6 – Auckland Museum.
We always have to see the local museum when we visit a new city. This one was great if you’re interested to learn about Māori culture.
7 – Ponsonby.
This is a trendy area famous for its dining and shopping
There you have it! Our New Zealand trip has come to an end. What an amazing trip and so fortunate to have finally been able to visit after being in lockdown on and off for two years. I hope you enjoyed the journey and photographs from this truly epic country with the absolute friendliest of people. It’s a trip I will not forget in a hurry. Thank you all for showing an interest in my posts over the past couple of weeks, it really means a lot.
This was the perfect spot for us to stop and rest during our drive from Wellington to Auckland. As well as being a great location to stop, we had really wanted to visit here for a couple of reasons.
This area was created thousands of years ago by volcanic activity and sits at the southern end of Lake Rotorua, also formed from a volcanic explosion. Although the volcano hasn’t erupted since, there remains a lot of geothermal occurrences daily, which in turn creates geysers, hot springs and hot mud pools.
We really wanted to try the hot springs as well as seeing and learning about the traditional Māori people. In Rotorua you can find a living Māori village, there the people have been living for more than 700 years. You can have a tour of the village and witness how the people live.
Rotorua itself is a quaint little town with plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars. You will see many Māori people here which is really lovely to see. Another thing to note with this place is that it has a strong sulphur smell (think eggs) from the geysers which can be quite overwhelming if you’re not used to it but I’m so glad we were able to experience it.
Lake Rotorua Little hot springs everywhere. The smell here was intense. Love the architecture Great little pubPOLYNESIAN SPA GEOTHERMAL HOT SPRINGS AND THERAPIES – Absolutely stunning private pools with stunning views. After our own time here we were able to enjoy a fresh juice and head to the public pools. These were still quite exclusive so not too many people allowed in at one time which was great. There are a few different pools you can try with varying temperatures. Personally, I loved the 40 degree Celsius pool, the warmer the better for me 🥵.Welcome to the Māori village 😊Amazing to see how the Māori people use the hot springs for cooking. This water is 80 – 100 degrees Celsius. People still bathe here to this day. Sadly they only bathe very early in the morning and late in the afternoon as tours occur during the day. Traditional cooking methods in the ground. Used to cook Kai (food).Hot springs everywhere Geysers spurt here daily
Such an amazing place and we thanked the tour guide for an awesome opportunity to see how the Māori people continue to live to this day and aim to keep their traditions alive in the 21st century.
I hope you enjoyed a little insight to Rotorua. This is a definite pit stop if ever travelling from Wellington to Auckland. We made one more stop on our way to Auckland, can any of you guess where it was? I am really excited to show you all later this week.
Watching the sunset from our hotel in Ubud during the week. The glass walkway was stunning and really adds to the image. We couldn’t really see below as it was dark but the sunset was truly magical. This hotel Element Bali Ubud was out of this world and I will write more about that in my future Bali blog 🍃.
We had flown to Wellington from Christchurch and thank goodness we were able to. The weather had been bad for weeks with heavy downpours. Many flights had been cancelled but fortunately for us, our flight made it across the water to the North Island. It was exciting to depart the South Island and have new experiences of the north. We also really wanted to see Wellington as it is the capital of New Zealand. We stayed here only for one night and would then hire a car and drive up the island to our final destination of Auckland.
As we were only here for one day, I will show you my highlights of the city and what we were able to squeeze in. We really enjoyed Wellington and we were extremely blessed to have good weather (mostly).
1 – Staying in the QT Wellington. This hotel chain is one of my favourites. We have stayed in three others before so we kind of knew what to expect. They’re a little more pricey but we thought if we’re only here for one day, why not treat ourselves to a nice hotel. This one in Wellington I think has been the best QT so far. Extremely quirky and we loved the art throughout the building. I would totally recommend staying here if you visit Wellington.
