When the Season Ends
Inevitably, at the end of the Mediterranean summer, the season comes to a close. Have you ever been somewhere on holiday and thought ‘I wish I lived here’? You are not alone. Increasingly people are moving overseas, but if your dream destination is a bustling summer resort, it is worth considering, what are these glorious resorts like off season? When you visit a tourist centre or resort during the peak season it will be a thriving, busy place. There are endless options of bars and restaurants open, shops and of course the weather is reliably glorious. Seasonal destinations are usually seasonal for a reason. These seasons primarily follow the weather,…
Good News!
Last week this blog was a bit of a sad place, but this week I am pleased to report that I have received only heart-warming news. One door closes As they say, when one door closes, another one opens. Last week Tipsy’s life ended but little Lola’s began. One of my best friends back home had her first baby at the weekend and although I would love to be more local so that I could meet the little lady (or not so little as it turns out – my poor friend just had a 9 lb 1 oz baby!) I am really delighted at the news. Hearts a flutter Other…
Esperance – The Land of Sea lions and Beaches
Esperance is a quiet little town in rural Western Australia. It is home mainly to farmers and employees of it’s port, kept busy exporting Western Australia’s many natural resources. It is a small town where there is rarely a queue, but also an area of outstanding natural beauty and one to make sure you visit on your Western Australia roadtrip. Tanker Street Jetty Before the now busy port was built, ships came to the Tanker Street jetty which extends 842m out into Esperance bay. It is nice to walk along a jetty, taking in the sea breeze and the view of town on your return, but this jetty is special…
A Sad Day in Expatland
This week I had one of those days that every expat fears. I awoke to bad news from home. Being in Australia, there is a considerable time difference with folks back home and I am seven hours ahead of the UK. This means that when anything happens after about 4pm in the UK I am unlikely to be aware until a good eight hours later, as was the case this week. The sad news was that my poor Mum had to take the family pet of 22 years on the dreaded one-way trip. Granted, it is not such bad news that I will have to fly home for a funeral,…
Australia’s Mental Magpies
Since moving to Australia I have been considering myself very lucky to work only a short distance from home enabling me to cycle to work each day. I often cycle home for lunch each day too. Having spent at least two hours commuting EACH day in London. This is a big plus for me and I love it. Or at least, I did, until magpie season started. Monday Morning Imagine my Monday morning state of mind when at about 8.30am I was cycling along the esplanade with the beach on my left and the calm morning waves lazily lapping the shore. It was pretty good as Monday mornings go. Magpie…
Make the most of Now
I have been writing about travel for some time now and this morning I looked up ‘travel’ in the dictionary. This is what I found: ‘Travel – To make a journey, typically of some length’. It got me thinking about what travel means to different people. Travel has an exotic reputation and for many seems a fantasy and mostly out of reach but it doesn’t need to be. Yes, your work commitments, your pet or perhaps your children might mean that you can’t go on a Round the World trip at the drop of a hat, but don’t give up there. Look at your options. They say ‘where there is…
Just how do you learn a language?
Communicating with locals enriches travel experiences. If you live overseas as an expat, it is essential. Some are irritatingly good at learning languages and pick them up easily. How should the rest of us go about it though? Take a course I was lucky. I enjoyed the language classes I got at school. If you didn’t pay attention at school though don’t panic, you have not missed your chance to take language classes. Evening and weekend classes are available all over the world. These can be group classes or one on one sessions, depending on your need and what is available locally to you. Since speaking another language is considered…
My 7 Links
And now for something completely different! The World is Waiting is fairly young in blogging terms, the six month anniversary sneaked past only last month, so it was very exciting to be nominated by Turkey’s For Life (Thanks Julia!) to take part in Tripbase’s ‘My 7 Links’ which asks bloggers to choose seven posts from their archives in certain categories. Here goes! The Links 1. Your most beautiful post For me, being able to finally reveal my travel plans to everyone was beautiful. It was a relief and something I was really excited about. So from my archives I think The travel plan I kept secret for so long is…
My Dad – My Travel Hero
My parents are travellers. Not the strange hippy kind but the curious-about-the-world type. Travelling is something that always interested Dad especially. From a young age he was curious, taking part in his school exchange to Germany as a gawky teenager and later spending his gap year in Swaziland (in the 1960s when gap years were far less common than they are now). My parents met and I was born in Luxembourg, while they were both expats there. I blame them both for my nomadic streak! From a young age, my brother and I were taken abroad as our parents explored the world. Thanks to them I have fond childhood memories…
Dive Gear – What should you really buy?
Just completed your Open Water course? Fallen completely in love with scuba diving? Fantastic! You’re probably now trying to decide if you buy your own dive equipment. If you are faced with an enthusiastic dive instructor giving you the hard sell, here is what you should keep in mind. Firstly, try not to be annoyed by them. Dive instructors are paid notoriously low wages for working long hours with people who are often demanding! A lot of dive centres insist they meet certain sales quotas. Do you need to buy your own dive equipment? Ask yourself the following questions: 1. How often will you dive and use the equipment? Nevermind…
