My one-year London anniversary

This time, 12 months ago, I was sitting on the Queen Mary drinking my first pint with my London fairy-god-mothers Mark and Matt... and squealing about Big Ben, the London Eye, black cabs and red buses.

A year of pints, tubes, chavs, irritating accents, weekends in exotic cities, and actually experiencing all four seasons.

Since arriving in London I've gained a hatred for Australian-themed pubs, an renewed appreciation for sunshine and drinking midweek, some top-class friends who have truly become like family, a stronger sense of self, clarity about what I want from life, a wisdom that can only come with travelling and about 8 kilos through the 'Heathrow injection'.

And, in turn, I've lost the ability to cook a meal from scratch (thanks to M&S), my dependency on my car, a fear of being alone and my sense of apathy and laziness towards new experiences.

I've been stranded in airports, volunteered at a homeless shelter, driven a red convertible down quaint country lanes, swum in the Adriatic sea, sung ole land syne under Big Ben as it chimed in the new year, made my first snowman, partied in an Amsterdam coffee shop, been serenaded on a Venetian gondola, drunk sangria in Spain, had my email account hacked into at an Austrian White Water Rafting centre's cybercafe, walked through halls and rooms in the footsteps of some of history’s most famous characters, missed a dear friends wedding, caught a train to Paris on a whim, learnt to play the drums, been to a drag cabaret show in a converted, underground, Victorian toilet, drunk steins of beer in a German beer hall, been driven across the tower bridge in a pink limousine, spent the night in a jail in Switzerland (ok... a jail that had been converted to a hostel), been awed by the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican city, fed a squirrel, drunk expensive champagne with one of England's most famous soccer players and red wine under the Eiffel tower.

One year ago I landed at Heathrow ... nervous, excited and with no idea where this journey would take me or how long it would last.

June 23, 2008 feels like a lifetime ago. But packing up my life in Brisbane and stepping on that plane turned out to be the best decision I ever made. It's given me memories and experiences that I will cherish for the rest of my days.