Recharge

Imagine that tomorrow, all of your duties and obligations evaporate for the day. You get the day all to yourself, to do anything you please. What types of fun activities would make your day?

I believe taking time out to recharge and celebrate ME Time is important for mental health. This week I have been lucky enough to have a week of ME Time without any duties or obligations doing whatever I feel like for the day. It is liberating and relaxing. I am spending the week in Port Macquarie New South Wales, an area I first visited as a 10-year-old child. So how do I plan to spend my days when I don’t have my usual  busy schedule to contend with. No problem. Below is a list of my options most of which I have already done:

  • Build a sand castle
  • Celebrate days off with a glass of champagne
  • Catch up on my blogging
  • Colour in
  • Do a crossword puzzle
  • Draw
  • Enjoy the winter sunshine
  • Explore new areas
  • Gather ideas for Inspiring Max
  • Listen to different bird calls
  • Play a board game
  • Play solitaire with cards
  • Read a romantic comedy
  • Reconnect with what it was like living in regional New South Wales
  • Relive childhood memories
  • Sleep in
  • Smell the ocean
  • Smell the flowers beginning to burst as Spring is around the corner
  • Swim
  • Visit regional art galleries
  • Walk on beach
  • Watch a girly movie
  • Work on my book

It has been  a great week staying in one place, catching up with myself and expand my experience of my amazing homeland, Australia.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/nothin-but-a-good-time/


Weekly Photo Challenge: Symbol

This week, share a symbol with us, and tell us what it means to you.

I loved this symbol of creativity I found at Lithgow’s McDonald Restaurant. It may be an “only in Australia” moment but it works for me. It is an example of simple, practical fun.

IMG_1067

 

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Muse

What subject keeps you coming back? This week, show us your muse.

Australia is my muse. I love my country and love to share its beauty and uniqueness with the world. Unfortunately  many people only get to visit us virtually due to the distance.

 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/muse/


Weekly Photo Challenge: Vivid

Australia’s rainbow lorikeets are vivid, beautiful  creatures who love a free feed. This girl found a small group of them and decided to attempt to feed them. No problem. They were happy to play with her for in exchange for apple. We stood and watched their interactions for a while as these wild birds became one with her. The joy on her face was priceless.

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/vivid/


Weekly Photo Challenge:Enveloped

What does enveloped mean to you?

To me enveloped means surrounded by, wrapped in or enclosed.On my journeys I have found several examples of differing ways things this can happen. I think envelopment helps to balance a picture what are your thoughts?

Enveloped in the Australian bush

Enveloped in the Australian bush

 

 

 

Old Silk Road traveling route China enveloped in glass for protection.

Old Silk Road traveling route China enveloped in glass for protection.

Many people would like to envelope themselves in this cosy Tiger onsie.

Many people would like to envelope themselves in this cosy Tiger onsie.

Beaver enveloped in their hutch enjoying a tree branch.

Beaver enveloped in their hutch enjoying a tree branch.

Street name enveloped in the footpath Moncton Canada.

Street name enveloped in the footpath Moncton Canada.

Snow and Ice enveloping the St Lawrence River Montreal Canada.

Snow and Ice enveloping the St Lawrence River Montreal Canada.

Otter enveloping himself. He looked so cute and comfortable.

Otter enveloping himself. He looked so cute and comfortable.

A volcanic eruption enveloped the whole area Buried Village New Zealand.

A volcanic eruption enveloped the whole area Buried Village New Zealand.

1000's of statues are enveloped in their own caves Longman Grottos China.

1000’s of statues are enveloped in their own caves Longman Grottos China.

Clouds envelope a beautiful sunset Zhenzhou China.

Clouds envelope a beautiful sunset Zhenzhou China.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/enveloped/


Weekly Photo Challenge: Forces of Nature

Many opportunities can be found to study the forces of nature in the Blue Mountains, Australia.  More information on this beautiful area can be found here.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/forces-of-nature/


Weekly Photo Challenge: Intricate

The Chen Clan Academy is the most intricate building I have seen. As the name suggests it was originally an academic Temple built with money donated the 72 Chen clan families for the accommodation during the their preparation for Imperial Examinations. The Temple was completed in 1894 during the Qing dynasty and is amazingly decorated with wood carvings, stone carvings, pottery, brick carvings, plaster and iron carvings.

Located in Guangzhou, China the Temple became  the Guangdong Folk Art Museum in 1959. I think I found the outside of the building even more fascinating than the Chinese Folk Art inside.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/intricate/


Y – Yangtze River

What’s your travel style? Are you itinerary and schedule driven, needing to have every step mapped out in advance or are you content to arrive without a plan and let happenstance be your guide?

My husband and I like to mix it up a bit. We are solo travelers who like to have accommodation pre-booked and make other things up as we go. If necessary and possible from Australia I will also pre-book transportation between our destinations and some special activities we know we want to do. In Canada however I booked internal train and bus tickets when I arrived in the city involved. It work well as their was no shortage of trips—China however due to the language barrier and time of year was a different story. This travel was arranged with some difficulty from Australia but worked well.

As solo travelers one of the great things is deciding on the day what you feel like doing. There is no rush as we allow ourselves plenty of time to immerse ourselves in each city as we don’t like to be rushed. The more different the culture I think the more important this is. Because we are getting ourselves around in foreign cities it makes us more mindful of our surroundings as we have to get ourselves back home to our motel.

When we first found out we were going to Wuhu we were so excited because it was on the great Yangtze River. We could wait. The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and the third longest river in the world.

  1. Nile
  2. Amazon
  3. Yangtze

The Yangtze is also the longest river flowing through a single country—China. It begins high in the mountains in Qinghai – Tibet Plateau and flows west to east into the East China Sea. We first saw the Yangtze from the 5th floor of our hotel. I couldn’t believe how wide and busy it was. So many boats and junks. A few days later we spent several pleasant hours walking along its foreshore—just the two of us and this majestic lifeblood river. On the bucket list now is to cruise the Yangtze—one day.

#A-Z Challenge

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-happy-wanderer/