Category Archives: A Traveller’s Life

Expat: Born or bred?

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On one of my especially long commutes home this week (3hrs!) I stumbled across a blog, Adventures in Expat Land by ‘accompanying wife’ Linda from The Netherlands.  As I sat on the top deck of the number 14 bus (having been ejected from King’s Cross Station after a ‘reported emergency’ with the rest of London’s peak-hour commuters and then walking 20mins to get on said bus), her post Seven Reasons Not To Become An Expat struck a chord…

It can be fun. And exciting, educational, eye-opening, energizing, amazing. It can also be uprooting, disruptive, alienating, challenging, lonely and just plain hard work.

I knew no-one here and had no job (just some leftover redundancy package money) but buoyed by fierce determination and an unrelenting belief that it was where I was meant to be, I packed up my comfortable Melbourne life and started again. Just like I did many times over as we moved up and down the east coast of Australia and around Melbourne, changing schools, jobs, friends, creating new habits and leaving the comfortable predictability of old ones.

But then so did my sister…who stays happily ensconced in Australia with not so much as a twinkle of expat life in her eye.

Which then leads me to wonder whether an expat is ‘born’ a nomad rather than being a product of their upbringing.  You know, nature vs nurture and all that.  Bit like a personality flaw trait.

So are expats actually born or bred?  And what’s the difference between those that up sticks and settle somewhere else vs the constantly relocating expatriate lifer?

Does anyone know?
ps…and if you even have a inkling that you might like to try on ‘expat life’, you should read Linda’s post for yourself by clicking here…or not…

A Travelling Life…It’s Good To Be Back…

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I started a new job four weeks ago.

(It is not my usual policy to blog about work-related things as I think it can get you in a whole lotta trouble if it’s misconstrued but bear with me, the job reference is incidental).

During two of those weeks, I have been travelling to visit some of our manufacturing plants as part of my induction – in the South of France and the Czech Republic.

I haven’t travelled for a couple of years now and I had forgotten both how fascinating and wonderful, yet challenging, it is.
My trip to Mont (near Pau – Pyrenees) in France reminded  me how truly beautiful the French countryside is (soft, soft sunlight bathing the bald hills and ploughed fields), how unbelievably good the food is (I have no words, only noises, to describe it) and how difficult it is to be brave enough to use the smattering of French words I know – and I mean smattering as ‘bonjour’, ‘merci’, ‘au revoir’ and ‘Parlez-vous l’anglais s’il vous plaît?’ about covers it!
And then last week I went to Pilsen.  As a first timer to the Czech Republic, I was more than a little perturbed to hear the pilot announce on our arrival in Prague that it was a chilly minus 9C – I know many of you just snorted derisively but it’s the coldest place I’ve ever to been to – leading me to wonder whether I could actually wear everything I’d packed in my carry-on all at once.  But the 40min cab ride to the factory had me warm and toasty on the inside.  And at the same time, I tried desperately to resist pressing my nose to the cold window in childish delight as I watched the snowy fields and dark green fir trees straight from the pages of fairytales flash by.

Unfortunately time didn’t permit any tourist-type nosing about on my part but I’ve returned with the spring in my step (and both a disgusting cold and case of mild sleep deprivation – who ever sleeps well in hotels!!??) that exploring new pastures has always given me…

…as well as a fervent appreciation of my own bed.

Ah travelling…in more ways than one, it’s good to have you back!

Whipping Up A (Sand)Storm…

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Every year, Sand Sculpting Australia whip up a real treat for Mornignton Peninsula residents with a display of creative prowess on the foreshore at Frankston Beach.  This year’s theme was Creepy Crawlies so with some trepidation, we tip-toed quietly through the entrance to see what was in store.

Here’s a run down of what we saw:

The Entrance (for what it’s worth)

Flea Circus

Sewer Connection…

…and close up of Sewer Connection friend.
Boogie Man
(or Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas)
Bed Bugs…don’t let them bite!

The Exterminator…complete with plumber/builder’s crack?!
Beetlemania

Lair of the Spider Queen…not for the faint-hearted!

The Hive…

…and close up of Bee Boy.  Aaaawwwww!
A Closer Look – under the magnifying glass

Enchanted Garden

Little Miss Muffet, looking a little Shrek-ish.

Alice and the Caterpillar

Roach Motel…

…and patrons enjoying a tinnie…

Ant Farm…an homage to Farmville on Facebook.

Frog Pile

and last but not least, the paparazzi in action…

(Big sister S is on the left and that’s Lil Chicky on the right)
Pretty amazing huh?  All made from sand!
So there it is peeps – my last post for the year.  Thanks for coming along on the Gidday from the UK ride for 2010.  Let’s make it a ‘little bewdy’ in 2011!
Happy New Year everyone!

A Boxing Day Test…

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Well the sleeps are gone and I am on the other side of the world where the temperatures are high and the run rate is low…yes, it’s Boxing Day in Melbourne!

After much eating, drinking and hysterical laughter with Lil Chicky and Company yesterday, I am now faced with the recovery phase of the Christmas period and am wondering about the following:

  • When will I have a proper sleep (out out damned jetlag!)
  • How much Aussie sun can a 7-years-long UK resident really stand (not used to that ‘burn-y’ sun any more and lasted about 45mins today);
  • How much more wine/turkey can I eat/drink; and
  • Are the number of books I will plough through here be a good barometer for the absolute best chilling out holiday ever?

Anyway peeps, I will do my best to keep you posted…presuming I can rouse myself out of the general lethargy and ‘can’t-be-bothered-ness’ that appears to have taken hold.

Hope this side of Christmas finds you all replete with good food, great company…and maybe a little visit from the fat man…

Merry Christmas everyone!

