Home Sweet Home

My last day in Lisbon was sunny and breezy. People were out getting lunch and visiting the beach, although the water was far too cold for this Queensland girl to attempt a swim. I toured a palace, stopped to admire a magnificent graffiti wall along the coast, a giant surfer's tube that would have made any Burleigh local proud, and sat for lunch next to a table of Americans getting their rowdy on.

Lisbon itself is a traveller's haven; chaotic, charming, historic, and alive. But I had come here with a specific future question in mind: could this be the place where retired Nathan and I called home for a couple of years, a European base from which to explore the continent more affordably than flying from Australia each time?

Honest answer: not for this girl. Lisbon is magnificent, but it is also hectic and crowded, and I have a deep and abiding love of open space and fewer people. So, Lisbon, it's not you, it's me. Truly.

The search continues, and after the wonders of this trip, the shortlist has grown rather than narrowed. UK or Italy? Both made a strong case. Watch this space.

The long journey home through Dubai was uneventful, which, after my first flight then Glasgow, is exactly how I like it. I sat in my seat, pointed toward Brisbane, and felt something settle quietly inside me.

I took a taxi from the airport. No dramatic reunion on the arrivals kerb, just the familiar sprawl of Brisbane coming back into view through the window, and the feeling of a city that knows you.

When I walked through the front door, Willow and Asha lost their minds entirely. Many dog years had passed since they'd last seen me, and judging by their reaction, they had long concluded I was dead. I got down on the floor with them for a dog cuddle reunion. After a few minutes, they settled, and I got up and hugged my husband, who had been standing back the whole time, smiling, watching, and patiently waiting for his turn.

This trip taught me that I am good at travelling alone. It also taught me that being alone can get lonely, and that the laughter of the people you love is not a small thing. I came home with a found family in Wales, a goodbye finally given to a grandfather I never got to meet, a list of things I will never Google again, and the comforting knowledge that home is always here when I need it.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

See you at the next one.

ps, Travel Tip #21: Go. Just go. You'll figure out the rest.