Sooo, this is my very last blog entry. I'm already in Germany but I didn't get the time last week and still wanted to write about my amazing last week in Australia, about saying goodbye to my australian family and how it is to be back in Germany.After we already packed the bags on Thursday night (20th of september) I went to Casey's school on friday morning with Archie and Olive to watch a performance from Casey's school class at an assembly. They were singing one of Archie' favorite songs and it was so cute.. Archie and Olive loved it:)!When we came home, we quickly packed the car and drove up to Bonni Hills (four hours), where Jodie and Glen live (friends of Casey and Shane). We stayed there for two days, spent some time in the pool (to be honest, I didn't go in the pool even though it was a very hot day) and had a really good time. They are a nice and funny family and I felt really welcome :).On sunday we had to drive another 6 hours to Coolangatta (Queensland), where we stayed in a hotel. On the way we stopped in Coffs Harbour at the Big Banana, which is the "sign" of the city, maybe because they have so many banana plantations:D?! Archie and Olive were pretty good in the car, even if it was a long drive :).
Our apartment was great, it was across from the beach and we had an amazing view. Just as we arrived we were able to see whales playing in the sea right out the front of our apartment. That was such a great experience to see these massive creatures jumping out of the water.
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| view from the balkony :) |
Shortly afterwards, we went to the beach and saw them again. The beach was so beautiful and not to busy. Archie and Olive also loved the beach. They played in the sand, jumped over the waves and even Olives little unicorn had a swim in the water, because she threw it in ;).
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| my little princess ♥ |
In the evening we went to a sushi train and I skyped with my parents.On monday we had a look around the little town and did the grocery shopping. After that we went to the hotel pool. There were two pools, one for kids and a big one which was heated, so the water was really nice. There was also a spa. So we went in the pool, in the spa and were lying in the sun :)! Olive loved the spa because of the bubbles and Archie did such great swimming in the big pool :) - a perfect morning!Afterwards it was a bit cloudy, but even if it was cloudy, it was still warm, which was pretty good.In the evening we went to a restaurant and had amazing burger for dinner ;).
On the following day we visited Casey's nan, her uncle and two aunts, who live in Queensland. I've met her nan once before and she is so lovely, I really like her:). On the way back to our hotel, we went to a rainforest and did a skywalk even though Casey is scared of heights (You did great :)). It was awesome. Australia is just so beautiful.
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| Skywalk :) |
On Wednesday we went to Movie World and it looks similar to the movie park in Germany, but it's a bit smaller. It was quite a busy day, so the line of people waiting to go on a ride was so long that Archie and Shane had to wait an hour to go on the spooky Scooby Doo rollercoaster and Shane and I were waiting one and a half hours to go on a 30 second rollercoaster ride. But it was fun :)! I also went on a merry-go-round with Olive and we all saw a Ice Age movie in 4D and a stunt show. Archie absolutely loved the show and wanted to see it again later on.
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| ♥♥♥ |
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| stunt show |
It was such a great day and also Olive could go on a few rides and she played in a little playground with water fountains. At last we saw the parade and Archie yelled out to the female bugs bunny "do you want to marry me" ♥ and danced to his favorite song, that was too cute :)! We also saw batman, catwoman and all the different superheros, which was great :)!
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| Archie was driving the car with one shoe ;) haha |
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| Thanks for a great day :) |
Thursday was already our last day and we went to the beach in the morning and afterwards to the pool. In the afternoon, Olive had a sleep and we were in our apartment. So I sat on the balcony and wrote the farewell letter for my family :'( ...Even though I tried not to think about going back to Germany, I sometimes had to, but I just could not imagine to be without Archie & Olive and Casey & Shane... It was so unreal..In the evening we drove to Surfers Paradise, which is very touristy. We had a look around and it is actually really nice there, but very busy.
