Goodbye July ... Where did you go?!?

What a whirlwind, amazing, laughter-and-joy-filled month it has been - I wish I had a 'Save Memory As' option on my brain to recollect in perfect detail all the best moments of it here! Reunited with the boyfriend, plus some of my best friends from home, planning new upcoming adventures (although not as thoroughly as I'd like - it's been that crazy!), and of course a few more travels.



Since my last long-ago post, I've been to Paris twice, London once, Sydney, Auckland, spent a week playing tourist in Dubai, and a weekend relaxing in the English countryside. That's all in under a month, which a year ago I would not have even dreamed of doing. Unfortunately this post has so many things to cover, it's either going to be ridiculously long or ridiculously short on detail. I'll try to make it the second option for those with short attention spans. Me, in particular.


PARIS


Again.


And again.

My first of 2 Paris trips was almost a failed adventure...none of the other crew would venture out of the hotel as the weather wasn't looking great but HELLO...it was a Saturday night!! In Paris!! So I went anyway. I went on what would have been an amazing walking tour of the city: Paris Opera House, Ritz Hotel, Rue Cambon and in particular the House of Chanel, Palais Royale, the beautiful Museum of Decorative Arts and the Louvre. Loiter long time. Take photos. Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, through the Tuilleries gardens (favourite), past the lakes and cafes until meeting the Place de la Concorde and the Obelisque at the eastern end of the Champs Elysees. More photos.

This all sounds much more delightful than the pouring rain made it. Seriously, there was. So. Much. Rain. It didn’t bother me for the first hour or so, but by the time I'd been in it - with no umbrella, no shelter, no relief - for more than that I was feeling a bit over it and decided to call it a [rainy] day and head back to the hotel, a hot shower, and a big bowl of French Onion Soup. I had a quick peek at the Church of the Madeline on my way past but decided I had no time or patience for dawdling and headed back to the Opera House to get my bus. I was still happy, taking in my surroundings as I hurried through the rain, trying to check my rapidly deteriorating map for directions as the creases in it turned into soggy holes. Just when I thought I was almost there, a quick right turn and a few steps away, I looked up and saw it - the back of the Church of the Madeline. I had taken about 5 or 6 wrong turns and was nowhere near where I needed to be!! Bugger. Since my map was now effectively useless, I was on my own as far as navigation was concerned. It took about another 45 very wet minutes, a third (side) view of the Church, and many, many puddles before I found a sign pointing me in the right direction. About 2 blocks from the Opera House, as I was waiting to cross the road, a very kind gentleman approached me and offered me an umbrella...for the bargain price of 10 Euros. I don't think I've ever found anything so funny in my life - what on earth was the world's most overpriced second-hand umbrella going to do in the next two blocks, after the destruction to my clothes, shoes, hair, camera, that the rain had done in the past 2 hours?!! Oh well, at least I could laugh about it I guess - although I don't think umbrella man really got the joke.


Finally I made it back to the Hotel, where I have never been so grateful for a hot shower and a fluffy oversized bathrobe. My shoes didn’t survive, poor things got left behind in the bin (RIP trusty black ballet flats), and my clothes were still wet as I packed them to head back to the warmth of Dubai. I was deeply upset with Paris for coming so close to ruining our beautiful friendship, hoping it would make it up to me when I returned the following day on my next flight.

This time, I was determined that the city would redeem itself to me with something exceptional. A friend from high school was working in business class, and we had been meaning to catch up for ages. I wouldn't have expected a catch-up in Paris, but I guess random happinesses like that are just one of the bonuses of this job. We made plans to devour deliciousness and sightseeing delights in the city, roping in half of the crew. My enthusiasm and confidence in Paris was only dampened - scratch that, it was soaked - when we landed, I looked out the window, and discovered exactly the same weather as I had encountered the previous day. Rain, rain, and more rain. With a few cats and dogs thrown in for good measure. I was instantly upset. Excuse me weather gods, but it's supposed to be SUMMER. Where I come from, this weather just doesn't cut it.


Obviously the rest of the crew weren't too keen for ducking about in doorways, shivering and making the cat's bum face due to the rain either (you know, the face where you screw everything up to a point because it might make you less vulnerable to the rain, or magically dry you or something). So for the first time ever, I made the big, weighty decision ... I was going to stay in the hotel for an entire layover. Disappointed with myself, but having more important things to worry about (battling snot and sneezes, mainly), I settled in for a boring and unsatisfying 24 hours.


