#2 “On our Way”!

Welcome back to “When Wine Calls”. We hope you have enjoyed reading about the lead-up to our adventure.

Finally, the day has come as we load up all our luggage to head off to the airport. It is still hard to imagine this day has arrived – I am sure reality will set in when we get to the airport and deal with check-in and security formalities and the gate opens to board the flight. In many respects the prospect of leaving home for such a lengthy time is somewhat surreal.

Right up until this week we have been searching out unique little bars and restaurants to experience as well as some unusual activities to include in the itinerary. While the trip overall needed to be more structured than we would have wanted, given that we are travelling in the height of the European summer in many locations, we still want to ensure we have plenty of free days to visit locations off the beaten

track that we find out about along the way. We want to come home feeling that we were able to embrace as much local life as possible, interacting with and enjoying their company and traditions, great food and, most importantly, their locally produced wine.

Prior to heading on our adventure, we have had one more stopover in Sydney to celebrate our daughter’s birthday with the family (yes another milestone birthday for 2023) then Canberra for a few days, onto Melbourne and a dinner at our favourite restaurant then FINALLY we will be on “on our way”.

Pauline and I are so excited to have this special time away together and to explore places and experiences that we have dreamed about doing for so long. We are determined not to let the opportunity slip by and hope that you will join us through this blog as we attempt to share it with you.

Our next blog will be from the other side of the world in a new time zone. In the meantime, keep enjoying happy hour with friends and family while reading our blog and take care of yourself and each other. As recent tragedies in the news have reminded us “life is short” and should be embraced at every opportunity.

Bruce & Pauline