To start: a selection of photos from our last day. Click on each one for a description.

We have reached the end of our holiday. As the saying goes ‘all good things must come to an end’. Personally, I’d rather they didn’t!

I am writing this post on the flight home to Australia. Thanks to technology I can post online from about 30000 feet, somewhere over India.

At school, I didn’t like writing. I didn’t really see the point. I was more of a facts kind of girl. I loved geography, did quite well at maths and science, was pretty keen on home science, but English… no thanks.

It just all seemed pretty unnecessary to me at the time. It took far too long to write an essay. It seemed much more efficient to watch a movie than actually read a full Shakesphere play. I was a good speller, but grammar, well I was part of the generation that seemed to miss learning it.

But now, writing this blog about our wonderful holiday and also through Dave’s not so wonderful cancer treatment, has been very revealing to me. Writing can actually be fun. Mrs. Kolbe, my cranky HSC English teacher would be stunned. “Just sit there quietly Sara, the study of English is not for the likes of you.” Cow.

This holiday has been nothing short of terrific. We have experienced so much and tasted many wonderful things both actually and metaphorically. We have certainly learnt a lot.

A few things we have learnt, by alphabet, just like our list of countries visited:

A: It is perfectly acceptable to visit supermarkets regularly on holidays to get a sense of a place’s culture. (I always thought we were the only ones to do it!)

B: is for Bosnia. Not many people visit it, but they should.

C: Always take covert photos in supermarkets, just in case the security staff don’t want you to take any.

D: You should definitely hit ‘SAVE’ regularly while typing up a blog.

E: Having your own editor travel with you, while writing a holiday blog is very helpful.

F: 25 years of marriage is a fantastic achievement. Achievements should be celebrated. 26 years of marriage will definitely need to be celebrated – it’s time to start planning 🙂

G: Always grab a water bottle to carry with you. But not through airport security.

H: In Italy hot chocolate is called Cioccolato Caldo. It is so rich and pretty much straight chocolate heated with a little milk. If you spill it on the cafe counter, leave quickly 😉

I: There is no I in WE, doing things together is best.

J: Just do it! (Or as Dave would put it ‘you won’t get snot on your finger if you don’t pick your nose’)

K: Kotor, the capital of Montenegro, is known for the ‘Cats of Kotor’. It’s therefore now on Victoria’s list.

L: When we got married we vowed to ‘love one another in good times and bad’. It is very possible to do a lot of both all in the one year.

M: Our marriage will survive Dave’s upcoming retirement. 24 days of 24/7 being together and barely a cross word spoken. Barely, but not entirely.

N: Never assume things stay the same. The toilets in Bahrain have improved since 1978.

O: Good organization is important, but it doesn’t mean that it will always end up well. Spontaneity can be great too.

P: It’s possible to miss your pets as much as you miss your children. I’m on my way home Darryl x

Q: Qatar airlines is well worth recommending. Doha is a great stopover point.

R: If in any doubt, do a recce. “Time spent on reconnaissance is rarely wasted“

S: Complex is not bad, but simple is often very good, especially when it comes to food.

T: Upsetting your cabin neighbours by laughing too long and too loudly is not a crime. Even in the middle of the night.

U: When packing for a three+ week holiday: Pack, unpack, remove unwanted items, repack. Unpack again, remove any other items you are not positive you will need. Repack again. How could I possibly need three singlet tops in late-autumn Europe or the Islamic Middle East?

V: The world is both a VERY big place and also a VERY small place. It takes a long time to get to the other side of the world, but in the end what we see in human nature is pretty similar the world over.

W: Whilst is no longer a utilised word. While is the current word. Exclamation marks can tend to be over used!!! There is no need to constantly use the word ‘that’ in sentences. As in, “there are lots of restaurants that we can choose from”, should be, “there are lots of restaurants we can choose from”. Who knew?

X: Don’t worry, be extra happy. There is no point in worrying about things that just don’t need it. It’s time for me to stop worrying. My friends need to remind me.

Y: Don’t ask why, just do it! (refer J above)

Z: I’ll need another holiday to learn something starting with a Z. Suggestions anyone?

I want to finish by thanking each and every one of you for reading this blog. Some of you have read every single post in detail. Others have skimmed through and for some, just an occasional glimpse. Thank you all for sharing our holiday with us. Thank you for indulging me whilst while I ‘showed off’ about what we have got up to.

A few specifics… thanks to :-

Brian. Thanks for being a great boss and also for approving four weeks leave. Especially thanks for letting me do a couple other things over the past few months. I promise I’ll come back to my own job soon(ish).

Kylie. Thank you for doing my job better than I could have. Thanks for reading this blog and commenting regularly. Thanks for being amazingly positive and affirming. xx

Virginia. Thanks for the regular hugs. We might keep doing that even though Dave is better again, if that’s OK?

Dad. For instilling in me, and my siblings, the love of travel. The inherited ability to manage technology has also been appreciated while writing this blog.  Love you lots.

My two kids. The one who has contacted me regularly this trip and the one who is a little less communicative 😉 You are my life. I love you to the moon and back. If I was with you now I’d be singing ‘Have I told you lately that I love you’  because I never want you to forget that I do.

My siblings. Love youse all. Thanks, especially Bek for keeping an eye on the less communicative child and the very much adored-by-me dog.

Aunty. Thank you for sharing this blog with Grandma every few days so she could also keep up to date with our travels.

My husband. I love you more than words can express. I love that each day, each year, each decade and now for a whole quarter century you have loved me unconditionally. We have grown together. We will grow old together.

Ciao,

Sara x