Day 1 - From Down Under to Across the Pond: Our Journey to London
Embarking on the Adventure of a Lifetime
06/11/2023
G'day! The time has finally come for us to bid adieu to the golden beaches of Australia we have known so well and embark on an adventure across the globe.
Our destination? The historic and vibrant city of London!
After flying down to Brisbane on Saturday (4th November) to have one last celebration with our southern mates, we woke up feeling a little worse for wear to say the least! Well worth it though.
As we dusted off the few too many drinks, a mixture of excitement and a tinge of sadness flowed throughout the day. Saying goodbye to our familiar surroundings was bittersweet, but the promise of new experiences kept us energized.
After spending much of the day just waiting for the time to come (also having our mandatory bowl of Brisbane Ramen), we headed to the airport to navigate the check-in process.
After finally checking (getting rid of) our heavy and overpacked baggage, we sat in a bar with our last Aussie beers in hand to relax… or at least that was the plan.
Chels began to worry that our return flight was outside of the 6-month allowed holiday period and that because she hadn’t officially received her British Passport, that we would have issues once arriving in England. So instead of relaxing before our flight, we franticly jumped onto Google Flights to book our flights to Prague for Christmas to put her mind at ease of being allowed into the country (she isn’t a worrier at all…).
Thankfully, once that was sorted, our first leg of the 24hr journey was a smooth one. Chelsea and I both managed to sleep approximately 10hrs of the 13hr flight to Dubai.
Once arriving in Dubai, we had a short 1.5hr stopover. So in true Matt & Chels fashion, we sought out a bar and had a very expensive airport beer ($20 each). Well worth it if you ask us though.
The final leg of the trip was a “short” 8hr flight from Dubai to London Heathrow. During the flight, we passed over some stunning landscapes between the Middle-East and Turkey. Sadly, the rest of Europe was covered in scattered clouds, so this was the only section of the trip we had enjoyed the view out of our window seats (the first leg being completely at night).
Matt was stoked to get to use his brand-new camera to capture some stunning photos (his words).
Arriving in England, the pilot treated us to a full lap over central London! What a way to kickoff the trip!.
Entering the country was a breeze and sadly, no-one asked Chelsea if she had a return flight booked. Once being picked up by our own private driver that Asha had organized, we headed to Brentford to check-in to our hotel for the next few months, Chelsea’s Grandad’s flat.
We were greeted by Chelsea’s Grandad with a fridge full of homemade food, as well as an introduction to his good friend Eric. After a short talk about our travels, we both ended up passed out in bed at 3pm, only to wake up at 5am the following day! Talk about jetlagged!
Thankfully no bags were lost, no stomach bugs we picked up, and no tears were shed in our first day of the trip.
We can’t wait to explore our new home in the coming days.
Two happy travellers!
PS. If anyone wants some of the photos taken to download, message us through the Contact Us section of the website, or email us hello@picswesendtomum.com
Cheers,
Matt & Chels
Pics We Send To Mum
