Hello and happy reading! This blogpost is a little belated than intended, I have just been so busy this past month travelling here and there that I have been struggling to find the time to write! So here I am, sitting on the couch in my living room, about 4 hours away from getting ready for my next flight to Auckland (longest flight in Qatar Airways), taking the time to write this blogpost… you’re welcome 😛 By the way, I am dreading the 17 hour flying time, but I haven’t actually been to New Zealand yet (even though it’s so close to Melbourne I know), so I am excited to explore the city for a couple of days on my layover.
This month, I travelled to the UK, twice to Sri Lanka and twice to China, Bangladesh, Madrid and had a lovely vacation in France with the family.
Family vacay in Nice and Paris
As I mentioned, this month I was fortunate to meet my mum, brother and his girlfriend in France for a little family reunion. My mum, brother and I had not been all together since Christmas 2016 because my brother and I live abroad, so it was really nice to spend some quality time together. I spent the first 4 days of my leave in Nice which I absolutely loved. It was my first time travelling to the South of France and even though I was scared of it being tourists galore, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I fell in love with this place. Perfect weather, cute little alleyways, amazing food and wine… what is not to love?
We also managed a day trip to Monaco since it’s one one hour away from Nice (another country to add to my list #41). Monaco is nice, but next time I come back, I plan to sail in on my yacht 😉
After my stay in Nice, my mum and I bid farewell to the lovebirds and made our way to the city of love. We had both been to Paris before, but it had been quite a while for my mum. We had a really nice time visiting Sacré-Cœur and had a picnic at the Eiffel Tower. On our last night, I surprised my mum with a lovely dinner cruise along the Seine river which is the best way to see the Eiffel Tower light show at night.
Picnic at the Eiffel Tower
Lovely day spent at Sacré-Cœur
Dinner Cruise on the Seine
Colombo, Sri Lanka (country #42 for me)
I was lucky to have 2 flights to Colombo this month. It was my first time in Sri Lanka and I seriously loved it. The country has a nice island vibe to it and the people are sooooo lovely. I was super excited to try the food here as I heard Sri Lankan food is the hottest in the world and I love love love spicy food. I don’t think I was exposed to proper Sri Lankan food because nothing I ate was too spicy for me, unless my tastebuds have died from all the spice I have eaten over the years… that is a possibility. I spent my first layover at Negombo beach, watching the sunset as I enjoyed a seafood dinner. But, my second layover was the real winner. Four of us on the flight booked a table at the Ministry of Crab for a delicious seafood lunch. The foodie in me had wanted to dine here for soooo long as it is one of the best restaurants in Asia and I was psyched to finally live out my dream of eating their famous crab. I can safely say that the food did not disappoint, so do yourself a favour and eat there if you ever find yourself in Colombo. I can’t wait to spend more time exploring Sri Lanka in the future. Even if I don’t go back as crew, I will be heading back there in March next year for a wedding. One of my best friend’s from Melbourne is having a destination wedding in Sri Lanka and I have lots of my friends from Melbourne are travelling there for it… bring on the wedding!! I’ve already got my Sari ready to wear which I purchased on my trip to India a few months ago.
Amazing chilli crab
Beijing, China
If you read my last blogpost, I mentioned I was travelling to Bali this month. Well, it turns out I ended up swapping that flight for Beijing, China. I wasn’t too keen to do Bali since Bali is really not too exciting for Australians being about the only country close by, plus it’s a long flight from Doha and the layover is short. I was happy to go to Beijing for a second time, since last time I visited I only had time for the Great Wall and I was really keen to see the Forbidden City as well. On this layover, I made it my mission to see the Forbidden City and my mission I accomplished. I had a great day walking around the Forbidden City, it definitely deserves the title “City” because the place is huge, it really goes on and on and just when you think you have walked the entire thing, it continues to go on and on!
Madrid, Spain
I always love Europe in summer so as you can imagine I was so happy to see Madrid on my roster this month. I had travelled to the city prior to flying but I am always happy to go back since it’s such a beautiful place. I spent the first evening of my layover having drinks and dinner with some of the crew… Jamón, red wine and paella were a must!
On the second day before the flight home, I spent my day at the beautiful El Retiro park. It was such a beautiful day weather wise and because it was Sunday, so many people were there walking around and enjoying the sunshine… nothing but good vibes.
I wanted to go for a boat ride but was missing Ryan Gosling…
Shanghai, China
My last layover for the month, was Shanghai, China. My one requested flight that rostering were kind enough to give me. I spent nearly the entire layover exploring this amazing city. I hardly had any rest after the flight going and before the flight home, but it was all well worth it! I would happily head back to Shanghai as it is now one of my favourite Asian cities.
Firstly, the skyline is amazing. Exhibit A:
Besides this, you have amazing food and shopping. It’s a complete mix of historic China vs modern day China which I really love. On the second day, I visited the beautiful Yu gardens in the old part of town. I can’t wait to go back one day!
August
And that takes me to my August roster.
This month, I am travelling to:
- Auckland, New Zealand (in a few hours)
- Jakarta, Indonesia (my most popular flight so far :P)
- Sofia, Bulgaria (new country)
- Male, Maldives
- Paris, France
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Bucharest, Romania
Not a bad roster at all. I also had some days off at the start of this month which I spent exploring Georgia… Amazing. But I will write about that in my next blogpost.
All I will say, is that I feel very blessed to be doing what I am doing. I love to travel, and to do this for a living, is beyond anything I ever dreamed about. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” – I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying and it’s such a cliche, but nowadays I really do agree with the quote. Yes, some flights are hard work and sometimes you really want to die at the end of it. But when I think about all the places I’ve visited, and the places I’m going to see, I really feel like the luckiest girl alive, I actually have to pinch myself that this is my life because I’m actually doing what I love most every single day!
I still have so many places to go on my long list of places to visit but slowly, slowly I am ticking them off (and adding new places to the list as well) it’s never ending! We live in such a BEAUTIFUL world people, so make sure you TAKE the time to see it! Ok rant over, someone took her happy pills today hehe
Until next time… Have a wonderful month and keep smiling! 😀
Danielle Murnane 
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