Off to a great start....

Well we didn't plan on taking a little pause on the blog, but life happens and so did the break. This month has been a roller coaster for Morgan and I. We moved into our new place, after 13 months of living with others and in hotels and hostels, and settled into life in a new city. It has be so lovely to have our own space again and to start afresh. We have both been so excited to have a kitchen and have been loving having guests over so we can create lots of treats to eat. Its incredible the simple things you miss when you don't have your own home. We have been blown away by the kindness of our family and friends and are so refreshed to have these people back in our lives again.
Its funny to think that at times this move coming back to Australia seems crazier and more challenging that what we did packing up and heading to Europe. We really didn't know what we were going to do getting back here until we got the lease approved to move into our apartment. Morgan has picked up a great job with great hours and I am still on the hunt, but things have been falling into place that we have no doubt we are where we are meant to be.
In terms of this blog, we want to keep going. This was never a travel blog, but as we began moving around all the time, the blog followed in that direction too. We don't really know what our lives are going to look like this year, but I am sure that no matter what happens the blog will follow along for the ride.
Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading. As always it is a real privilege to have people read along and interact and share the journey with us.
We will be back soon with much more.
- m&k
ps. we have our computer back in action!

Surprise!

Well let me tell you a tale, as its Christmas Eve. Kim and I have been keeping a big secret for a while and now that everyone knows we can blog about it. We have decided to move back to Australia! What originally set out to be a holiday back home for Christmas has changed into a new beginning. Whilst looking at rental prices we found an amazing old unit in Brisbane that an old friend used to have, it's such a beauty that it was too hard not to apply for it. And once we got approved for it we decided we needed a car. After a lot of research and encouragement from other bloggers who have bought the same car we decided to buy the most expensive car we ever had, a Prius. We are so excited to save fuel on the hybrid vehicle and do our bit to save the environment. This is about as much of what we know the future holds for us, we will be looking for work in the big city and getting settled in. We are so excited to be home and had a lot of fun surprising friends and family the past few days. HUGS ALL ROUND. Where the blog is going to go from now.... Who knows, but sit tight. To all who have taken a moment to read this, Merry Christmas, please stay safe and we pray you find joy, peace and love this Christmas.


-morgan

Prague, Czech Republic

Wow. It is a lot harder than we thought blogging without a computer. Sorry about that. Well we have had a delightful 7 days here in Prague, and tomorrow we head to Vienna. We came here with my parents, and then left after a few days to go back to Germany. We have had a great time strolling the old cobbled streets, admiring the architecture and trying to avoid the hundreds of tourists. We have done the things you are supposed to do... Visit Prague Castle, walk the Charles Bridge, see the astronomical clock and the Lennon wall. These have been great, although some of our favorite things have been climbing the hill to see the view from Letna Park, this great little cafe near our hotel, and just sitting by the Vltava River all rugged up and watching the world go by. It certainly feels like winter is here, and we are loving the change in season and the subsequent change in our wardrobe.
-kim

Let it SNOW!!!

Yesterday we woke up to a winter wonderland and a village covered in white. Snow is such a thrill for us and we are loving all the excitement of this season. These next few days we plan on drinking red wine, walking in the snowing woods, listening to Christmas music and maybe a few films.
In other news, we are having some issues with our laptop so until we get that sorted our blog posts from now on might only be iPhone photos. We'll just have to see what happens.
This week we had a great 4 day trip, driving down to Austria and Italy with my parents. Hopefully we can share some of our photos from our other Cameras soon.
-kim

Natzweiler-Struthof

So a while back when we were in Alsace, Kim and I visited a concentration camp in which my grandpa was held prisoner during WW2. Thankfully, he escaped.
I am not sure what to write, how horrible the war was, how we need to stop things like this happening in the future or how atrocious it is that they make you pay to visit a concentration camp! I write this from Germany, in a small Bavarian town, about to eat brotwurst, sauerkraut and potatoes. This is my first time in Germany, and to be completley honest I didn't think I'd like it this much. I thought to myself that the people would all be hard, angry, not funny and that Natzis would still walk the streets. Not really, but predujice and spending 10 months in France with older people has painted a distorted picture of Germans.
My mother is currently doing a one woman show retracing her fathers journey through war, concentration camp, survival and finally in escape. During the writing process she interviewed immigrants in Australia who moved there after the war. French, Polish, Italians and a German, all who fought in the war. I think something we fail to remember in most war situations is that often both sides fighting don't actually want to be there. My mother sat with this old German man as he said he was just following orders as a young man.
Going to the concentration camp was horrible experience, seeing buildings that were made with the sole purpose of humiliating, torturing and killing people. We sat back and said "good thing times have changed', but has it? People still get tortured, people still fight wars, people are still racist and young men and women are still recruited to fight because its an honorable thing to do. I am not trying to make points, I have not truly lived through a war. I was able to hold my Grandpa and tell him his long beard was itchy, I am able to rest my head on a bed, with a full stomach, without fear of bombs, guns or my families safety. Just something to think about next "day of remembrance" I guess.
-morgan

Bamberg, Germany

It has been so lovely chilling out and enjoying what Germany has to offer. My parents arrived on Monday and we have had a great time catching up on the last 10 months. Yesterday we went for a little drive out to Bamberg and on our way back popped in to see the Plassenburg Castle in Kulmbach. It is amazing to find the little differences in German culture after spending so many months exploring French cities.
-kim

