January 11, 2023

Cheers to 2022 and an even better year ahead

Chiara Di LIFE, TRAVEL 2023, New Year, Wanderlust, Western Australia 0 Comments

2022 was so good to me. I started my dream job, went on many wanders and made some positive life decisions.

It made me so happy to travel interstate and international and connect with so many friends and family in person again. It was so nice to have the world open and people transiting, to be able to meet out of towners and make friends in other cities.

I said goodbye to my little coastal sanctuary that gave me so many happy memories to make way for me to find my dream home, and kept my friends entertained with my dating stories.

There were a lot of Western Australia wanders for both leisure and work, including Albany, Denmark, Pemberton, Yallingup, Green Head, Broome and Kununurra.

I was very grateful to tick off some bucket list experiences thanks to work opportunities including flying over and wandering through both the Horizontal Falls and Bungle Bungle Range in the Kimberley, and really loved swimming with wild dolphins in Rockingham.

I took my nephews camping for the first time in Pemberton which was so special and a lot of fun. Definitely a different dynamic to camping without kids (nowhere near as relaxing) but it was nice to have these precious moments together. We went for a hike, climbed a couple of steps of Bicentennial Tree and stopped into Donnybrook Apple Fun Park along the way.

Interstate trips took me to South Australia for the first time to visit my bestie Amy who was caravanning around Australia. I also camped here in their double swag – I must say five nights is probably my limit as a camper, I was definitely ready for life’s luxuries following. We explored Adelaide, McLaren Vale, Hahndorf and the Fleurieu Peninsula together.

I returned to Melbourne, which was so nice to see all my cousins again. It always feels like my second home. This trip also took me to Mt Buller where I learnt to snowboard (eyeing Canada trip in the future). I also got to Sydney for an exciting work trip and popped into Brisbane for a dinner date with my gal Shanna before continuing on the LA.

Speaking of LA, travelling overseas was the highlight of my year! There was no better feeling than being in a foreign airport and immersed around different languages. It was so good to be offline out of wifi, and connect with people all over the world again. It was such a fun trip visiting my bestie Ivanna with some very ‘Hollywood’ experiences and I can’t wait to relive it all again.

I dropped the ball with surf lessons, kept up with salsa dancing and had the occasional skate date with Stef, one of which ended up with a massive graze. Hiking took me along the Bald Head, Two Peoples Bay, Castle Rock, Ellis Brook Valley, Dynamite Bay, Cape to Cape and Karri Valley trails.

I enjoyed a break over Christmas and New Years with a few friends visiting home. It wasn’t as relaxing as I would have liked currently living with family but there was a pool involved. I enjoyed beach days (very much struggling with living away from the coast), salsa nights, a day in Mandurah, a little disco dancing, sleepovers with my nephews and a got stuck into White Lotus.

Now in 2023, I Iook forward to furthering my career in my dream job and exploring more of our beautiful state, finding my dream home along the coast, and going on many, many exciting wanders – hopefully more than ever. The only thing I’m struggling with is having enough annual leave hah…

Four years in the making and I have finally booked a Europe holiday for the summer. It’s insane to think I haven’t been there for 12 years since I lived in London. Finally getting to Portugal and Sicily and reliving my days in London and Santorini. Trying to sneak in another California trip too.

I do really feel grateful and blessed for the life I have created and all the amazing people I have to do it with. I think it’s going to be one of the best year’s yet, it’s so nice to feel anything is possible again. And I can’t wait to see what it brings.

LWL xxx