Even a great banquet has to end sometimes....

some of my favourite art work and ads...Mexico 

Kurt Cobain in Venice

graffiti Guatemala City

street art...Doha

...Barcelona

street art..Xela

My mid life gap year is nearly over.

On the 12^th of March, I will have been travelling a whole year.

It has been an amazing series of stand alone experiences, that together have created a journey that has inspired, delighted, surprised, taught, relaxed, stretched, fed, excited, energised, uplifted, healed, opened, challenged, protected, confronted, reminded, shown, absorbed, connected, aligned, balanced, released and transformed me.

I am not quite the same person who set off all those months ago. I have gained some things, and let go of others and feel a lot more comfortable and confident in my own shoes.

I am less afraid and more open and I know that there is a lot that I don’t know, and a few things that I do.

Part of the reason I took this “sabbatical” was to reflect on what I had learned so far in life, especially given that statistically I have passed the half way mark and technically I should therefore be becoming a bit wiser!

So I am still not sure what shape it will ultimately take, but I’d like to transform the information in this blog and the learning and experiences I have had into something else, lasting and valuable.

   

I am immensely grateful for the opportunity I have had to travel the world this last year. My life is much richer and more meaningful as a result. I am grateful to all the people who supported me directly and indirectly along the way. 

Some put me up, for days and even weeks, others fed me, transported me, or met me and shared some of this journey with me. Some stayed in touch-you know who you are-those phone calls, messages, emails and comments on or about the blog meant the world to me. 

So to…

Calogero, Pina, Mariella, Nuccio, Adilgisa , Zia and Mamma e Cettina in Capo D’Orlando, Sicily

Nino and Michele in Sorrento

Patrizia and Lidia in Rome

Andrea and Anjelica in Cyprus

Alice and Mike in Switzerland

Rina and Gianni and their gorgeous boys and families, Giuli, Elena, Mirella, Anna, Giacomo, Thelma, Elena G’s Mum in Fiorano

Inge, Malcolm, Chris and Naomi in Paris

Gustavo, Alain, Elizabetta and Luis in Havana

Ronnaldo and Hugo, Yuly and all the staff at the Red Cross, Chiqui, Kaz, Sarah and my other dancing and mates in Guatemala

Rusty in Antigua

Richard in San Francisco

Obad and Khalid and their families in Cairo

Manal and her family in Jordan

Hazem in Doha

Hila in Nijemen

Adam in Horni Jeleni, in the Czech Republic

Helena in Florence

Steve, Dave and Anna in Venice

Zuzana in Prague

Tammy and Gordon in London

Ariadne’s Mum in Athens

Giuseppe and Emilia and their family, Saverio and Pina and their family, Peppe Romeo, Piero and Franca in Siderno

Tina, Paul and Grace, Carol and Andrew, Daffie, Catherine, Linda and especially John, Leonie and Ella in Hong Kong

Vivienne and Hugh on Holland America and in Sydney

Cheryl and her family in Cairns

Luke and Elena in Fiorano, Florence and Sydney (they get around!)

Liz in Hobart
Ron in North Haven
Bev and Joe in Kiama
Kez in Austinmer
and Inge when I see you in Darwin

And those of you who have been with me in spirit and in friendship all this time…

Thank you for your love and support

I’m often asked what was my favourite experience or place. As each place and experience was so different, it is difficult to compare, but there were certainly some stand out highlights;

The music and energy of Havana

The stunning ancient site of Petra, in Jordan by day and night, of Tikal in Guatemala and Teotihuacan outside Mexico City

The colours and danger of Guatemala

Climbing a volcano in Antigua

The cave accommodation, hiking and hot air balloon ride of Goreme

The weekend in Florence

The exhilaration of hiking the Amalfi Coast on my own

The flavours and hospitality of Sicily, Siderno and Fiorano

The unexpected beauty of the Cornish coast

Picturesque Prague 

The vibe of San Francisco

My weirdest experience was going to the Unsicht restaurant in Berlin

Most cultural was going to the Opera in Venice

Most relaxing was the Mediterannean cruise

Most exciting was finding Manal’s brother in Florence

Most rewarding was teaching meditation to a Red Cross Psychologist in Spanish in Guatemala!

Most uplifting was the hot air balloon ride in central Anatolia

Scariest was the long bus ride from Guatemala through Mexico, being in the middle of a demonstration in Ramallah and feeling the gun in the guy’s pocket in Antigua!

Most memorable was dancing and learning Spanish in Havana

And my proudest moment was saying a proper goodbye to my life in Hong Kong, accepting what is and embracing the future.

I’d like to leave you with a few of my favourite photos…

Mont Saint-Michel, France

Meteora, Greece

Amsterdam Train Station

Lantau Island, Hong Kong

Goreme, Turkey

Florence, Italy

Aphrodite's birthplace, Cyprus

Jerash, Jordan

Petra, Jordan

Havana, Cuba

Amalfi Coast, Italy

Barcelona, Spain

Frida Kahlo, a tragic story of a talented woman, Mexico

Teotihuacan, Mexico

Lago de Aitlan, Guatemala

The colours of Guatemala

Love this smile

multi-tasking 

Antigua, Guatemala

Cefalu, Italy

Ragusa Ibla, Italy

Capo D'Orlando, Italy

And I wish you your own opportunity to travel within and outside of yourself to discover the beauty and brilliance that you are a part of, and are.


Mon x 

Northhaven, Australia