2 – Take a walk along Lambton Harbour. This is situated just beside the museum and it’s beautiful just to walk along the water front. This eventually leads onto Wellington Harbour.
3 – Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. This museum was on our doorstep so we had to check it out. Such a great place to learn about NZ and for us the highlight was the Gallipoli: The Scale of our War exhibition. You can find more information here. This unique exhibition tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances. The people are recreated as larger than life models, really bringing it home what these people went through. An extraordinary exhibition and extremely moving.
4 – Wellington Cable Car. You can find this in the city centre and takes you to a great height up a mountain to see great panoramic views of Wellington. You can also see the Botanical Gardens there too that are really worth a visit.
The little rain didn’t stop us. Being from Ireland we are well used to some wet conditions 🤣
5 – Take a walk through the city centre. There’s lots of character in this city, funky shops and great pieces of street art.
6 – Dinner at Mr Go’s. This Asian fusion restaurant is really quirky and serves delicious small plates perfect for sharing. There is such a good vibe here.
Thanks for taking a look at my Wellington blog and I hope you are inspired to maybe visit or even just enjoyed looking at some photographs of this amazing city. We would then head towards Auckland and make a couple of stops on the way. Next stop where we were staying is Rotorua, blog coming very soon 😊.
Happy Friday everyone. This flower was seen in the garden here at our hotel in Bali where we are vacationing for a few days before heading back to Ireland. I will continue to work on my New Zealand blogs over the coming days and hopefully share my Bali experience also 😊.
Aphrodite’s Phalaenopsis
“Aphrodite’s phalaenopsis is an orchid hailing from Taiwan and the Philippines. It is an epiphyte, which are sometimes called ‘air plants’ because they grow on trees or other objects, and get all the nutrients they need from debris that drops from the air onto those hosts. The delicate yet striking appearance of this flower has inspired the alternative common name of Goddess of Fertility” (Picture This, 2022).
We took a day trip here from Queenstown. It is the one place everyone asked about whether we would be visiting or not when in Queenstown. I’m really glad that we did take the trip here, even if it was a long day. We booked a coach trip (you can do this at the tourist information office in town) and it lasted the whole day. It’s more than 12 hours to drive there, take a boat tour through Milford Sound and then the drive back. It’s a big day but really worth seeing, especially if you may never return here again.
Miford Sound is a fiord, carved by glaciers during the ice ages. It really is captivating and I don’t think I have ever seen anywhere quite like it. The scenery is out of this world, no matter what the weather and if you’re lucky you may be able to spot some dolphins, seals and penguins that call this place home. We were fortunate to have seen seals sunbathing and dolphins that followed our boat back into the dock.
Even the journey to Milford Sound is spectacular and we were able to make a few pit stops to take some photographs. I will show you a couple of our stops and then show you some snaps of the magnificent Milford Sound.
First stop was Garston for a coffee fix. Be aware, skimmed milk here is called trim. So when you order 2 skim flat whites, they will be called 2 trims. We had no idea when the lady was calling out our orders! Our next stop was in Te Anau where we could grab some food and supplies if needed. Beside the store was an Alpaca farm where you could also feed them. They were real characters to say the least with their own unique hair styles 🤣. Stunning scenery from Te AnauMirror Lakes – we stopped here to take in the views. Out of this world. Fiordland National Park – this was our final stop before reaching our destination. We were fortunate to spot a Kea, the world’s only alpine parrot. Look at how well it camouflages against the mountains. Milford Sound – After about 5 hours, we reached our destination for a boat ride through the mountains. Honestly I don’t have enough words to describe how magnificent this place is. I hope the photos can do some justice. We loved it. The waterfalls, mountains, the colours, the serenity and the wildlife all made this place really stand out. It was totally worth the long drive to get there. That’s a bucket list item ticked off for sure ✅.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog post and I hope it inspired you to maybe visit for yourself one day.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to yet another weekly post featuring some more of my favourite doors. This week’s edition follows on from last week’s doors in New Zealand. I have some more to show case from this amazing country and next week I have some extra special doors to show you as it will be my twentieth edition of Doors of WordPress! Let me know if you have a favourite door this week 😊.
