Here it is, the promised finale to our travels! Since we arrived back in Mudgee two weeks ago, a combination of jet lag, end-of-year school functions, Christmas preparations and attempts to retrieve pictures from the dead laptop have held up this big effort, but all is ready to go today.
Firstly the good and the bad news on the laptop. It is in very bad shape and will have to have a hard drive transplant, BUT a clever local computer guy, Grant has been able to coax off most of the precious photos, (especially those from the special trip to Poland) which we only had on the laptop or on the blog. The relief when he phoned his success was huge as we were begining to think we had to start saving for another trip.
Our trip home from Paris-Dubai-Sydney took a long time, but it was another 3 days before our luggage caught up with us due to a hitch in Dubai when we changed planes. Luckily all our clothes were for winter, but we were sweating on the gifts we brought home. Bruce and Doreen met us on Saturday 15th as planned, and we had the added surprise of Julia being there too. A great welcome home.
On Sunday McWillsmiths met for the first time since early October at Bruce and Doreen’s Christmas drinks. We tried not to bore the revellers too much with our travel tales, but it was fun to reminisce about some parts of the trip. We also realised how many friends had followed our adventures through the blog.
So as Ross makes some ‘Best of the best’ photostories for future use, here is my travel summary:
Would be able to live in: Tuscany, Finale Ligure, Beaune
Wow factor: the colours of Tuscany in autumn, Norwegian fjords, Pont du Gard
Tear jerking moments: visit to Bergkirche where my grandmother was christened, visit to Lauenbrunn/Cieplowody in Poland where my parents grew up, seeing Michelangelo’s sculptures – especially David
Myths dispelled: that the French are rude and arrogant, that it is dangerous to drive on Italian roads
Would like to bring home: French autoroutes (minus the heavy tolls), tram system from Vienna, the atmosphere at the Christmas markets
Will remember: lovely helpful people we met, the pride of being an Aussie in Europe, experiencing a great variety of cultures through family friends and acquaintances, how countries value and preserve their history
Leave behind: the inevitable dog droppings in France, a day of CNN news repeats
And of course, we there was always the question of where we would next meet someone from home!
Thanks to everyone who helped make our trip, including you dear readers and Our Leisl, the GPS navigator. Happy New Year and Bon Journee for anyone travelling in the next year.
