And then it was 2007...

Wow - another year has flown by just like that (*imagine I just clicked my fingers*). After the crazy London New Year we had last year (ah, we still have fond memories of Elvis costumes and the death punch), this year we decided to take a softer, more laid back approach, and we headed to a remote country old-style farmhouse in the Brittany region of France (along with a lot of wine, cheese and good company of course) to ring in 2007. And although there wasn't the excitement of fireworks or crowds, we had an unforgettable time surrounded by nothing but whistling trees in the gorgeous Brittany countryside, our pet goats and sinister farm cat, a LOT of booze, but most importantly, good friends and people who we have grown to call our family over here. There were all the makings of a winter country ho;iday - boule competitions, dinners by the fire, poker showdowns, trips to the (windy) seaside - and although it's all starting to sound a bit like we are all in our 80s, it was such a cool and different way to spend New Years.

Meanwhile, an awesome party was held back in London I'm told (see pic above and a fantastic slideshow to be found here - i'm almost very jealous). I have also found this brilliant site where you can watch panorama/360 degrees photos and footage of the NYE countdowns in major cities across the world - check it out here. Of course I headed straight to the Sydney NYE celebrations and am now feeling more than a little homesick - although these days any image of people sitting anywhere remotely near an Australian sun in a hat and T-Shirt is making me pine. I've decided to go home for a month in February though - so not long until I will be soaking up the UV Rays myself again!

I always get a little bit sad at the beginning on a New Year - not because it's a sad event, but just because I get nostalgic about the year that has just been, and all the '2006' things that will never be again. It has been such an amazing year for me - my first full calender year of living in London! - and although it sounds cliched, so many things in 2006 really were dreams coming true for me. I've made a great dent in my life-long travel plans and shared unforgettable times along the way. shared my new life with friends and family who came to visit, moved into a fab new house, had a massive blow to the professional ego and bounced back, entered into the 'visa gauntlet' (2007 will spell my fate!), made new friends and met stunning people from all over the world and have loved mostly every minute of it.

So to all the people i love back home, to all the people I love here (and to all the people I'm yet to meet in the world) here's to bigger and better things in 2007! I don't have any hard and fast NY resolutions - I prefer to scrunch my eyes together, blindly stumble forward and hope everything works out for the best :) It seems to have worked out pretty well so far so here we go!