This place was a no brainer for me. It’s in close proximity to Queenstown and I had heard that this town was extremely quaint and full of character. Winner winner chicken dinner! We took the number 2 bus and were there 45 minutes later, however, if you travel by car it’s only about 20 minutes.
This church was the first building we had seen on arrival to Arrowtown. I love its craftsmanship.
I didn’t know much about the history of the town but that’s ok as they have a museum to provide you with some interesting information. I was already aware that Arrowtown was a good mining town and home to many European and Chinese immigrants who had settled to make their fortune.
Many of the architecture remains intact and the buildings are beautiful to look at. The whole street is very photogenic and there is a stunning river and walkway alongside, which is where the gold had been found many years ago.
I loved the old stores and a walk by the river is truly magical. Our last stop was for lunch at The Fork & Tap.
Thanks for reading guys and I hope I have been able to show you the beauty of Arrowtown. Please let me know if anyone has ever been there.
When you say to people you are travelling to New Zealand, they will pretty much always ask “Are you going to Queenstown?”. I didn’t really understand why but now that I have travelled there, I totally get it. This place was the highlight of NZ for us. The scenery is just out of this world and made even more special as we were here in winter. The snow peaked mountains were absolutely stunning and you just can’t quite take it all in.
The flight into Queenstown is breathtaking and you won’t be able to peel your eyes away from the window. As soon as you arrive at the airport you will be blown away by the epic scenery and become lost in the magic of Queenstown.
We caught the number one bus from the airport into Queenstown which takes about 10 – 15 minutes. It’s a very easy ride and luckily for us it stopped just before the town at our hotel, The Ramada. We loved our stay here, great proximity to the town, beautiful scenery all around, very friendly staff, lovely hotel and the breakfast was open until 11.30 and you simply pay for what you order (this was a real novelty for us as you usually pay a hefty amount for a buffet breakfast and they often close early in other places I have been).
For us, Queenstown was all about the scenery and using it as a base to see other places close by. We took the number two bus to the quaint little Arrowtown. We also took a coach trip to Milford Sound. I will post a little blog about these two places after this but these were the two places we most wanted to see. The scenery itself in Queenstown is beautiful and it’s really lovely just taking a stroll through the town and having a look at all the shops, restaurants and bars. There is a lovely walkway that passed the back of our hotel to the town that takes you along the side of Lake Wakatipu. It was beautiful and can also take you to the town via Queenstown Gardens.
Views from the back of the Ramada. We took the walk into the town. It takes about 30 minutes and the views are out of this world. Lake Wakatipu The town is very picturesque.
A few people have been asking about food recommendations so I thought I would run through a quick list for you :
⁃ Joe’s Garage – perfect for breakfast
⁃ Stratosfare – this is the restaurant on top of the huge mountain. Take the gondola up to the top for spectacular views of Queenstown. It’s a buffet dinner with plenty to choose from.
Taking the gondola 🚠. Stunning views to and from the restaurant.
⁃ Surreal Bar & Restaurant – nice pub grub and home cooking. All the staff appeared to be Irish too 😊.
⁃ Flame (need to book) – we actually couldn’t go here as it was fully booked. My advice would be to book ahead ( for most restaurants actually, as they get pretty busy and there are very few staff here at the moment due to the pandemic).
⁃ Bombay Palace – perfect little spot for some Indian food. We loved it.
⁃ Boardwalk – PIER Restaurant – this is just at the pier (funny enough). Beautiful views to watch the world go by and they have heat lamps for dining al fresco.
Seafood chowder and a glass of rosé 😋
⁃ Paddy Gaddy – Southeast Asian – the food here was stunning. It’s an Asian fusion type restaurant with a real vibe.
⁃ Margos Mexican – another one you would need to book. This looked awesome but there was no space the night that we tried. Definitely looks worth a visit if you like Mexican food.
