Last updated on March 18, 2022
Today we made a decision. After our time in Ubud, we have two months until we need to be Barcelona where Steve will finish the very final stages of Continuum. The big question on our minds has been where to spend those two months. It has to be Europe so Steve can get to Barcelona if needs be, and we definitely want to be home for Christmas this year. We’ve ummed and ahhed over the options – go to Barcelona early and settle there for a few months, get a taste of Berlin, return to Lisbon, or snuggle up in the mountains? Nothing felt quite right, and then today we found our answer. We’re going to the UK!
This might sound surprising given the melancholic ramblings our last trip produced, but the visit itself wasn’t to blame – we had a beautiful time – it was my own mindset and self-doubt that had me spinning. Amid those ‘What am I doing with my life?’ moments, we spent precious time catching up with friends and family, eating our favourite foods, and feeling the novel comfort of familiarity.
Aside from those few weeks, we’ll have been away from home for 20 months come November, and we’ll likely be away for many more in 2014. We love to discover the new and our wanderlust isn’t waning, but there are definitely things we miss. So we’re homeward bound this Autumn. We don’t know where we’ll live yet, but time in Devon, Bristol and London are on the cards – as well at lots of baths, open fires and plenty of time with friends. To us, it sounds delicious.
Here are some of the photos we failed to share from our last trip – the things we missed and miss – and some of the reasons we’re excited to be heading back.
It begins with family…
…showing them what you’ve been up to,
…celebrating,
….and getting to know the new ones.
You catch up with friends,
…visit the local pub,
…get dressed up in clothes you forgot you had,
….and eat excellent home-cooked meals.
Some things stay the same. Pizza Express is still a winner,
…old favourites still exisit,
…and you eat the same potsu with the same colleagues you worked with two years before.
They say England has no traditional cuisine, but have you ever had a vegetarian full English,
..or crumpets,
…strawberries and cream,
…and the famous Sunday Roast?
When you go home, you’re in the land of the familiar. You return to a tiny restaurant in Camberwell where the staff still remember your name. You order the onion you’ve reminisced over for months before,
…and then you stuff yourself with cake.
You’re greeted like family at your local cafe, the one where you used to sit for ages, writing and daydreaming about lands afar. From those lands, you dreamt about their brownies.
Finally, you discover one of the cutest dogs you ever did see. Meet Mojo, our friend’s miniature beagle who we had the pleasure of living with for a few days.
Some travellers hate the places they’ve left behind, screaming good riddance from their flights and dreading every return. While we’re not ready, nor may we ever be ready, to re-make it our home, there’s a lot we love to head back for.