Standing Room Only…

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One of the things that really struck me in moving over here was the whole low cost travel thing – you know the pay £20 to fight the hoards to get to a(n unallocated) seat only to find no room in the overhead compartments and a simply foul cup of coffee costs you an arm and a leg.

Bloody bonkas, I remember thinking, who would actually do this?

It would seem quite a lot (including me on the odd occasion). 

But I’ve seen everything now…

Called The Skyrider, one literally ‘saddles up’ for the duration of their inflight tenancy and enjoys just 23 inches of legroom – 7 inches LESS legroom than the average aircraft seat offers. That’s shorter than 2 normal-sized rulers!

And apparently there’s storage space….baaahaahaaa!

But I laughed the loudest at the quote from the manufacturer, Avio Interiors Group:

The seat…is like a saddle.  Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle.

Yeah right! I usually leave my chaps and spurs at home and anyway, have you seen the way those cowboys walk?

Here’s what some others had to say…

Never say never…but really, would you pay for this?

Disney Studios…Or The Invasion of High School Musical

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Well day 2 of our Disney Extravaganza was spent at the Disney Studios Park, a peek behind the magic of making movies right next door to the original park. 
So after starting my 40th birthday with all my new friends at Cafe Mickey (see The Happiest Friends On Earth…) it was time to get into some ‘action’ (geddit?…action…movies….). This park is reasonably new so I have been reliably informed that some of the areas lack the depth of the other Disney Studios parks in the States (partic. the backlot area) but it had a different feel from the Disneyland park and we spent a great day amongst the rides, shows and streets of the Front Lot, Hollywood Boulevard, Toon Studios, Back Lot and the Production Courtyard.
One of the best things about our day was the Moteurs…Action Stunt Show Spectatcular.  In front of 1000 plus people in an open air arena, the director, stunt drivers and a few special guests (like the Love Bug himself, Herbie) took us on a 45min stunt ballet of screaming engines, smoking tyres and special effects all wrapped up into the final ‘movie’ reel at the end.  I will NEVER look at movie car chases in the same way again…completely awesome!  Here’s some pics but they don’t really do it justice….

And one to prove we were really there…

The Happiest Place blah blah…THE RIDES!!!!!!

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Badge lovingly hand-crafted by J for me to wear…all day…

Returning to my big 40th birthday Disney extravaganza (yep it’s still all about me on this blog!) this one is all about….
THE RIDES
So hang on tight people…
It all began with a gentle tour around the Disney Park aboard the Disneyland Railroad…

x
…followed by a visit to Phantom Manor

…dropping in to Indiana Jones’ Temple of Peril and cruising past the underground Blue Lagoon restaurant with the Pirates of the Carribean.

The thrills really started inside Space Mountain: Mission 2…

before levelling off again with an annoyingly uni-lingual flight with Star Tours (commentary all in French!!!!) and a cheese-y sojourn through It’s a Small World.

And that was day one…

Day two was in the Disney Studios Park with even more thrills and spills…there was the Studio Tram Tour…

followed by the Armageddon Special effects experience, the Motors Action Stunt Show Spectacular (not really a ride as such but just as thrilling – more on this later) and then the ultimate thriller…

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror…

Our final day saw us start with the Rock n Roller Coaster (and a few choice phrases directed at ‘the big man upstairs’ – after all it was a Sunday!)…

followed by a few tamer experiences…Flying Carpets of Agrabah

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and The Adventures of Pinocchio…
and last, but not least, the giant teacups (or in its more official capacity, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups).
Turning 40 really was one hell of a ride…….

The Happiest Friends On Earth…

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So I was wondering how to write about our Disney extravaganaza – we squeezed so much into 3 days and managed to come back with almost 600 photos between us (god bless digital cameras eh?) and so many wonderful memories it’s actually quite hard to make ‘sense’ of them in the interesting, witty yet abridged manner befitting this ertswhile blog.

But really, the first thing that everyone said to us when we got back was ‘did you meet Mickey Mouse?’, ‘what about Donald Duck?’ and ‘say hi to Goofy for me’. So what better place to start than some of the new friends we made while we were there…






x
So first Donald himself was on hand at the Sante Fe Hotel, helping to keep the long check-in queue ‘in check’ (geddit? in check/check in…witty eh!) and giving every kid in the room – including us – the first of many ‘oooh it’s…’ experiences and gasps of joy of their visit…here are our gasps.


Meeting true Disney royalty with Mickey ‘n’ Minnie themselves…oh and Prince John too…
x


There were some shenanigans (that is hard to spell!) amongst the boys…









…and last but not least, a couple of cuties for the birthday girl…awwww!








Now that’s a birthday party people!!!!!

Stay tuned for more updates including It’s A Small World, the Tower of Terror and and Space Mountain…too cool…..

Fotografía Extraordinaria…

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Fotografía Extraordinaria…its Dutch for ‘Extraordinary Photograph’…which is apparently what the people at Schmap though of my photo of de Waag in Nieuwmarkt when they found it on Flickr and asked could they include it in their Amsterdam City Guide! HOW EXCITING! You can look at it by clicking on the Blog Title….

I took a heap of photos when I went to Amsterdam last October and spent a couple of hours sitting at Cafe in de Waag one brilliantly sunshine-y afternoon chatting with a couple of local students and updating my travel diary. The cafe is located in the oldest Gate in Amsterdam (built in 1488 on St Anthony’s Dock as part of the medieval city wall) and in its time, the building has been a public weigh-house, a trade hall for various guilds, a museum and now a restaurant!

Anyway enough about that…just wanted to share my little thrill so I’m off to bask in the glory of my first ever published (albeit FOC) photo!