– The Pig and Whistle – we loved this place for drinks, either sitting inside or out.
– The Speight’s Ale House – lovely quaint little pub with the best toasty fire.
That’s my lot for Queenstown. Such an amazing place that you have to see for yourself. We only had 4 days here but that was actually perfect for us as we weren’t skiing or participating in any winter sports (not our cup of tea). Should that be your thing, you will love this place even more!
Thanks for reading and I will have a couple of blog posts for Arrowtown and Milford Sound coming.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to yet another weekly post featuring some more of my favourite doors. This week’s edition comes from New Zealand. I’m still on my travels but I want to show case some doors from my travels that I have seen so far. Let me know if you have a favourite 😊.
I have seen some lovely doors here in NZ, although sadly not many residential doors. Let me know if you have a favourite and I will be sure to keep an eye for more doors on my travels.
Tonight’s sunset from Stratosfare, the skyline gondola restaurant in Queenstown 🌅. You can see the colour change on the mountain tops and the reflecting water.
First stop on our New Zealand trip was Christchurch. We stayed here for two nights before moving on to Queenstown.
I hadn’t heard too many positive things about Christchurch sadly, therefore I had no expectations. I know it had been hit by a pretty big earthquake a few years ago and there had been a couple of mass shooting incidents a couple of years ago that were pretty bad. However, we wanted to see this city for ourselves and it’s a good gateway to the south of the South Island.
Christchurch is situated in the South Island. You can disregard all those flags, these were some of my points of interest for our trip.
I am really glad we decided to stay in Christchurch as it is an amazing city with lots of culture, art, has a vibrant hospitality scene and the warmest and friendliest people. It does have a sense of still recovering from its recent troubles and it was pretty quiet here, perhaps as it’s winter also but we really enjoyed our short time here. There was plenty to see and discover and I’m sure we only managed to scratch the surface.
Absolutely stunning art and murals. It really reminded me of Melbourne but more spacious and less congested. You have to check out New Regent Street Precinct. Lots of boutique shops and quirky eateries. This is a very popular street in Christchurch and it’s Spanish design is a feast for the eyes. There is so much to take in. Christchurch Central City has it all. Funky shops, quaint laneways, lovely scenic walks and the trams are pretty cool. Everything is basically within walking distance and the buses to the airport are very easy to navigate. Of course we managed to find a great Irish pub, The Little Fiddle ☘️
If you have the chance to travel to New Zealand, be sure to check out Christchurch too. It’s a beautiful city with lots of heart and character.
Thanks for taking a look at my post. Next post will be from Queenstown 🙌🏼.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to yet another weekly post featuring some more of my favourite doors in Sydney. I am currently sitting at the airport in Christchurch so thought I would use my time to show case some more of my saved doors. I look forward to showing some doors from my New Zealand travels soon, all depending on whether I can find some, here’s hoping.
Take a look below and let me know if you have a favourite.
1 – Bexley2 – Kogerah3 – Double Bay4 – Paddington5 – Kogerah (I just like the train doors here and the fact you can see my shadow).
My absolute favourite door has to be number three. I really like the door and the window design but it’s the steps up to the door and the surrounding greenery that make this door stand out for me. I also love how the autumn leaves add some colour and character to the doorway. What is your favourite this week?
Today is the day! We head on our travels before heading home. I will finally have some travel experiences to share again. As a travel blogger primarily, this makes me very happy.
We will be heading to New Zealand today all being well, first stop Christchurch. I say all being well as you just don’t know what is around the corner, especially in these covid times. Even before entering NZ there is so much documentation needed, for example, obtaining a travel pass, an electronic travel authority, your covid vaccination dates and proof of the vaccines. Thankfully, no covid swabs or rapid antigen tests are needed.
I hope to keep you updated throughout the trip and I will be keen to read other blogs when in the air or on the road.
Have a great day everyone and see you in New Zealand.
