The goodbyes have been said (with a few tears), the bags have been packed (one each), and the apartment has been cleaned (well almost).So starts the next adventure and phase of our life - and this new blog of our travels and photos.

We made the hard decision to leave the beautiful south of France and set out on a long holiday; mainly around our own country of Australia.Why Australia when there are so many other amazing places around the world to travel through?Well firstly we miss our friends and family and the thought of finally having an Aussie Xmas is very appealing - but also because after 4 years of travelling around Europe we have realised we have seen so little of our own country.Countless are the number of times that we would meet people in a random European country and they would tell us tales of how great their trip down-under was, the barrier reef, great ocean road etc etcAnd we realised we had not visited any of these places!So it is time to rectify that.

Maybe if we had our time again we would make a different decision and have stayed in France, because now we are leaving it feels sad. And Rae in particular really loved her job and the experiences it brought. And when we look outside at the constant sunshine and the wonderful Mediterranean sea we shake our heads and wonder why we are leaving the best place in all of France. But the decision has been made and there is no way to go back now.It is a little scary being unemployed and with no certain future, but we need to look forward to the future whatever it may hold and as always just try to have fun and experience life to the fullest.

There is so much we could write about our four years in France, and how much we have grown as a couple as well as individuals.This place has certainly changed us for the better.But there will be a time for those thoughts in another setting - this blog is about the future and our current travels.It is our own personal diary and record of our trip, so won't always be the most compelling reading, but for anyone that wants to see where we are or what we have done, then drop by this site occasionally and have a look.Rae's work was very generous and gave her a video camera as a leaving present so if you are lucky (or unlucky) you might even see some video from the travel as well.

So the plans - which as usual will change regularly...

On the 31st of October we will fly from Nice to Madrid and start a quick tour around the south of Spain, mainly with the aim of visiting Chris's aunt.Then it is onto Singapore for five days - instead of always flying through this airport for once we are visiting! Then finally on 14 November we board the final plane back to Australia to visit family and friends before buying a car and heading up the east coast of Australia starting somewhere around Melbourne and finishing as far north as we feel like going.Tentatively we plan to finish travelling at the end of March but all depends on many factors.From there we plan to head back to Europe again and search for work, and again enjoy the benefits of living in Europe.

So with that - the journey begins....