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Posted on June 11, 2018April 17, 2019 by xinchaovietnam

11
Jun

Follow me on the road! @24hourslayover

24hourslayover

🇬🇧 From London
Travel writer based in Sydney
Mother of rescue staffie dogs 🐶
Best day trip in Sydney⬇️

I reached the 200 mark 🤪🥴🤩 ♡ 200 articl

I reached the 200 mark 🤪🥴🤩
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200 articles on my website 24hourslayover.com - most of the articles are about travel (I have been to 75 countries and I have articles on over 60 of the countries so far), but many of my articles are also related to Flight Attendants and living abroad (for the past 5 years I've lived in Sicily, The Middle East and now Australia).
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At first making the switch from being surrounded by people all day as a Flight Attendant, to having to spend a lot of time alone writing was a little challenging - especially when you're in a beautiful place like Australia and all you want to be doing every day is travelling! But all hard work pays off in the end. Google now ranks a lot of my articles on the top spot (always a great feeling when that happens 😝) and it continues to be where the majority of my website traffic comes from.
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This wasn't my first career change, in fact it was my 4th (revealing my age here I guess!). I went from being a Senior Radiographer ('x-ray nurse') in the Emergency Department in one of London's busiest hospitals, to being an English Teacher in Italy, before getting into flying and travel writing.
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Some people say all this movement and change I did was brave - to pack up and start a new life so many times, but that's not how it feels to me. I'm just an ordinary girl who never wants to stop learning. And I just happen to find that travel really is the best education. 💞
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Head over to my blog 24hourslayover.com for the full story.

On the day that was supposed to be my last day in

On the day that was supposed to be my last day in Sydney 🤣🥴🙈✈
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I took this picture back in March when corona 😷 got me freaked - I lost my income, my home and the worst part MY ADOPTED RESCUE STAFFIES! (Don't worry, I'm getting them back in September wahooooo!) 🐶🐶.
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I booked on 3 flights back to London for the following day and all of them cancelled because the transit countries denied transit flights. In a way I was kind of glad 😆. Sooooo for me that was a sign and I decided to stay in Sydney! And honestly, it has been amazing and absolutely the best decision.
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Living up on the Northern Beaches has been a dreammmmmm (so much better than Bondi and the Eastern Suburbs!). Even during lockdown we were able to go on beautiful coastal walks and I have discovered some amazing parts of Sydney during this time. I'll be staying here for another few months before I go on my next big adventure 🤪.
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Are you guys planning any big adventures yet?

Afternoon sails and overnight stays on luxury yach

Afternoon sails and overnight stays on luxury yachts moored in Sydney's iconic Palm Beach area.
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That's exactly what @taylormadeescapes specialise in 😎. Plus of course these epic seafood platters 😋. Those prawns were super delicious! They're the only charter yacht company based up here in Palm Beach, so an overnight stay onboard is a super unique experience! You'll get the whole yacht to yourself plus a little rowing boat! 🤩⛵🚣🏼‍♀️ Head to my stories to check out more!
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After our morning sail around Palm Beach and Pittwater we tucked into our seafood platter and local Australian sparkling wine @jansztasmania - yes who knew cold Tassie could produce such great sparkling wine!
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Feels so good to be back on the water! Who else is

I bet all the doggies have been loving lockdown, d

I bet all the doggies have been loving lockdown, don't you think? 🐶🥰.
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With their owners home all the time and far more 'walkies' than normal, I think most of them have been having a super fun time!
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If you remember my stories in February and March, you'll remember I was blessed with Portia, the best doggy in the world. I say this each time I 'adopt' a new staffy, but Portia was definitely that. She was one of a kind and I still miss her a lot! She couldn't fall asleep unless she was spooning me which was just the cutest thing ever. And when she would wake up in the morning she would rest her chin on my chest and just stare at me patiently until I woke up. ♡
I had lots more rescue staffies I had agreed to look after over the coming months, but sadly for me because of covid they no longer need a temporary carer! Of course that makes me sad as I feel like I've lost my right arm when I don't have a staffy by my side!
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On another note, who watched the Australian TV series Home & Away as a child? It is actually filmed here at Palm Beach ('Summer Bay' is the fictional name). Palm Beach is the most northern of Sydney's beaches, and is totally my favourite Sydney beach! Have you been to Sydney, and if so what is your favourite beach?

