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Summer is officially over. The new school year started last week, and so too did the rain. No more hot summers days eating lunch in the park. Now its hot paninis and soups in the staff cafe. And coffee. So much coffee.

With the clouds comes more flights booked, and more trips planned. Already I see my annual leave dripping away through my fingers, and onto long weekends in exotic places. And not always long weekends, sometimes only 24 hours, just long enough to get out of town, and explore somewhere new, somewhere exciting. An overseas flight is cheaper than a train to London.

The new school year also heralds peace in town. A clear promenade to walk or cycle along after work. No line at the coffee shop before work. Not having to fight with the holiday makers in the supermarket when all I need is to pick up some veg for dinner. But it also heralds more education assessments. More referrals from parents scared that their children won’t make it to Christmas without being suspended. From schools scared that parents will report them for not doing everything possible for their precious children that can do no wrong.

So now its not only about planning trips, its about planning outlets for the stress. Bike rides through the New Forest. Trips to the eco-store along the coast. Coffee dates in old villages with new friends. A trip north to see family. And most importantly, days in bed, watching Netflix and reading books. Phoning my loved ones. With coffee. Not Ethiopian coffee. Not Papua New Guinean Coffee. Just supermarket coffee. For now, that’s enough.

How do you put what you experience into words? How do you sum up travel using the written word?

I spent an amazing, tiring, vibrant week discovering some of the Italian countryside. The country is too large for only a week, but what I did see was beautiful, picturesque, and full of history. I spent time with a close friend, and let the moments simply wash over me. Some experiences were planned, others were not.

I experienced couchsurfing (couchsurfing.com) for the first time, meeting amazing locals, tasting authentic food, visiting secret spots away from the crowds, and seeing a world that is not readily available to many.

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Starting in Milan, I met my beautiful friend that I met on Outward Bound NZ years ago, and together we headed to Venice for a packed 24 hours of sights and sounds. As she headed back to Milan for work, I continued to Verona, on to Peschiera del Garda (Lake Garda), and back to Milan. Reunited, we traveled to Bergamo, the village of Pedrengo, and Lecco (Lake Como), finishing with a full day of lake exploring. We saw a lot, ate a lot, and laughed a lot. Its moments like these that solo travel is overtaken by the need for company, for shared experiences and shared memories. My favourite days were the ones when I was with her.

I look forward to many more trips like this. I look forward to travelling with the people I love. I look forward to sharing my experiences.

The summer holidays had a feeling when I was younger. Freedom. Sunshine. Late mornings, late nights. Waking to lists of chores to do while my parents were at work and I wasted the day eating jelly and reading on the deck.

Now? I have a strong aversion to the children wandering town while I am trying to get to meetings. The families sitting in cafes, eating ice cream, while I just need to grab a coffee in my lunch break. the families huddling in the rain while their precious summer holiday is nothing but a sad picture reminiscent of a Giles cartoon.

Now I look forward to the term time, when I can wander along the beach on my way home and not have to push through the crowds of holiday makers. When I can pop to the coffee shop and not listen to screaming children demanding that specific ice cream that has sold out to the other screaming children that came before.

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August is rainy. Or so my colleagues tell me. And until this week, they were very wrong. This week, however, they are very right. It’s cool, damp, and delightful! The beach umbrella’s have been blown away, the beach goers are cowering in their hotels, and town again belongs to the office workers. Is that mean of me? Maybe. All I know is that I need a break. A break from the English summer, from the pale sunburnt holiday makers, and the crowded buses, when all I want to do is get home to relax at the end of the day.

So I’m leaving. On a jet plane. Not for long, just long enough to breathe some fresh air, see some fresh sights, push my way through fresh tourists. I’ll keep you updated.

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2019 is a new year. A year to explore. A year to push my comfort zone.

So here I am. On the other side of the world. Everything is similar, everything is different. The job title stays the same, the work changes. The language stays the same, the lingo changes. The sky stays the same, the air changes.

Why? What made me move away from my family, my friends, and my life? A need to challenge myself. A need to prove that I am more that a home body. I am adventurous… I am intrepid… I am terrified!

I’ve never successfully kept a diary. I’m not a writer. Far from it. I come from a family of writers, all of them eloquent and able to paint beautiful pictures with their words. Me? No. I write facts. Scientific. Medical. So there you are. Let’s see how this experiment goes, if it even lasts.