Sun 27th Feb - Sun 4 Mar Ploermel (-9hrs Aus time) I volunteered to stay with Clare for the week because she'd hurt her leg and so wasn't very mobile, and also Steve was going to be in Ireland for the week. I thought it would also be nice to get to know some of my relatives a bit better. The week in Ploermel was quiet, although it did introduce me to some French customs, such as buying a fresh baguete from the bakery every morning for breakfast, and helped me br...

20th-26th Februrary France (-9hrs Aus time) What a week! After arriving tired, jet-lagged and a little stunned, I ended up having a wonderful and exhilarating 1st week - a great start to any trip! It was my 1st time on the snow (that counts - I was 3yrs old the last time), I expected it to be freezing cold and hard, but it really wasn't. I had lessons everyday 11am-1pm with the beginners class. Luckily my instructor Nikolai spoke some english, and there was an...

6am Mon 19th Feb (London, -9hrs Aus time) - 4pm Mon 19th Feb (the French Alps, -8hrs Aus time) I began my skiing trip in the French Alps sitting in the plane in Stansted airport for an hour (plane was delayed). It figures that the one flight I actually cared about arriving on time (I had people meeting me) was running late. We finally took off and I spent the short trip worrying about how I was an hour late for my 1st meeting with any of my relatives. I arrived, ...

~4pm Sun 18th Feb - 3am Mon 19th Feb London, -9hrs Aus time My London stopover didn't start promisingly. The air traffic controller (or someone) at Heathrow airport had miscalculated and so when we arrived there was nowhere for our plane to go. They finally parked us in Bay 432 (this is when I got the 1st inkling of just how big Heathrow really is), and provided shuttle-buses to the terminal. Then the normal airport stuff (customs, collect bags etc) and I w...

6pm Sat 17th Feb (Hong Kong, -2hrs Aus time) - 4pm Sun 18th Feb (London, -9hrs Aus time) My 15hr stopover in HK starts in the plane, circling down for a landing. It's still light & the city & islands I see through my plane window are shrouded in fog &/or pollution. I'm beginning to realise that I'm maybe not cut out for the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of travel. I'm feeling a bit panicky knowing that my only plan is to put my ba...