Never forget that you love to dance! 💃🏼💕🇨🇺
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Don't let the lockdown be an excuse for you to neglect your passions. Staying at home means we have to find different ways to still be able to enjoy our hobbies that normally we wouldn't do by ourselves in the home. Take salsa dancing for example. Of course normally a dance between two people in a salsa club. But when you are in lockdown alone and still want to dance? Luckily my pals @osbanis_deakocan
and @anneta_deakocan made an online party for us where we could all dance Cuban salsa together from our homes! Focusing always on interpreting the music in your dance. 🎶
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For me dance has always been a big part of my life since as long as I can remember. But if you don't dance salsa and would like to use your time during lockdown to learn a new skill, Osbanis and Anneta are doing lots of online dance classes these days for all different levels. This is a great way to learn if you are self-conscious about others watching you as nobody will be able to see you! Just contact them for more information 😊.
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Choreo by @osbanis_deakocan @anneta_deakocan
Music by @elninoylaverdadoficial ft Maikel Dinza - latest release 'mi negocio personal'.
Dress in movie gifted by @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse

One of the locals here made this heart on the beac

One of the locals here made this heart on the beach out of seaweed. ❤
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It puts a smile on my face whenever I come for my daily walk on the beach. A reminder that love is still all around. A reminder to reach out to others and check they are okay. A reminder that love never dies. A reminder to stay strong, that we can beat this.
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Despite Easter being a bit different this year for us all, I hope you still had a good time and spent time with loved ones either in person if you are lucky to live with them, or on the phone if you don't live with them. 💕🐰
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It's Thursday, you know what that means tonight Br

It's Thursday, you know what that means tonight Brits! 👏🏻🏥👩🏼‍⚕️
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Brits up and down the country all standing on their doorsteps at 8pm every Thursday. Clapping to applaud our fantastic National Health Service front line staff - Doctors, nurses, radiographers, paramedics, cleaners and all those who are on the front line against this battle! 💪🏼😷 ♡
Due to the unfolding crisis I was planning to come back to London. Not just to be near my family, but also to put my scrubs back on again and get ready to help on the front line. But as we know, fate had other plans for me 🥴. It left me with a tremendous amount of guilt for not being able to come back and do my bit for my country. ♡
So to all my NHS family: THANKYOU so much for risking your health every day to save others! Thank you for always being so selfless! Thankyou for working even when you are scared you will run out of vital equipment. Without you our country would crumble. We appreciate you every single day. Stay strong. 👩🏼‍⚕️💕
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Photo taken last month at Lavender Bay, Sydney.
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Dress gifted by @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse
Dress code # 222596
Enter discount code CATRINA for 10% off

Why do cabin crew tell you to put your oxygen mask

Why do cabin crew tell you to put your oxygen mask on before helping others?
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It's simple. You are no good to others if you don't also look after yourself during a crisis. And this pandemic is the exact same. Look after yourself. Go at your own pace. If you need more time than others to come to terms with things, how your life has been affected IT'S OK. If you can't face social media now IT'S OK. Don't feel like you are letting people down by being absent from your social media from time to time to figure things out. Whatever you are feeling - your thoughts are all justified and don't try to bury them under the carpet in fear of them seeming silly compared to other people's problems. Look after yourself. Feel your emotions. Let them out. We especially need to look after our mental wellbeing during this time. If you need a couple of peaceful days where you turn off all contact with the outside world, binge watch re-runs of your favourite show and actually forget about what is going on around the world, do it. These can be the days that heal us, give us energy and a sense of control and make us strong again, even if it feels we are being ignorant to what is happening. Don't feel guilty for turning off social media or the news sometimes. Do what works for you. Work at your own pace. We will all be here when you have got your 'oxygen mask' on and are ready to give it your best shot.
In the meantime, take care.
Love from me and my 4 walls 🤪
Catrina ♡
This picture was taken last month outside Sydney Opera House.
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Dress gifted by @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse
Dress code # 222049
Use coupon CATRINA for 10% off.

We must stay apart now, so that when we do get bac

We must stay apart now, so that when we do get back together nobody is missing.
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Choosing to stay in Australia during the pandemic was an extremely difficult decision for me to make.
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Well actually I didn't really have much of a choice after 3 flights I had booked on to come home had all cancelled! 🥴
I could have kept trying to get a flight. But I knew people needed to get back home more than I did - older people who had only come out here on a holiday, young families and people who had jobs still at home for example. So I saw it as a sign and stopped trying. I decided to stay put on the other side of the world, away from my family.
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Of course I desperately wanted to come home and be with my family. But at the same time I was terrified at the thought of potentially picking up the virus on the long journey back home and unknowingly passing it on to one of my parents or anyone else.
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So staying put on the other side of the world might seem like the unnatural thing for some right now, but actually by staying in my apartment here I am helping to save lives. And that's all it comes down to at the end of the day.
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For those of you who also cannot be with your families now, know that you are not alone. 💕
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This picture was taken at Hanging Rock, Blue Mountains Sydney last month.
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Dress gifted by @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse . Dress code # 222133.
Use discount code CATRINA for 10% off.

