I hate the 'fasten seat-belt' sign

There I said it. I hate that little sign on airplanes and the little ding dong sound that goes with it. Hate might seem like a strong word. It's just a little sign, after all, and most travelers would argue that there are much bigger things to complain about on most airlines. But right now on this particular Singapore Airlines flight, I hate that sign.

It's the first leg of our first European adventure with master Sebastian. Until now, things had been going relatively well. We're not traveling as light as we used to, but we were well under our luggage limit at check-in (read: still plenty of room for shopping). No time for duty-free window shopping, but we made it to the gate and were boarded from the business gate before the business passengers (now that's a benefit to traveling with a baby!). Sebastian's smiles even managed to charm our nearby passengers - some managed nervous smiles in our general direction, although I'm sure few believed he could stay cute and well-behaved for the entire journey.

Seb kicking back at the boarding gate

A couple of hours ago, at Seb's bedtime, we put him in his pyjamas, popped him in the on-board bassinet and pretty soon he was fast asleep. Carl and I smiled smugly at each other, and settled in to watch a movie. It was all going so well. Until now.

The rules for the on-board bassinet are clear: no baby in the bassinet for take off, landing and when the seat-belt sign is on. Humph. Two hours ago the seat-belt sign was switched on for the first time, and it's been on and off ever since which means Sebastian has been in and out of the bassinet, still asleep for now but who knows how long we can keep this up.

Here's the kicker though. There's no turbulence. Not even a little bounce here and there. Nada. So either the pilot knows something we don't or he's got a really annoying twitch. Either way, I now hate that sign.

Seb looking a little unimpressed with his bassinet

To blog or not to blog (or what the hell do I have to say any more anyway?)

My mum wasn't the first person to tell me to get back on the blog, but she was the last. She got me wondering what I would say if I got my blog on again. You see, I am not the traveler I once was.

True, my backpack does still get a workout. Last weekend, it made the short trip to Coogee Beach in Sydney to visit Ciara, one of our best friends from London. She was in Australia for two weeks and we couldn't miss an opportunity to say hello. Plus Carl was already in Coogee for work, so the visit was serendipitous - fate even. In 40+ degree heat, we sweltered over dinner with Ciara and some of her oldest Irish friends, cooled off with a swim at Wiley's bath, a fantastic hidden sea bath around the corner from Coogee beach, squeezed in an unexpected dinner with my brother, his fiance, my dad and his wife Beth, along with brunch with Beck and Lincoln, and lunch at the infamous Coogee Bay Hotel with Thor and Lee.

I'd like to say that Carl and I were the reason we enjoyed so much good company over the weekend. But they've seen our smelly backpacks before and, like I said, I am not the traveler I once was (don't even get me started on Carl - he mostly travels with a suitcase and a suit bag these days!).

Now with the backpack comes a pram, a baby Bjorn and, you guessed it, a brand new travel companion - little Sebastian McDowell. Weighing it at around 7kgs, I am lucky he's not included in my baggage allowance. Logistically, he adds a whole new dimension to our traveling shenanigans. So far, in addition to the Coogee weekend, he's also spent a week on the central coast of New South Wales and pitched a tent at the Mornington Peninsula. Then there's the lunches at flash Melbourne restaurants, the brunches at local hot spots, the sneaky drinks at pubs and bars around town, even a disastrous bet on last year's Melbourne Cup.

Up next for our little traveler: Brisbane and, in April, the big one: Copenhagen, London, Barcelona and Singapore.

So it seems I don't really need to wonder what I have to blog about. I suspect Seb has got my blog, so to speak.