Today I took Hamish to the indoor pool in North Berwick whilst Rod went to the Scottish Sea Bird Centre. This is the first swim Hamish has had in 7 weeks since we left Australia. He was having weekly swimming lessons in Wangaratta and was really getting the hang of it: long arms smacking into the water, legs kicking from the knee, stopping to breathe and a gorgeous wriggle to keep it all going. Today he flapped around like it was the first time he has ever been in the water!

It occurred to me how easy is has been to get out of the habit of doing the things we love, but take for granted. Back in Australia, every Thursday we rush to get to swimming lessons on time, we’re often tired, got other things to do, I mean, if you have children, you know what I am talking about.

The thought of travelling is empowering: no school, no hospital, no uni, not having to stick to boring old routines at home, this is what we have worked for! Having time to exercise (hasn’t happened once), read (I have finished one book), help Hamish with his writing (maybe twice), the bliss of deciding how you spend your day (do anything or do nothing), the romantic ideation of being in exotic places, soaking up the history, the atmosphere, the endless castles…

The plain truth about travelling? Well, even without taking into account Hamish’s age, a road trip of this duration is difficult and often routine. Much of our days are spent working out a bit of a schedule to suit everyone, or researching what we might like to do in the time we have (and working out how to get there). The weather forecast again, takes up nearly as much time, because A) the schedule often depends on B) the weather. Food is another factor of our daily lives that consumes us (no pun intended). Do we need to shop, what’s for lunch, are we eating out, are we taking a picnic, is Hamish eating too many sausages, where can we buy vegemite…I mean, it’s endless!

Washing again, a daily contemplation: will it dry in time, when we will get to wash again, can we hang the wet washing directly on the radiators, how does the washing machine work, how many times is it appropriate to wear your jeans without washing them?

Hamish sleeping in till 8am every day is a huge bonus, but also means we are pretty slow to get going in the mornings. However, having said that, this is not a complaint because NO parent complains about their child sleeping in. But the boy is often tired and even though we are trying to pace ourselves, he does get worn out. Yesterday he fell asleep in the car – it was 5pm in the afternoon. Today he and I had a nap in the afternoon, his second for the trip. If we were back in Wangaratta, Hamish napping in the afternoon is about likely as a speeding ticket in Italy.

Just so you know, even though the blogs are showing some pretty cool stuff and you may be a wee bit envious, it’s not all wine and roses (well, it is often wine). There’s still the boring stuff and it helps to keep things a bit normal when you’re 16 000km away. Will update next from the Netherlands – wish us luck on the ferry crossing.

Oh and Rod ate Haggis for dinner.