It’s December 28, I’m sitting here after pouring half a Nespresso coffee down my leg (and the other half on the kitchen floor) not that my recent mishaps bear any relevance to this, nor do they set the scene for 2018 as we look back on the year. I just thought I’d mention it… we’re all friends here, right? update – it’s now December 30 but who even really remembers what day or date it is between Christmas and New Year.
It’s a cliche really to start with ‘so, what a year…’ or ‘oh, how the time flies’ yet both of those are very much true. I’ve had some pretty ‘big deal’ moments this year and if you’ve been following along on Instagram you might be able to guess what these are.
January. I took my first solo flight
…to Melbourne. More than 10,000 miles from home, an over a day of travelling was daunting and I certainly felt nervous when I arrived to Heathrow airport and checked in my backpack, wandering the airport waiting to board the plane. But within the nerves was a sense of adventure, excitement and I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t a dream…
It was, without a doubt, the best trip I’ve ever taken. Even now, months later (and many blog posts sitting as drafts) I can still vividly remember the smells, the sights and how I felt in oz. From swimming in the Great Barrier Reef, to feeding a kangaroo, seeing koalas in the wild, sailing in the Whitsundays and seeing the milky way above me (and several shooting stars) it’s something I’ll remember fondly forever.
Fast forward to March and less than a fortnight after returning from Australia, I decided it was time to finally purchase my MacBook Pro – and in all honesty, my previous laptop had seen me through university and I had planned to actually be more creative and film and edit more videos, so it made sense. Here I am still trying to justify the price tag, as I know I’ve not even looked at my Australia vlog footage for months now… #newyearsresolution for more YouTube/more videos?
Another flight…
Late March I decided it was time to get away again and spent a long weekend in Madrid. I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t feel I’m in a hurry to return. Does anyone else feel like that sometimes when they visit a new city? Maybe my Aussie blues were too much to see past though.
I left European soil once again…
In May I went on a press trip to Turkey and I met some lovely bloggers. It was also my first time visiting Turkey and I’d definitely like to go back! I actually vlogged my trip and there’s also this blog post.
In July I met a baby T Rex.
Haha, yes that sounds as ridiculous as I thought. But I went along to the press preview for Walking With Dinosaurs which was visiting Newcastle on the UK tour, so a photo opp with a baby T Rex and Michaela Strachan was too good to pass up. If you want to see me, totally buzzin’ check out this post.
The one where I went to Friends Fest
In August I went on a road trip down to Manchester for Friends Fest. It was a really fun trip and I blogged about it here. Funny, I could blog about that but not yet shared any anecdotes from arguably the biggest trip of my life… I will sort that soon, watch this space for koalas and roos!
But amongst all that; some normality resumed…
I started a new job mid-summer. It’s not something I’m going to start shouting about on here, but so far, so good. It’s certainly keeping me busy… and I’m getting pretty used to travelling for work and early mornings at the train station.
On a similar note to that, and again I’m not wanting to disclose too many details – mainly because it wouldn’t be fair on his behalf, is the relationship I’m in. Wait, hang on, did she just say relationship? Yes, yes I did. So that’s a thing! Maybe you’ll see a bit of him in the new year on here, maybe you won’t. But lately he’s been behind the camera helping me – for example Radisson Blu Durham or most recently at Storrs Hall… Thank you for your help and patience – and company on those trips! I know he’s going to read this…
The visit to Storrs Hall (if you haven’t checked out this blog post yet) is definitely one of my highlights of the year. It was amazing to stay in The Boathouse and honestly, somewhere I would go back to.
What next?
Although my flights ground to a halt since May – I’m sure my total racks up to about 20 flights over the year (way more than I expected and the majority of those being internal flights in Australia and connections to and from there) there’s certainly some plans on the horizon for early 2019 and I’ve got a (somewhat ambitious) list of places I’d like to visit. I better dust off my passport and renew that travel insurance, hey?
How has 2018 been for you?
2 Comments
Oh wow, what a year you’ve had! AND you came to my beautiful sunburnt country – exciting! It’s always great to hear when people love visiting here, but you’ll definitely have to come over to the West Coast next time. It’s a little more isolated, rugged and, in my humble opinion, beautiful! And it’s closer to the UK. Just sayin’.
I can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve for 2019, especially for travel! Happy New Year again lovely! x
Aw thank you Kiara.
Yes it was quite a year. I LOVE Australia and yes the West Coast is absolutely on my list for next time. I just didn’t have enough time on my trip to get over there – was visiting for a month and even that wasn’t long enough for me! I’ve seen so many photos from the West Coast and it looks stunning – those beaches. You’re very lucky to have all that on your doorstep. Haha, yes it’s a bit closer to the UK!
Same to you. I’m sure you’ve got many exciting plans in the pipeline. Have a great year! x