Bad Berneck, Germany

What a couple of weeks it has been. After an extended week working on the vineyard due to weather and the selling of our favourite car we have headed east. A lovely couple have generously lent us an apartment in the small town of Bad Berneck, Germany. For the next 2-3 weeks we will be relaxing here soaking in the colour of autumn, eating german sausages, trying out the local beers and have a special two week visit from Kims parents!
-morgan

Oxford - Abingdon, England

These last few days we have been exploring the locations of my parents youth around Oxford and Abingdon. It has been such a joy to spend time with my two Uncles (on both my mother and fathers side) hearing stories from the past and catching up on what is new. This is the first time Morgan has met my family living in England, and it has been so great introducing him. We have eaten many traditional English delights like strawberries, pork pies and drinking a pint of warm beer.
-kim

family

In January, when we first arrived in France, we took the time to travel around and visit Morgan's aunties and uncle. As we were heading up towards Paris again, we decided we would pop back in and spend a couple of days with them again while we were in the area.
We had a great couple of days in Orleans, just relaxing and spending time with the cousins. Now we are in Lardy and have really enjoyed sharing stories of our year so far and eating great food. Yesterday we went to a park we visited last time we here. As a special thing for summer they had row boats available to take out on the creek for free. It was a fun little afternoon, and great time spent with family.
Tomorrow we head to Paris, for 5 days, then jump on our first plane in a while and visit Scotland.
-kim

Château au Cerilly

Morgan and I had the privilege of being able to stay 2 nights at a friend of a friends Château in Cerily. It was pretty special sleeping in a Castle and we had the most amazing beautiful room. Definatly the most impressive accommodation we have had in our travels so far. We took the time to relax and enjoy the space, as well as explore the enormous Forest of Tronçais.
We are now back in Orleans and catching up again with Morgan's Aunty. Its strange being here again in a different season. The city is quite different to what it was like back in January. Tomorrow we head to Lardy, as we make our way back to Paris.
-kim

thread

One of the best things about living with morgans grandmother is the beautiful vintage things we find around the house. The other day while sowing I uncovered Grannys incredible thread collection. There were so many beautiful old thread spools and I was instantly i love.
enjoy
-kim

happy birthday MORGAN!

So tomorrow is Morgan's birthday, and as a person who is pretty into birthdays, I'm super excited.

I'm pretty into Morgan as well and I love telling him why. So on the eve of his 24th birthday, I thought I would continue from last year and make a tradition of it.

Here are the 24 things I LOVE about MORGAN!

24. I love that he loves food like me.
23. I love that he values family and friends above everything.
22. I love the way he ties shoelaces.
21. I love his style.
20. I love the way he cooks me meals that taste incredible every single time.
19. I love that he has beautiful tattoos.
18. I love that he loves to quote things, even silly films I make him watch.
17. I love his taste in music ...
16. and his ability to always find talented new musicians for us to enjoy.
15. I love the he is the best person I could ever ask for to travel with.
14. I love the way he takes photos.
13. I love watching movies with him, because he has such great taste in movies.
12. I love the way he cuddles me.
11. I love that he lets me sing him stupid songs (sometimes).
10. I love that he has a collection of flannel shirts.
9. I love that he helps me to not eat too much candy.
8. I love that he lets me hold his hand while we drift to sleep.
7. I love the way he supports we when I don't understand anything go on since we got to France.
6. I love grocery shopping with him.
5. I love they way he lives his life daily.
4. I love his last name, and that it is now mine as well.
3. I love the way he loves people, with complete honesty.
2. I love his face.
1. I just really really love him.

And.. now it's your turn. If you are a *real life* friend of ours who read this, please comment below and share a little about what your favourite thing about morgan is.

Thanks and enjoy.
-kim

old orleans

We have come to visit my aunty and cousins out in an old bourgeoise town called Orleans (pronounced or-lee-on). Its the first big town we have been to outside of Paris and it's giving us a taste of what type of town we would like to settle in. I always love coming here and seeing how much my cousins change and sitting around drinking 'aperitifs' with my aunt and talking about history, family, science, art and our shared passion...thrifting! Tomorrow we go to a big flea market in the area, which kim is very excited about seeing as I have told her this is the country of antiques and great flea markets. We are only here a short time and there is so much to do in this town. I thought I would just share a few old house fronts photos I took yesterday on a short stroll.








-morgan
ps.there are more photos of us out and about on instagram. follow us on username:morganandkim if you like.

Lardy Lardy Da...

Well after a couple of days back on Paris, we are now staying with Morgan's Uncle in Lardy, a village south of Paris. My sister Sarah flew back to Australia yesterday, and this is now the point in time where we are no longer really traveling, but we are here in France, and this is where we will stay. That was a bit scary for me at first and although there is a lot of unknown things, it is great to be here. Morgan has been a real champion translating for me and helping me work out how to be a bit more french. Its also be so great to finally meet all of Morgan's extended family.

Today we went exploring a couple of castles. There are so many beautiful old buildings here in France, quite different to Australia. Hopefully we will be able to visit some markets this weekend and maybe pick up a few new treasures.

enjoy
-kim