Thankyou and goodnight

The last few days of the trip seemed to pass very quickly, and in somewhat of a blur – and not just because I was drunk for most of them.  I spent the remaining time in London seeing a few friends that I hadn’t managed to see the first time round, including catching up with Andrea and going to see Hairspray (the musical) at the Shaftesbury theatre.  It was really good, despite the nose-bleed seats, and reminded me just how good the shows in London really are.  Other than that, I had a few drinks with Richard (an old workmate) at Canary Wharf, spent an afternoon chatting with my grandparents (with no mention of any specific food items at lunch, Do…) and continued to set the world to rights with Bec & Craig.  I think we’ve got world poverty, the financial crisis and the state of several African economies pretty much sorted now.

The flight back to Australia was suitably long and painful – Heathrow to Los Angeles to Brisbane to Sydney, up for 48 hours or so – but at least the weather was good and the company great when I got there.  Plenty of time spent recovering from the jetlag, either reading a book in the sunshine or over a few drinks.  Was great to see some of the old Morgan Stanley crew again, as well as a hilarious evening reminiscing with Andrea over the antics of the Dean & Croy families over the years.  I guess that’s what happens when you’ve known someone for close on 30 years!  We’re trying to get a reunion off the ground for next year – hopefully it happens, as it would be pretty damn funny.

So after four days there in Sydney, I headed down to Melbourne – was amazing to see just how much Jake has grown in less than three months.  Lots more teeth, running everywhere – really turning a little boy rather than a baby, that’s for sure.

So I guess that’s it.  After 150 days, 25 flights, god knows how much money and a ridiculous amount of fun, the travel dream is over and it’s back to some sense of normality.  Albeit in a new city with no job or flat.  Sounds like my kind of normality, I guess.  Hopefully those of you who’ve been reading the stories of my misadventures over the last few months have been enjoying it – it’s certainly been an amazing adventure from my point of view, so here’s hoping some of that came through in the blog as well!

Take care out there folks, and stay in touch.  This will be the last blog entry, I suspect … well, unless the call of the travel gods gets too much to resist and I somehow find myself back at an airport with nothing but a backpack and a credit card for company once more……….