Today is D-Day. The longest flight I have ever been on is 1hr 20min to Auckland so these flights are going to be a killer! Before I even get to the airport though it’s time to say my goodbyes. First it was a hug with mum before she left for work. That wasn’t too bad. I kind of managed to hold off crying until she came back into the house as she forgot something and saw that she had tears in her eyes which put tears in my eyes. We are not overly close emotionally so this was the most dramatic it was going to get. The hardest goodbye I was going to have to do though was to my dog Pepper. My gorgeous girl. I gave her a big hug and said “won’t be long” (now feeling even more guilty about lying to her!) and walked out the door. She runs up to the door with her big, brown, puppy dog eyes looking at me thinking where are you going mum? Aww. My stepfather drives me to the airport and I burst into tears. I tell him how much I will miss Pepper and he cracks a joke that I won’t miss him or Mum. I will, but Pepper is my fur-baby! Plus living with my parents for the past 10 months has had its moments so the trip will be a welcome relief! He gives me a hug and says you’ll be fine, you’re a big girl and boots me out of the car. I find the smoking area and have one last ciggy then head inside. I go through customs and security then when it’s time, I board the plane. Now I’m excited!! The first flight is to Brisbane which takes 3 hours. Even though I’m not leaving the airport I still need to go through security. I have 5.5 hours at the Brisbane airport so I try to fill in the time. I am travelling super light (a 30L backpack only) so I don’t have a book or anything like that to keep me occupied. Just my cell phone and cigarettes. There is also a lot of cafes and other shops so I wander around them but that gets pretty old fast. I get some food and try not to clock watch. Finally it’s time to board the next flight and I am pretty tired at this point. My eyes are bloodshot and I feel exhausted. I think just being emotional earlier in the day and the waiting around for this next flight has really hit me. This is not a bad thing though as I managed quite a few hours sleep on the plane. That flight was 14hrs to Abu Dhabi! I was crammed in that seat like you wouldnt believe and didnt have a travel pillow but the airline had supplied there own (which are nowhere close to being comfortable like the ones you can buy yourself) but it was better than nothing. I did have a window seat which helped with getting some sleep. After that gruelling 14 hours I arrive in Abu Dhabi. The sun is just coming up and all I can see is sand. Lots and lots of sand. I’m feeling pretty good and rested. The plane parks up and we all head out towards the bus which will take us to the terminal. Walking out of the plane I feel the heat hit me instantly. 5.55am and it feels like it’s about 20 degrees already! After going through security once again, I get to the terminal and have a look around. There are a lot of shops here but the prices once converted are horrendous! I find a smoking room and head straight there. Ugh!! No ventilation at all in there. You’re breathing in everyone elses second hand smoke. The rooms are very crowded which makes it worse. I smoke the ciggy quickly and get out of there. My eyes are stinging from the smoke and I feel disgusting. I find the ladies toilets and open the door. The first toilet I see is one built into and level with the floor. Uh uh, I’m not using that one lol. I can just imagine myself hovering over it and falling in which would not be ideal! There is a disabled toilet which is a standard toilet and the cleaning lady says I can use that. After doing what I need to do, I wash my hands and splash some water on my face. Ahhh bliss! I buy myself a Coke Zero and go and sit in the boarding area. One last flight to go. This one should be a bit better as it’s only 6 hours but I will be looking forward to arriving in Rome! After 2.5 hours it’s time to board the plane. The skies are completely clear so I’m able to take some incredible photos of the landscapes. The plane flies over Saudia Arabia, Egypt, Greece etc. About half way through the flight I see another plane. It is sooo close to ours! I can see it’s a Virgin Australia plane. I start freaking out a little as I have seen far too many Plane Crash Investigation shows. I also know planes should be about 1000 feet apart from each other. I take an anti-anxiety pill that my doctor prescribed for me as I already have a fear of heights and flying. I have been surprising good with the flying up until this point though. The pill seems to help more than expected because when we fly over Italy the clouds look like Roman statues. I get my camera back out and take all of these amazing photos. Looking back at them though they just look like clouds!