I HAVE just returned from five weeks abroad and let me tell you, I have never been so glad to see a jar of Vegemite.
While I had the time of my life exploring the winding streets of Paris, it’s surprising what you miss when you’re away for an extended period.
I was definitely homesick for my own pillow and having a wide choice of food (when I was up to my ears in pizza and pasta, all I wanted was Chinese food).
Hearing an Australian accent while you’re away is also the stuff of holiday dreams.
My boyfriend and I ended up running into lots of Aussies while we were travelling, including being seated with two other couples from Perth while having dinner in the Eiffel Tower.
We joined up with a tour group for our trek through the Greek Islands and were pleased to find the majority of them were from the ‘land down under’.
We made new friends over the free shots Greek bars gave out, as well as empathising with their sore heads the next day.
Being able to flush toilet paper is something I never thought I’d miss while in another country but unfortunately it was a major feature of our time in Greece.
Although they had toilets and working pipes about 3000 years ago, their plumbing system is just not equipped to handle paper and we had to make use of a bin instead.
Not great.
Also, as a self-confessed internet junkie, I’m ashamed to admit I paid a very large amount for wifi in Venice.
I had lots of holiday snaps to upload for everyone at home after all.
Now I’m back and while I’m already searching for the next time I can go back to Europe, it’s pretty good to be home.
I definitely need another holiday to recover from the one I just had though.