So far this year….

Well, what a start to 2007! On New Years Eve we went out for Italian with some friends and then went back to one of their houses for further festivities and to see
the new year in.

On the 6th of Jan we headed off on our two week ski/snowboard trip to the French Alps. We had great snow conditions and had so much fun. We stayed in a self-catering apartment with our good friends Leigh and Sarah (Sal) which was only 5 mins walk from the main lifts in Val D’Isere. Col took to snowboarding in an instant and just had an absolute ball, and I found that the ski school and Sal’s expert tuition helped me to pick up skiing quicker than I had expected (although I must admit I had set my expectations at a rather, let’s say ‘manageable’ level). So yeah,
I think I’m hooked! We can’t forget to mention the après ski activities which were certainly a highlight and largely involved playing lots of cards (quite passionately at times!) and consuming extraordinary amounts of cheese, wine and pastries.

It was quite chilly when we returned to London and we have had two days of quite heavy snow! I know we just returned from the snowy alps, so you’d think we’d be quite accustomed to the white stuff by now, but somehow we found it very exciting that it was actually snowing where we live and work. The pics below where the sky is grey are all in London around our house and on the way to our local tube station. Obviously all the blue-sky snowy pics were in Val.

On the work front, Col has got a couple of major projects going on at work at present and so has been putting in a lot of extra hours. His boss shouted us a lovely valentines dinner last night as a thank you for all his hard work, which was very nice. Work has been going well for me. After I returned to work after skiing our class went to see Carmen at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden which was a fabulous experience. Recently I have also started a new second job as a play-worker at an after school club for kids with special needs. It is working out well so far.

Oh, if your wondering what the photo is of me looking like a lunatic on the bed, that was the morning of my b’day when I was chatting to family and friends on the phone and road-testing my new spotty PJs that Col gave me (which I adore!)…..and wearing the wrapping on my head…well…just because I could! On the Sat night following my b’day we went out for a really nice dinner with Col, Nats, Kath, Faith and two of Faith’s friends and then went to a party where there was a DJ and we danced til the very wee hours of the morning. Twas a great night.

Now we are counting down the weeks of work before we embark on our big trip and then head home! We’re spending 9 days in Morocco, flying to Madrid then Paris, Venice, ferrying our way to Slovenia and spending 3.5 weeks in Slovenia and Croatia before returning to London for two days to meet our connecting flight to Japan where we will spend 10 days. Our trip is 2 months in total. We arrive at Brisbane International around 7:30am on Sunday 3 June!! Can’t wait to catch up with you all when we get back!!

Anyhow, I’m sure you’re dozing off to sleep by now if you have even made it thus far, so I’d better be off! Be sure to get back to us with your news from home :)

Lots of love,
Ang and Col, xo.