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| such a beautiful beach :) |
On Friday morning we set out for Newcastle and we stopped on our way at Byron Bay and another place to get some lunch.The drive was actually quite nice, because I was able to see the beautiful landscape of Australia (you definitely realise how amazing it is when you are back in germany...).We arrived late in Newcastle and on the following day we had a barbecue for lunch with Casey's family, because it was Amandas birthday two weeks ago and my farewell... apparently :(! It was actually very hard for me and I could not avoid to think about saying goodbye anymore.. I always tried to be strong and not to cry in front of everybody, but it was impossible when I looked at Olive and Archie and imagined that this time will be over soon.After saying goodbye to everyone and watching the football, we drove back to Sydney. When we arrived at home, we unpacked the car, ate dinner and then Casey helped me pack my bags.My last night at home, I didn't sleep much, because I finished the farewell gifts (photo album, digital photo frame and letter) and I couldn't sleep much anyway.On sunday, I just could not be strong anymore... I couldn't hold back my tears anymore! Even though I looked like a zombie, I went to the shoppingcentre with Shane, Casey, Archie and Olive, because I wanted to spend my last day with them and afterwards Shane and Archie made Sushi, which was absolutely great :)!The rest of the day, until we had to drive to the airport at 6.30, I packed the rest of my stuff and we had our last "Horner dinner" ;) all toghether...
I got two wonderful sabo pendants from Shane, Casey, Archie and Olive, a little austrlian bag with the australian flag on it, "German Collection" nailpolish and the most beautiful card, which means so much to me♥.I can't put into words how devastatingly sad all the last moments at home and at the airport were. Even to think about all these feelings again breaks my heart even more...I actually don't know what to write about the "goodbye", because it was just devastating and one of the saddest days of my life so far.. to say goodbye to a family, who has become your family during 8 1/2 month is just incredible.I think nobody can imagine how much I love them and the life I lived with them and how much I miss my australian family...
-A memory is a photo taken by the heart to make special moments last forever-I'm back in Germany since monday, but my heart is still on the other side of the world. There is so much I feel at the moment and it is hard to cope with being back in Germany.. I don't want to dissapoint my family and friends here, because they do everything for me, they are so understanding and happy that I'm back.The problem is, I can't be really happy, I have so many sad moments and wish for being back in Australia... I never thought it was going to be this hard to be back in Germany, but I feel so homesick right now and I miss all of them and my life so much..I miss them when I get up in the morning, I miss playing with Archie and Olive, kissing and cuddling them, going to the park, seeing them growing and learning new things, chatting with Casey, having dinner with Shane and Casey in the evening and watching Tv...I miss just to be with them! They are part of my life.. a very important part and have shared so many moments with me. To not be with them anymore and live a complete different life is not bearable. It feels like a part of me is missing!Life in Germany is so different and if you have got to know another way of life, you recognize how different life could be...I could go on forever and write how I feel and how much they affected my life, but the people who know me, know all these!
I just want to say thank you to my australian family for everything they have done for me and still do. I had the most amazing time of my life with you in Australia and everyone who read my blog, knows how much I enjoyed life with you and that this time made me happy! I wish the time would have never ended. You have a place in my heart forever. I love and miss you incredibly xxxx!-the best memories are the ones that you try to explain, but in the end you just say, you had to be there-
Thanks to my friends and family in Germany for supporting me and for being so wonderful. I know you will always be on my side, whatever I do and wherever I am. I am so glad to have you by my side in this difficult time. I really try to appreciate what you do for me and I love you so much ♥.
Thanks to everyone, who read my blog and was interested in my life and adventures.
I liked to write this blog and to report on my amazing time in Australia...Hugs and kisses, Chantal xxxx
-You may not always end up where you thought you were going, but you will always end up where you were meant to be-
-Sometimes you have to pretend to smile, pretend everything is okay. Hold back the tears and just walk away...-
- you never know how strong you are, until being stong ist the only choice-
-the only people, who can truly know your story are the ones who helped you write it-
-Never forget where you have been. Never lose sight of where you are going. And never take fot granted the people who traveled the journey with you-