For the Flight Attendants who put their health on

For the Flight Attendants who put their health on the line these last few weeks to get people home. Thank you.
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To those flight attendants who were for the first time in their flying career scared to go to work.
To all the flight attendants suffering with the virus, given to them by a passenger.
To all the flight attendants who have been forced to take unpaid leave, not knowing if they will ever put their wings on again.
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Just like all the healthcare workers around the world, you work didn't go unnoticed. You helped to bring people back to their families, even though most of you can't be with yours right now.
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It is really sad times when there are more flight attendants on the ground than in the sky. It's also sad times when the most searched article on my website these days is what jobs can ex cabin crew do 😥. It literally breaks my heart to see the amount of crew from all over the world looking at it. That post was written for cabin crew wanting to leave the job, not for those who are being forced out of a job. A job that seemed so secure and brought them so much happiness.
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Stay strong my FA family. Better days will come. #unitedbywings

Bush fire season is starting to subside, but now t

Bush fire season is starting to subside, but now the floods start 😓.
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If you watched my stories the last few days, you'll have seen how we have been crippled with floods here in Sydney and The Central Coast. Many people have had to evacuate their homes as they got totally destroyed by flood water 😓. Power gone in houses, roads have become full-on rivers, gardens have turned into pools - I've never seen anything like it. And all this while other parts of the country are still fighting bush fires.
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Finally after almost a week of non stop monsoon rains and torrential storms, the rain stopped and I was able to take Sasha to the beach again.
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Sasha is the second rescue staffy I have had the absolute pleasure of 'adopting'. Why someone would keep this sweetheart in a cage for a year makes me so upset. There's nothing she loves more than going to the beach, playing fetch and getting sand everywhere! Luckily @tesalate heard about little Sash and sent me one of their sand free towels so I could use it for our trips to the beach without making the jeep a complete mess afterwards!
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Reckon Sasha had a good time? Ooh and let me tell you, mastering self photography is one thing. But mastering self photography with staffys on a beach is a whole new kettle of fish! 🐶🐶 • photos taken at North Shelly Beach (offleash dog beach).
#tesalate #tesalatetowels #sandfreetowels

Where to find all these lupins in NZ? Head to my l

Where to find all these lupins in NZ? Head to my latest blog post to find the exact location! (link in bio).
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Dress gifted by @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse

Because sometimes you only get one shot at it. ♡

Because sometimes you only get one shot at it.
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Here's to the night I got locked INSIDE a car for hours whilst bursting for a pee. All because I was tired so pulled over, locked the car doors and took a 4 hour long 'nap' (oops) with the car headlights on (oops again) so the car battery died 🤣🤣. Meaning when I woke up the key clicker could not even unlock the car doors, windows or boot and I physically had no way to get out of the car. And I really needed a pee. So what to do? Well, take another nap and wait! Luckily that did the trick! I woke up 2 hours later, the car doors opened, I ran to the nearest toilet, I eventually got my car started and I was all ready to head back to Christchurch but then this beautiful sunrise appeared. 🌅
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I was gutted my camera battery was dead. My phone had 1% and I wasn't sure how well a picture would come out on my phone. But I just had to give it a go and capture this sky somehow. I set up my phone on self timer and ran towards the old pier to get in the picture. By the time I got back to my phone, it had died. Unsure whether or not the photo had taken, I left. ♡
When I finally charged my phone, this was the one shot I found on my phone. Not bad @withgalaxy don't you think?
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Who else has some crazy travel stories to tell? Tell me below! ♡
Dress gifted by @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse

As if lupins wasn't enough, lavender is also in bl

As if lupins wasn't enough, lavender is also in bloom in NZ at this time of year!
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You'll see many lavender fields in New Zealand as you're driving along the road. My favourite though was the NZ Alpine Lavender field right next to Lake Pukaki. Complete with photo props such as a lilac tractor, bales of hay, benches and chairs in between the rows of lavender, it's certainly a popular impromptu stop for many people on their way to Mount Cook! This is the largest organic lavender farm in the Southern Hemisphere and they also sell lots of lavender oil products and delicious ice-cream too!
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Despite my house in England being less than an hour away from some beautiful lavender fields, this was actually my first time in a lavender field!
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Have you been to a lavender field before?
@nzalpinelavender
Dress gifted by @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse

My favourite places in NZ South Island: ♡ • La

My favourite places in NZ South Island:
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• Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki (half an hour drive from each other). Lake Pukaki especially there were lots of places you could stop along the lake, and it is also less touristy than Lake Tekapo. • Lake Matheson. This lake literally blew me away - the reflection of Mount Cook in it's still waters was so beautiful. • Lake Wanaka and the wanaka tree in the middle of the lake. Wanaka was a lovely town with a really nice vibe.