Having looked at the pros and cons for Australia in my previous post, let me take you through my pros and cons for living in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Pros :
– Family & friends. My absolute number one reason for moving home is seeing my family and friends and making more memories. Covid has given me a new appreciation for spending time with loved ones, especially as we haven’t seen them in person for over three years.
– The Scenery. Northern Ireland is very green and scenic. It has lots to offer in terms of sightseeing, for example, the north coast. Also I plan to visit more of Ireland as a whole and explore what is on my own doorstep.
– Europe. Northern Ireland may have left Europe (unwillingly) but we are still situated in the European continent. This means we can travel pretty much anywhere in Europe quickly and relatively cheaply, as opposed to when living in Australia. It really is amazing to have Europe in your back yard and I plan to take advantage and make the most of travelling to places in Europe in the future.
– No natural disasters. Yes the weather in Northern Ireland can be horrendous, being wet and cold almost all of the year but at least we don’t suffer the extremities such as fires, floods, earthquakes and volcanoes etc.
– The NHS. Yes the National Health Service has its fair share of problems but it is still a free health service (I know we pay through our taxes) and a pretty good one, most of the time, especially in Northern Ireland. To receive free health care for everyone is fantastic and I actually really loved working for the NHS.
– The Craic. In our country, this term means fun and good times. It can also mean sense of humour. People in Northern Ireland are great fun and have the best craic. They are also very friendly and hospitable people.
– The bright nights. In Northern Ireland it can stay bright until 11pm at night in the summer months. I took this for granted until I moved to Australia, where it never stays light past 6 or 7pm.
Northern Ireland Cons :
– The Weather. Unfortunately this has to be top of my list. The weather is pretty horrendous in Northern Ireland for a really long part of the year. From end of September until about April, it will be really cold with good chances of rain, sleet, snow and hail. They even had snow in June this year! We do have the odd good day now and again. Unfortunately we do have the most beautiful scenery but it is all weather dependent.
– Spides & Millbags. Yes most of the people in Northern Ireland are extremely friendly but we do have a minority of people known as spides and millbags. These are people who can be described as being small minded, brash, loud, still argue about religion, never leave Northern Ireland and have the worst dress sense. I, for one, do not miss these people. I’m sure every country has their fair share of people like this but in Northern Ireland, they’re a breed of their own. Most of the time you can avoid them but now and again they will leave their homes and make an appearance into your safe little world.
– Religion. Northern Ireland, sadly is still stuck in the past with regards to religion. You have Protestants and Catholics (both a Christian religion 🤷🏼♂️) still arguing about Northern Ireland and whether it should belong to Ireland or belong to the United Kingdom. I actually think it’s not even about religion anymore but more about territory. Thankfully, these people are in the minority and I don’t personally know many people who still think like this but they do still exist in Northern Ireland. Thanks to immigration these people are being diluted and the country is moving forward, albeit at a snails pace.
– The dark mornings and nights. Just like the cold and wet weather, Northern Ireland is also pretty dark for a lot of the year. You will go to work in the dark and return home in the dark. This is pretty grim to be honest. Due to this, many things do not open early, for example, it’s nearly impossible to obtain a coffee before 9am. I think I will struggle with this since living in Bondi where you can grab a coffee as early as 5.30 am.
– The Government. I don’t like talking about politics so I will just say that our government is pretty basic. They argue with each other and when one party can’t agree with another party, they just stop working altogether. They actually still get paid even though the government stops working. They take whatever rules they want from the UK and if they don’t like them, they will change them to suit their own religious agenda and beliefs.
Even writing about religion and the government in Northern Ireland makes me cranky. On the whole, Northern Ireland is a great country with lots of character and interesting people. I love being from Northern Ireland as I can have dual nationality, meaning we can carry an Irish and British passport. Northern Ireland is a unique country with lots of potential. We are really upping our game in terms of attractions, bars, restaurants, hotels and even media (think Game of Thrones). I honestly hope you all have the opportunity to visit Northern Ireland one day.
