Danielle Murnane

Hello from my new favourite hang out spot in D-town – pool side at one the newly opened pools in my apartment building. I love coming here not just to swim, but to read, study, chill, get out of the apartment without getting out of the apartment and have my much needed Dani time!

I arrived back in Doha this morning, after spending nearly a full week in my hometown Melbourne. It was good to be back home but at the same time it was not so good to be back home. I loved seeing my loved ones after being away for so long, however the few days that I was in Melbourne were super hectic with back to back appointments and catch ups. I didn’t have one day just to chill and do nothing in my house which was all I really craved for. Not to mention the jet-lag I was facing due to the 7 hour time difference between Doha and Australia. I think it was only when I had to leave Melbourne that my body started adjusting to the time difference. My trip home was completely different to what I was expecting. Usually I am the type of person to always be out and about, but as soon as I arrived in Melbourne, it was as if a large truck hit me and knocked all the energy out of me! I think it was my body finally asking for a little break after 6 months of this crazy on-the-go lifestyle of mine. Unfortunately I didn’t have any down time in Melbourne but never fear, tomorrow I am jetting off to the Philippines to do some island hopping where I plan to have some much needed R&R time before I finish my leave and start flying again.

Now let me back track a little to my flights for the month of May. I travelled to a couple new countries including the Maldives and Romania. I also semi went home with a trip to Sydney and for the second month in a row I visited Jakarta, Indonesia. Finally, before heading back to Melbourne, I popped over to Prague, Czech Republic to catch up with one of my best friends and her husband on their belated honeymoon (and no I didn’t impose for those wondering, they were happy to have me as their third wheel I assure you!)

Male, Maldives

I think this had to be my most underwhelming layover yet! I don’t want to sound ungrateful as I didn’t not enjoy my time here. It was just that I let my expectations get the best of me and the reality just didn’t quite meet the hype. I was super dooper excited when I saw Maldives on my roster last month and I went on the flight with so much enthusiasm. It was in fact one of my requested flights for the month. Unfortunately, the hotel is located on the same island as the airport and this island just doesn’t do the Maldives justice (in terms of what you see when you google Maldives). You really need to go to one of the other islands to get the proper Maldives crystal blue water experience. I could have taken a boat out to another island, however the weather took an unfortunate turn and it was showers and thunderstorms all day long for my time there! I decided I will return to the Maldives in the near future on my days off, rather than operating the flight so that I can stay at one of the proper crystal blue water islands and experience a true Maldives vacay. After that, I will write you an update on whether or not it lives up to my high expectations!

Ok the pool was nice…

Sydney, Australia

Rostering seem to love giving me Australia flights (perhaps because I am Australian?) I have to admit, it was nice being back in a city I am so familiar with and also so close to home. Sydney is a city I have travelled to numerous times, however this was the first time I travelled as cabin crew. One place that I always wanted to visit whenever I was in Sydney (but never got around to) was The Grounds of Alexandria. On this trip, I made it my mission to visit. For those unaware, The Grounds it’s basically a large garden cafe/bar/eatery in an old industrial precinct of Sydney. For those that like pretty flowers and fairies this is the place for you! They also do a decent coffee which they brew themselves (which is hard to come by now that I have left Melbourne)

Black coffee and salad for me

I also was fortunate to catch up with a few of my old work colleagues from my previous job. It was so lovely to see them after so long (I had the best marketing team) and even better to be able to speak freely without any language barriers! One thing I have discovered from living abroad is that most non-Australians cannot understand the Australian accent (the struggle is real)

Bucharest, Romania

I was very excited to see Romania on my roster. It was never a country high on my list to travel, but since I moved to Qatar and have met many, many, many Romanians, it’s been a place I have really wanted to visit. Especially since my old housemate is Romanian and she left a very good impression on me regarding her people and country. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to travel to Romania with her for the first time but we will have our time in the near future I’m very sure!

I spent my layover visiting the old town. The city is very beautiful with all of it’s historic buildings as you can see in the pictures. From what I could gather, it seems like a good place for a night out. I think when I return with my favourite Romanian gal, I will see what Bucharest REALLY has to offer 😉

Dinner at the famous tourist hot spot Caru’ cu Bere for a Romanian feed

Prague, Czech Republic

As I mentioned in my previous blog, this month ended with me beginning 3 weeks of holidays. First stop: Prague, Czech Republic!

I had visited Prague a couple years ago but it was so nice to be back because it’s such a beautiful city. Visually it’s just stunning but aside from this, the city has a really cool young vibe to it and it’s also home to great food. I met up with one of my best friends and her husband from Australia. Since I had been to Prague before, we decided to leave the standard tourist things out for my time there and we went on a little day trip to Český Krumlov for something different. Český Krumlov is located a few hours drive from Prague. It’s a small but lively town, with a large fairytale castle and surrounded by beautiful countryside… definitely some place I hope to live in my princess future one day.

Enjoying my complimentary “princess mojito for the princess” from a keen bartender

My bestie Emma – I was in her bridal party last year and now I’m crashing the honeymoon 😛 clearly can’t get enough of their marriage

Traditional Czech feed at restaurant U Kroka and more importantly delicious red wine – so cheap! ❤

Český Krumlov
Pose naturally they said…

June Roster

And last but not least, here are my layovers for June:

1. Barcelona, Spain (I didn’t even bid for this yay :D)
2. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (new country)
3. Seychelles!! (soooo lucky am I)
4. Lagos, Nigeria (new country)
5. Maputo, Mozambique (new country and this layover is nearly 3 days long!!! sooooo blessed, thank you rostering gods!)

Tomorrow I’m off to the Philippines, another new country for my list! I’m superrrrrrrr excited for the island life. As you can probably tell, I REALLY hate this endless summer, having to constantly wear my bathers and being pool/beach side all the time… hehe sorry not sorry

I’ll include all the details in my next post so until then, keep smiling and have a wonderful month beautiful people XoX