Life, death and sunshine
June 16, 2006
Melbournes Winter
While its nice to be back in Melbourne, we are not enjoying this cold weather at all. Its absolutely freezing! With the coldest start to winter in over 10 years, Paul and I werent prepared for the sharp chill that resides in Melbourne over the winter time... especially when our last port was Barbados!!
But! Being back gives us time to regroup, time to check in with family and friends and time to plan for the next period of our lives.
On July 11 or 12 we take off again, this time we will fly into Rome and transfer down to Civittavechia and catch up with the ship start our 2 month sail around the med in gorgeous warm European summer!
Our itinerary looks something like this... Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Malta, Spain
And then we head up to England, Scotland, Iceland and Greenland
After that we cross over to see New York for our 1st time and then up to Canada and town to Mexico
Ahhh...It will be nice to be back on the ship, out on the ocean and in the warm summer sun.
Queensland
Last week Paul and I took a trip up to Queensland (northern Australia) to escape the winter cold. When we arrived at Coolangatta Airport, we exited the aircrap right onto the tarmac! Havent experienced that in a while. We were greeted with a sultry warm late afternoon breeze and endless blue skies. Sigh... god how we love the warm weather...
Its a shame the weather is so bad here in Melbourne because it is such a beautiful city. Compared to other cities its not that bad at all, winters down to about 10 degrees celsius, the Europeans laugh at us. But we have been spoiled with mild winters and warm summers to the point that we can no longer tolerate our mild winters and we feel the urge to relocate up to sunnier places.
So Paul and I checked out properties in Brisbane and the Gold Coast with the aim of opening our own dance studio in a sub tropical environment. We found a lovely little place on a gorgeous part of the coast, known as Nobby's Beach. Fantastic premises, ex dance studio, clean, neat and sunny. So, we have started looking and I'm sure many other opportunities will arise in the next 6 months or so.
Another Death
In the meantime, there's nothing like death to help you appreciate life and the lives of those around you. Last week saw my Aunty take her final breath in the safe care of an intensive care unit in Melbourne. Luckily my mother and I got to see her before she passed and we were fortunte that she acknowledged our presence even though she was heavily sedated.
Yesterday was the funeral, a humble affair with our large (and growing) family members. We paid our last respects and sent our aunty off in the way she would have wanted. Out of 8 children, my mother is the youngest and this latest death now leaves 4 remaining sisters alive.
They have had a tough life my mother and her siblings and it was almost profound that on the night my aunty died, I had a dream of my mothers death... in the dream I was not surprised, sad or shocked at the loss of my mother... when people commented on this I told them "I'm not surprised she died, the surprise is that she lived so long and I am thankful for every day she lived".
So the funeral yesterday made me once again appreciate the people I have around me, my family, my friends and the various people that come in and out of our lives. I feel fortunate that I am in a position now that I can appreciate these wonderful people, I have enough time and I'm not so completely stressed that I cannot engage properly.
Its nice to be able to have time to enjoy life and all it brings with it
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