It has now been one month since my partner and i arrived back in Australia after our epic around the world holiday adventure. At first it was a fascination to get back to work and into the routine of normal life – now it is mundane. I have not taken the time to sit and reflect on what was an unfathomable life experience that i will never forget.
We travelled to Thailand, UK, France, Spain, Italy and the USA. It was a seven week action packed adventure! Over the last year since finishing part time study, the holiday planning has been my only mission. Twelve months of planning and research – there were countless spreadsheets and even a powerpoint presentation. The actual trip was merely the reward for such dedication and hard work on a challenging project of international proportions.
Accommodation, flights, tours all booked… i started to feel like a travel agent with the amount of information i consumed about each of our possible destinations. There were a couple of hiccups along the way, but in the end the planning paid off and gave us seven weeks alone together discovering a world we had only read about or seen in movies.
SO… WHAT NOW…. it is not only the fact that the holiday is over, but also the fact that i do not have a goal or project to work towards. Many people have asked if i have the “travel bug” – I always reply with a no as i do not feel that sudden urge and passion within me to go again. The sad part is, that i think i have trained myself to not catch the bug… i am immune… as i have not given myself adequate time to reflect and be taken away in the spirit of day dreaming of what was. Perhaps ask me this question again in a couple of weeks… and you may in fact find my quite ill with this so called “travel bug” indeed. I guess the only remedy is to do the unthinkable… and travel again?
To ease me back into life, i have decided to compile our photos and momento’s which we collected each day into a book. This will take some time, with over 2000 photos and 47 action filled days… it may just end up being the major project that ties me back into reality. However, at this time in life – this is the perfect scenario for me to keep me busy.
The thing i have enjoyed most over the last few weeks are those moments when somebody random i know will ask a question about the holiday and i am then momentarily transported back to that time and place eg: in NYC or walking through the streets of Florence. My eyes brighten, the passion emerges and i can not stop talking as if it all comes flooding back into my brain for a spurt of “blah.”
One measure i am taking to get over the holidays blues is to acknowledge that this adventure did take place. I need to make it a part of my every day life. So i have placed three photos on my desk of various locations through Italy along the coastline. These photo are displaying a place which is a whole world away, but the beauty is that i know that such a place really exists as i have ACTUALLY been there and seen it with my own eye – the art of knowing, truly takes my breath away.
I knew the post holiday blues would be hard – but i guess i didn’t realise it would only be starting to hit one month after the occasion. I thought it would be instant, and as such i thought i had beat the blues… however, since i have been living in the holiday’s shadow for the last month, it is only now that i am starting to venture alone into this world and try to find my place again. Luckily, Christmas is approaching and busy times are ahead, so this should power me through the ‘blues’ and transcend me to a place of ultimate satisfaction with the time that was – which will ultimately be with me forever!
