Trip Planning; Fernweh
It goes without saying that travel and exploring different parts of the world will change your perspective on life. When you’re out of your comfort zone and on your own discovering new places and meeting new people, the true inner self evolves and you begin to realise what means the most to you in life.
Following my two year adventure down under experiencing the beautiful simplicity of Australian lifestyle and meeting people from all corners of the world, it’s left me yearning for more. Whilst I embark on a fresh career path back at home here in England for now, I already have plans to travel with my job in the future and maybe one day find myself living back in my spirit land of Oz.
Luckily for me, I already have a trip booked back to Australia and also Bali with my best friend. We fly out to Sydney just after Christmas and spend two weeks there before jetting over to Bali for another week. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Birthday month next year especially as I’ll be rolling over into the quarter of a century milestone of 25 years old. With my Birthday being Australia Day (26th January) this will be my third year celebrating down under in the height of summer, amongst the joyous atmosphere of such a special day for everyone in Oz.
I can barely contain my excitement as we get booking and look forward to a month of fun, adventure and partying! Some of our best planning sessions have been on a Friday evening over a bottle of wine and platter of cheese as we dream about what will be a trip of a lifetime. I just can’t wait to show my best friend the Aussie way of life which I fell in love with and undoubtedly she too will catch that wanderlust…
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and leave to cool before adding the icing. I opted for buttercream icing sprinkled with hundreds and thousands, some pink edible crystals and little individual flowers. I even made a few slices of fairy bread with the left over hundreds and thousands – a funny traditional Aussie birthday treat of buttered white bread topped with sprinkles!
I was chuffed with my creation and everyone at work was impressed with my baking skills. I’ve always seen baking as more of a science, but once you know the basics there is room to experiment and get creative with different recipes. I look forward to making another batch of these soon and having a play with alternative flavours and maybe even trying to formulate my own healthier mix using natural sugars and plant based milk.
I haven’t always been an early bird as I’m naturally more productive in the evenings. However with a new routine and 9-5 job, I have learnt to embrace the crack of dawn and soak up my morning me time.
After drawing back the curtains, the first thing I do every single morning is make the bed to set me up for a positive, productive day; clear space, clear mind.
Most mornings I will then do a half an hour workout and stretching routine which energises my body and releases any tension from sleeping. Having danced all of my life, I feel sluggish and tired when I don’t exert myself physically, so I make this a priority.
After a quick shower and simple makeup routine, I relish the process of choosing my outfit for the day as fashion and style has always been a passion of mine. Finally, I make my morning coffee in a keep cup and take 5 minutes to catch the morning news as I savour that moment before dashing to work.
Being regulars, the owners of Mama Mia always make us feel welcome and deliver fantastic service to match the exquisite food. With a beautiful bottle of red Syrah wine on the table we toasted to mum’s birthday.
I usually opt for the Spaghetti Al Frutti di Mare which is packed with delicious seafood, but this time I chose something a little different and discovered a new favourite. The Tagliatelle Al Funghi di Bosco delivered terrific flavour using such simple ingredients of mushrooms, tomatoes and olive oil. My sister went for a pizza, mum had Petto di Pollo alla Cindy chicken in a creamy sauce and of course dad had his usual personalised dish which is the Gamberoni All Aglio prawn starter served with rice.
Before our coffees mum was treated to a profiterole stack with a candle as the restaurant joined in a happy birthday sing song. After sharing the desert we had our digestif for which I indulged in a Calypso coffee featuring a shot of Tia Maria. It was a lovely evening celebrating mum’s birthday and spending quality time with my family as we enjoyed delicious food and wine alongside friendly service; smiles all round.
Dani Aneka 