Hehe, all lakes as you can see! And what's great is that I was at all of these lakes at midday during peak season and it is still so easy to get pictures without people in! I have really enjoyed not having to wake up early to get pictures in New Zealand!
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Have you ever been to NZ? Tell me your favourite places!

Pictured near Lake Pukaki Information Centre wearing @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse gifted dress.

Things you need to know before you plan your NZ ro

Things you need to know before you plan your NZ road trip:
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• Typically tourists spend most time on the South Island as this is seen as the most beautiful island with lots of incredible glaciers, mountains and lakes. The North Island shouldn't be missed out however - it is full of Maori culture, hot springs, geysers and volcanic land. It also has Auckland and Wellington - the two biggest cities in NZ.
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• Roads on the South Island are different. The highways are single carriageway and are often zig zagging out of the mountains. Driving anywhere always takes much longer than you anticipate (especially because you'll always want to stop off to look at the beautiful scenery!). Often there can be road works along the West Coast too as storms frequently damage roads.
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• Whilst it is busier in the summer (Dec-Feb), I do advise to visit during this time. The days are longer (it gets dark at 9.30pm right now) so you can get a lot more sightseeing done, the days are warmer (we have had lots of sunny, warm days whereas the winters can be bitterly cold here). Even though the locals say summer is 'busy', it is not busy compared to how those of us from big cities would define busy. If you're planning to visit the West Coast, Oct-Nov is actually the worst time to go as this is when there are lots of storms.
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• If you don't want to hire a campervan it is still super easy to travel round - just hire a car (WAY cheaper!) and stay in homestays. This is how we did it, and we got to meet a tonne of lovely and interesting local people this way! At the end of our trip I will write our exact route for you to help you plan your trip!
• Pack lots of layers! When the sun goes in it gets cold!
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Wearing @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse gifted dress.

How to find the lupins at Lake Tekapo, NZ? ♡ Lak

How to find the lupins at Lake Tekapo, NZ?
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Lake Tekapo is most famous for it's breathtakingly blue waters. All the tourists stop at The Church of the Good Shepherd (a beautiful little church that sits on the river: this church is one of NZ's most iconic photo spots). The picturesque Church is definitely worth a visit, however there aren't so many lupins by the church. ♡
If you head across the bridge to the left of the church - it's probably only 150 metres, you'll come across this beautiful field full of lupins that is literally empty! I was here at midday on a Sunday during peak holiday season and there was hardly anyone around! The lupins at Lake Tekapo are in full bloom from mid November til the first few days of January, so I got them just in time 🤪.
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Head to 24hourslayover.com for more of my travel tips!
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Wearing @jjshouseofficial (gifted)
#jjshouse
Dress # 186401
For 10% off use discount code CATRINA

Did you ever go down a tunnel to reach a beach?!
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This was my first time and it was pretty amazing! Check out my stories to see the famous Tunnel Beach in New Zealand: built as a secret beach in the 1870's! The tunnel is very well hidden and you can almost walk past without even realising it's there, so look out for it behind you on your left at what seems the end of the path!
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And make sure only to visit at low tide as the sea is very rough!
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Wearing a beautiful made-to-order dress gifted to me by @jjshouseofficial #jjshouse
Dress code # 186401
For 10% off use discount code: CATRINA

Happy New Year from New Zealand! 🤩 ♡ Wishing

Happy New Year from New Zealand! 🤩
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Wishing every one of you all the best for this year, and I hope this year was a good one for you!
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Been in NZ for a few days now and really enjoying learning about this fascinating land and the huge respect, passion and love the people here have for preserving their land. It is so beautiful and refreshing to see a nation like this. ♡
In 2 days my mum and dad will join me and we will do a road trip across NZ and Australia for 3 weeks (it's gona be non-stop 🤣🙈)! I missed them a lot lately - this was my first ever Christmas away from home - even all my years flying and living in Italy I always made it home for Christmas! This was the first year I ever missed it and it felt so weird. So I cannot wait to have a late Christmas with them and then explore more of this beautiful part of the world together!

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