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Gold Coast: sunshine and surf with my mum |
A new year, a new start and how better to kick things off than switching from - 5 degrees C and skiing in Austria to + 42 degrees C and surfing in Australia! Ok really this was actually a much bigger transition than I had first thought when I made the plan, 50 degrees is a massive temperature switch. But a fantastic week living on the beach and exploring the Gold Coast with my mum and sister at a family friends amazing wedding helped ease the crazy temperature and lifestyle switch.
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An amazing wedding by the beach.
Louise is maid of honour for her childhood best friend Christina |
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Christina and Anthony tie the knot
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Louise, Mum and Me
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A lovely beach lunch
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Louise and Mum enjoying a walk in the sand
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Then some quality time in Sydney and the Blue Mountains with my Mum, Dave, Pete and Jez fully cleared the jet lag and settled me back into life in Oz.
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Sydney Opera House with Mum
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The Blue Mountains with Mum
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Enjoying the stunning views with Jez |
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Beach Closed!?!
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Playing in the waves with our own lifeguard team watching
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Night sets over the opera house
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Stunning views of the city at night |
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Soon enough though playtime was over as my mum left to head back to Russia's -23 Degree C (a 65 degree C!!! temperate switch) and snow in St Petersburg and I stayed with the lads in Oz with a plan to start training in the sun. Distracted slightly by amazing beaches, a beautiful city, outdoor movies, Sydney Olympic park, coastal walks, playgrounds, water fountains, inflatable stone henge bouncy castles, mountain biking, roller blading, ice skating, swimming... the list goes on. And a crazy amount of heat, did I mention it got to 42 degrees C, and sun. Training didn't quite kicked off as planned, but with 3 months left out here i'm not too worried as I know that I will soon settle into a routine and then the training benefits will come.
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Fun times at a bouncy Stone Henge
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Dave at the top of the kids playground
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I found a fountain
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So we had to play in it
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In fact, today for the first time since the worlds finals I squeezed back into my Murky Water Slip and had one of the most fun boating sessions I have had for ages. Just playing, not training as such, just throwing the boat around and having fun. I felt so good being back in the boat and i've not forgotten anything which is great. I'm a bit rusty for sure and my feet didn't know what was going on being squash back into the tiny boat again. But I loved it and already can't wait to get back out on the water again.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfL6Fp4ESeY4joSuNCtpJ1fr1Lrd18jnTWV5Icnh2cud4MzPDkbwQlxGZuUo_RYIQJD8-TBZiDSEXuD_gLKAlCB_YyaSYV3yos7pZLEKhbShrPphOfaDhE_AFkike1Ir4b16Y3_w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-26+at+23.11.55.png) |
Loving being back in my boat again
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Playing around with some crazy photo angles
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Fun times
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Squirt Boating is such an awesome sport
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Let the training begin :)