Thanks for reading my part two blog post on the pros and cons of both Australia and Northern Ireland. Do you agree or disagree with any of my points? Have you ever been to these countries or want to visit in the future?
As I plan to move back home to Northern Ireland (at least for a few months) I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on both countries and delve into the pros and cons of living in each country. I had been thinking of these a lot over the past few months when trying to make a decision about where to live. As an expat, these are things we think about, pretty much on a daily basis, as sad as that sounds. In this post I will look at the pros and cons of Australia and in my next blog post I will look at Northern Ireland.
Australia Pros :
– The weather. It’s pretty much warm for most of the year. Winter here can be cold enough but only lasts for about three months give or take.
– The lifestyle. It’s very chilled out here in Australia, especially in Sydney where I live by the water. The sunshine makes people happy, the coastal walks, dining outdoors, exercising etc. I think just being outdoors is so good for our mental health and well-being.
– The opportunities. Australia is the land of opportunity. There is plenty of work available here and you can process quickly. Even the fact I have been teaching here has been a huge opportunity that I wouldn’t have been given back home.
– The money. The fact is, I earn a lot more as a nurse here than I ever will back home. That can be said for many jobs here. Yes the expense of living is much higher here but you can still manage to save money here and live a really fulfilling life.
– The health system. It is amazing here, with a mixture of public and private, it works really well. I feel so fortunate to be in a country with such a fantastic health system, unlike America where it costs a fortune and many people can’t afford or the NHS that is really struggling and has been for many years now.
– The activities. There is always something to do, especially in Sydney. There are an abundance of bars and restaurants, plenty of bush, beach and ocean walks, lots of experiences, seeing the sights and famous landmarks etc etc, I could go on forever here.
– The sheer size of Australia. There is also so much to see and do all over Australia, therefore, you don’t really ever need to leave Australia if you want to see somewhere new. I don’t think I realised how big Australia actually is until I lived here for some time. It is unbelievably huge with each state completely different from the next and offering so much that really is a feast for anyone living here.
Australia Cons :
– The weather. As much as I love the weather here, it can also be a negative for Australia, especially the past three years. The bush fires are becoming more aggressive, wiping out so much land and killing millions of animal species. 2019 was horrific, so I dread to think how the next bush fires will be. Then we have the other extreme, flooding. The last two years we have had the La Niña weather event, bringing catastrophic amounts of rainfall. This is also predicted to last well into next year. The only silver lining with the rain is that it prevents the bush fires. I feel also with global warming, that the weather here, sadly, will be seeing more and more extremes of weather disasters.
– The distance. Personally, this is my biggest issue. It never used to bother me before covid. I always felt that if I needed to be home, I could always hop on a flight and be home within 24 hours. However, since being in lockdown, we haven’t been home in over three years. We suddenly feel very far from home. We are literally at the other side of the word. With lockdowns, it appeared to the outside world that Australia was very much cut off from everywhere else in the world. Family and friends are very important to me and if I can’t see them, that’s a big problem.
In conclusion, you can see I have many more pros than cons. I absolutely love Australia and its people. It is a magnificent country with lots to do and great opportunities but I don’t have my family here. I feel extremely far away and for that reason, I will be going home for a few months to see how it goes.
Keep an eye on my next blog post where I will write about the pros and cons of Northern Ireland. Thanks for reading everyone and have a pleasant day.
July’s monthly word prompt seems pretty apt for me this month. I have just wrapped up work in both of my jobs and moved out of my apartment. From today, I am work free and no more moving furniture. Hallelujah and time to play.
Today we listened to a little jazz band with lunch in Homestead at Centennial Park. I had never been here before in the whole five years I have been coming to this park. Isn’t it amazing to discover new things right on your doorstep. Mulled wine, the perfect winter warmer 🤗Rounded off with some peppermint tea. Loved it.
WrookieSchU 