It has been one year since we moved into our beautiful new home in Caloundra on the Queensland Sunshine Coast. We have been kept busy with settling into our home and getting to know our surrounding area. We have a beaut boat called the Dubboat (and not the one shown in the photo!) we use for trips out into the Pumicestone Passage when it is not too windy and also a little tinny we take across to Bribie Island. Fishing has become a favourite pastime for me too, which Michael is thrilled about. We have the best neighbours – and it is always fun when we catch up socially, which is often.

BUT, the time has come for us to head across the seas for our annual holiday and house sitting fix.

This trip is built around a family gathering in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England. We will be there on the weekend of 23-24 May  to celebrate my brother-in-law’s (Chris’) 70th birthday. Two other sisters and their husbands will also travel from Aussie to attend.

We leave at the end of April and fly to Paris. It will be almost 7 years to the date since we first (and last) were there. This trip will include a visit to the Eiffel Tower for lunch, a dinner and show at the Lido and a day trip to Reims to check out the champagne region. We’ll even visit the place (Hautvillers) where Dom Pérignon worked out the secret to making his beautiful drop.

We will have just over three weeks in France where the bulk of it (10 days) will be spent in the Dordogne area. We are to house sit for an English woman who has two chocolate brown Standard Poodles. The closest large town to her is Bergerac, so we will hire a car there and use it for the house sitting time plus the few days after we have finished before flying to England for the party.

We will catch up with our youngest son Edward at the party, as he moves to London to live just a few days before we leave Australia.

As we have had a few holidays in England (because we love it), we thought we should explore another country. So, on 26th May, we fly to Poland for 10 days.

We will have a weekend in London after our trip to Poland where we will catch up with Edward before flying to Singapore for a few days.

Really looking forward to it. If you choose to read my posts – I hope you don’t find them too mundane!