When the Cheshire emerges...

A year ago today, I was home.

I decided to stay in the car for a considerable time after being driven home from the airport. I couldn't believe that I was back.

Eventually I made my way in, and by the end of the day I was already starting to feel like I was back into the swing of things a little bit. There was plenty to catch up on, namely doing my tax return.

But that wasn't to be. Not having everything I needed, I left that for another day and decided then was as good a time as any to see what journalist jobs were out there. Seek had one going for a journalist in Queensland somewhere, I think for the ABC, and then also one for a cadet journalist at a paper called the Daily Liberal, in Dubbo in New South Wales...

I wonder how that turned out...

***
Things change so much in the space of 12 months. I grew after 2010 having had my eyes forced open to the world, and then even more so on this day in 2011. In 2012 I find myself in a place I sometimes doubted I'd be. But I'm very happy I've made it to this point and been given opportunities to learn - and while much of me yearns to have the freedom of endless travel, reality isn't so bad.

--------
That concludes the A Year Ago Today series. I hope you've enjoyed reading about my travel exploits and felt you've seen some of the world with me. Keep checking in to see what life throws my way - same Bat-time, same Bat-place.

A year ago today I was at Athens International Airport, on the plane going home.

Mum and I relieved to be settled ahead of the long flight back.

After Thessaloniki we caught the train back to Athens. A journey that took almost two hours than it should have, not least because the train stopped in the middle of nowhere about an hour in... for a SMOKE BREAK. I'm not kidding, look.


The last days in Athens were pretty chilled. I didn't want to stay there again for as long as we did, especially because we stayed in the suburbs again - but I did see some beautiful sunsets, had some more great food and succumbed to buying shoes I'd spotted all the way back in Santorini (they were wedges that had gone down by 40 Euros from the first sighting though, sweet). It's a shame that my afternoon at the beach, the last afternoon before heading to the airport, was ruined because some middle-aged sleazeball tried chatting me up in the water and then tried luring me away with him. Seriously. Ew.

***

I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave this time around. In 2010 I had almost no desire to go home, but a year had changed a lot. It was a daunting prospect after almost four months away, but I was hopeful as well about getting into a routine again, and really committing to looking for a job and/or pursuing travel-related freelance work. But also thinking about USA 2012, which had popped into my head with their financial woes in that particular month (good of course for the Aussie dollar).

Ironically, it ended up being our shocker of a stopover that made me overly anxious to get home.

We had booked rooms at the hotel inside Singapore's Changi Airport. Got there, not available until 8am - three hours after we arrived. It was a 17hr stopover with the intention we'd get that morning rest, then go to the city in the afternoon refreshed to have a look before flying out. The rooms were eventually lost, then no-one proceeded to move from a group of couches for hours at a time. When I finally managed to get my mum and brother to make the trip with me, they could only sustain a quick lunch (at McDonalds of all places) and a short walk along Orchard Avenue before the long return because of their jetlag. So I, clearly least affected, was restless and forced to weigh it out. Why did I not explore myself? Do not even go there. By then I was dying to get home.

A few photos now, from (until the flight itself) a less hectic end of my journey.

Had a rather embarrassing one of my brother at Singapore's Changi Airport, but I'll save it for his 21st. Instead, the area I mostly hung around.

A breaking dawn soon before touchdown in Adelaide.

A year ago today, I was at Agion Oros at Chalkidiki Peninsula, Greece, learning about mysterious monasteries.

Closer shots are below, but you can notice in the crooks of the mountains are buildings. Monasteries that make up one of the world's most exclusive spots. Money can't buy a ticket in there though, there's a strict process and age-old rules. For one thing, the boat taking us on the cruise to see them couldn't go closer than 50 metres from the shore. Women aren't allowed in there full stop (although they have tried in the past), while men applying for appointments go through a drawn-out process and are told to follow certain requirements. Crazy!

It was a beautiful day and it was fascinating to see this religious oasis even from a distance. We also saw a good part of the scenery of the peninsula as well as taking a swim in a gorgeous beach.

Chalkidiki Peninsula on the road

Don't be fooled. This was hands down the best Napolitan pasta ever. Unanimous vote.

A year ago today I was at Thessaloniki, Greece, discovering marinara.

My goodness, this meal was divine. Paired with red wine from Nemea, home of relatives on my dad's side, it was one of the best meals I had all trip and since inspired me to eat more seafood. It was so big though, I couldn't finish it. But it wasn't a clear standout within the time I spent in Thessaloniki, Greece's second-biggest city... they're Greece's Melbourne, with good food everywhere. Barely put a foot wrong.

I really liked the place, and was grateful to walk around by myself for most of this particular day to see a lot of the major historical sites. A cool area nearby served well for late-night drinks, and I think it'd be a cool place to live. It's a real university city I think, so lots of young people.

We spent four full days here, including a daytrip out to Ouranoupoli and Agios Oros on the Chalkidiki Peninsula (which I'll explain separately so look out for it). Here's a snapshot or 10.

Ataturk Museum - under heavy guard in the Turkish Embassy which was slightly scary!

The White Tower behind me

A real skull. 200,000 years old. Creepy.

Ending it how it started; another example of the delicious food

A year ago today, I was at Kerkyra, Greece, on the wrong side of the nationwide taxi strikes.

While you couldn't be on the right side for about three weeks (most of our time in Greece's mainland), we had made do until this point, our second day on the island also known as Corfu. With my two grandmothers unable to walk long distances with their large suitcases (and the rest of the family struggling), tensions were high and we always needed help. Bring in the locals desperate for a buck. We paid family friends to take us to airports, and in Kerkyra a few days later an unsuspecting man with a ute. We had to ask the guy, there was no other choice.

This experience was at tourist attraction Achilleon Castle (a home of the Habsburg dynasty). Just as we waited for the bus to come around the cabs came. Blocking the one-way traffic all the way up the hill for a good half hour. Cops were there but couldn't (or didn't) do a thing. I just remained in disbelief as to how they could protest so fiercely at such a critical time. While what they were angry about was understandable, there were a lot put out by the extremities.

Kerkyra was a Venetian-reminiscent beauty with all its Italian influence. For me, seeing nothing but families and couples was a bit too much, and without taxis it was hard to attempt being young and go out. It's a beautiful part of the world though.

A year ago today I was Paleochori, Athamania, Greece, on an afternoon trip from Arta to see the remains of where my grandfather grew up.

While the house is now non-existent, there is a holiday house next door that distant relatives still use. Met some there on the day actually including teenage girls which was a bit wack! But kinda cool.

Why? Uh, it's actually in the middle of nowhere. This is a view from the road to it a few minutes away.



See the group of houses on the left? That's it.

Stunning. The journey wound us through mountains behind more mountains, up and down, and we were lucky my mum's cousins knew the roads. What surprised me was the buses that were managing the trek.

More than an hour from Arta, the nearest major city, it's behind mountains and more mountains... beautiful in their isolation. Greece's mountainous terrain in the central and northern areas of the country are comparable to other wonders like Switzerland and Scotland.

Arta itself was nice too, if not hot. We took it a bit slower here; I actually revelled in the afternoon siesta for a change. I'd also found out about the Oslo massacre and Amy Winehouse's death though, both very sad.

The bridge connecting the Pelopponnese's north and the mainland

Arta's famous bridge. Really interesting backstory.

Great moussaka

On the road to Paleochori

The decoration wasn't a request, they just had ESP. But welcomed.