Figuring I may as well do something to pass the time, and wanting to have a chance to catch up with my school buddy, I had dinner with the crew in the hotel. I find food to be an excellent diversion from boredom. It turned out to be one of the nicest meals I've had in a long time - a gigantic, overwhelming, perfect, deliciously amazing French buffet, and some great company from the rest of the crew, I decided maybe it wasn't such a wasted layover after all. Discovery: good food trumps bad weather. And it's true what they say; it's the crew that make a trip good or bad, no matter the destination, the flight, or the weather. I got pretty lucky in Paris. Minds out of the gutter please kids.


SYDNEY


Even in the briefing room I knew we were going to have fun. And we did. Singing, dancing, and laughing our way to Sydney made the 13 hours go quicker than usual. My breakfast date with a McDonald's (REAL) Bacon and Egg McMuffin was overruled by my fellow crew and I was talked into suffering through yet another breakfast buffet - painfully devouring fresh fruits, real bacon (from a pig, not a turkey), mushrooms, tomatoes, yoghurt, and the horror of cooked-to-order Eggs Benedict with the world's tastiest hollandaise. Sigh.


Talking on the phone to my family and not worrying about the bank loan needed to pay for the calls. Sigh.


Tim Tams on sale at Woolies. Sigh.


Sushi rolls that taste like they are supposed to. For $2. Sigh.


Trains that smell like pee because drunk people use them late at night. Sigh.


Shopping in Bondi. Sigh.


Sunshine and warmth in the middle of winter. Sigh.


Getting a bottle of vodka for $15 in duty free and having a room party with 6 other crew and getting escorted back to our rooms at 3am because other crew on the floor complained about the noise. Sigh.


Australia I miss you.


AUCKLAND


You remind me of home and I love you. And I love The Occidental and beer served in buckets (not really the beer itself just the buckets) and lemon pepper calamari straight out of the sea, not snap-frozen and shipped across the world, thawed and sold as a second-rate product for a first-class price. And I love the cool breeze and the local people - the nice ones, as well as the scumbags - and the smell of rain and wet grass. Ah nature.


I don't love the steepest street in the world that our Captain made us walk up where I almost snapped some tendons but I'll take it on with a smile because it reminds me of home. Even though we don't even have big hills at home.


LONDON


I was terrified of this flight. Not because of any ill-feeling, and not because there are crazy riots and people setting fire to stuff in the city (because that is just silly), but because my besties from home were going to be there and I was so excited to spend time with them that I was sure I would forget something - my passport, my hat, anything - which would get me offloaded from the flight. A computer glitch at immigration caused 30 seconds of panic. Another moment of distress when my ID scan told me I had 'no flights to check in for'. Thankfully I made it through check in, made it through security, made it through briefing. I was finally thinking I might actually get to see my friends when the Captain appeared - the aircraft we were supposed to be flying on had a technical fault and was inoperative. I almost cried. BUT we were still going. Delayed 2 hours, yes, but still going.

I didn’t make it to central London until about 11pm, exhausted, sleepless, hungry and frustrated, but I found my girls feeling much the same way when I arrived at Kings Cross St Pancras. One of them was standing, alone, in the middle of the station, flapping her arms and crowing. She told me she was doing the 'top bird call' but I doubt many of the people around would have recognised it. So our big, long-awaited reunion involved walking to Burger King, some general chit chat over a chicken burger and soggy late-night fries, and a walk to their hostel where we almost failed in our attempt to smuggle me in to their room. Luckily our wit and charm won out and I was saved a long train ride back to my Heathrow hotel bed, instead falling into a bunk to spoon one of the girls in a dazed and very confused sleep.

The next day was spent sightseeing, wandering the (safer, riot-free) streets of London. Knightsbridge, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Kensington...the sun shone on us as we frolicked through the city, hardly believing that we were all together again - and in London, so far from home but so great. We went to the Changing of the Guards - at least, we tried to, but there were way too many people for us short-stacks to see anything. We went to see Kate Middleton's wedding dress on display at Buckingham Palace - at least, we tried to, but the tickets for the tours were sold out 2 days in advance. It would have been a great day under any circumstances, with great weather and great sights to see, but the company of my friends, who I hadn't seen in so long, made it that much better. Was I exhausted when I landed in Dubai at 6am the next day, without any sleep before the flight back? Of course I was - but if you asked me if it was worth it I'd just look at you like you had two heads. It was worth it, a million times over. I just wish I could have stayed longer!

Anyway I've decided that I'm going to write this particular blog in Two Parts, to save the vom noises and cursing from those who don't want to hear all about the two weeks I spent with my big boofhead boyfriend. Not that I'm the type to go into lovey gooey details or anything, but you never know your luck!