Today we definitely started the journey home. After a semi leisurely morning & breakfast we took our 11am train to Charles De Gaulle airport about 4 hours away. Once we had found the hotel shuttle & checked into the Radisson Blu I went for a lovely swim in the indoor pool as I was the only one in it. For dinner we ate in the hotel restaurant and went for the cheaper pasta dishes and a small bottle of much nicer than yesterday Bordeaux red wine.

The next day I was up a little earlier to have another refreshing swim before we made our way back to the airport to check-in for our 11.20am flight. We had breakfast, with A La Carte service in the Etihad lounge before our flight then took the shorter 6hr leg to Abu Dhabi where we once again made use of the lounge for our two hour stopover before the much longer leg to Melbourne. Unfortunately this very long 13hr flight ended up being very full & somehow we got a symphony of babies sat around us which took turns at crying throughout the flight. It was certainly a LONG haul home and felt kind of strange being back in Australia thinking about all the usual mundane everyday life stuff after three wonderful months, 20 countries & an amazing time away exploring Europe from one corner to the other.