Brisbane - Shanghai - Geneva - London - Milan ✈️✈️✈️✈️🇮🇹🚄🚝🚶‍♀️🎉

Brisbane - Shanghai - London - Milan 🇮🇹 (38hrs+) ✈️✈️✈️✈️🚄🚝🚶‍♀️


I'm heading off on the most wonderful adventure.  This one started in my mind in the year 2000 when I attended the Sydney Olympics as a family, heavily pregnant with Matty.  I loved being immersed in the excitement of the Olympics. I've had the privilege to work at Commonwealth Games and volunteer at UEFA Euros and the Virtus Games for the intellectually disabled (twice). I applied to volunteer at the Paris summer Olympics but they had 300,000 applicants.  


So, not deterred, 17 months ago, on the day the applications opened (21/09/2024), I applied to be a volunteer for the Winter Olympics.  I am glued to the screen watching the winter events every four years and am avid skier.  130,000 people applied for 18,000 volunteer spots.  It's been a long series of steps, starting with making it to interview in May last year, completing 20+ hours of online training (often seemingly irrelevant), receiving an email I was unsuccessful, then reinstated, and then put onto the reserves list. 


Finally on 8th Jan I was offered a volunteer role in the mountains of Cortina d’Amprezzo in the Sliding centre where Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton will be held.  My roster arrived 8 days later. I'm in the Press team working with the International photographers.  I've virtually met my Team Leaders (Guiseppe and Diego).

 

Volunteers are responsible for their own transport and accom. I had booked accom in Milan Easter last year at a very reasonable price but was surprised instead with a role in the mountains in a ski resort town.  With only 3 weeks to go I tried to find share accom but all beds within share houses, hostels etc within 2hrs transport each way had been booked out months in advance.  I've managed to secure an exorbitantly priced but very cute apartment 30 mins away, with a spare bunk bed and daily advertising to find flatmates to share the cost.


Soooo a long series of steps to get to this point and I'm so very honoured to have been selected and a part of an event that is unlikely ever to be hosted in Australia. 


Today's journey expanded a few days ago when they offered volunteers $50 tickets to fill the remaining 700 unsold seats at the Opening ceremony. I jumped online at 11pm when I saw the email, and was so fortunate to secure tickets.  So, instead of flying to Geneva and spending some time in Switzerland before travelling by bus into Italy, I now had to navigate landing in Switzerland with tickets to an event in Italy the same night 😂


Bus connections didn't work, no direct flights and so I'll land in Geneva, clear customs and and checkin to fly to Milan via London!!  I land in Milan at 4.30pm and the opening ceremony starts at 8pm (42hrs after leaving Brisbane).  It will be tight timewise to collect luggage clear customs, catch a train and a tram, walk to luggage storage place and then to the stadium to get to my seat.   🙏I need 42hrs of 4 x planes, trains and trams to all fall into place for Cinderella to make it to the ball🙏


For those who have read my spiel to the end, thankyou 😂   I wanted to convey my excitement and honour on getting to be involved but also that it wasn't a piece of cake to get to this point and the next 42hrs as I tick off the many stages of travel could go any direction, but I'm beyond grateful to be doing this. 


For the Aussies, hopefully for me, when you wake Saturday morning and tune in at 5/6am to watch the Opening ceremony live, you may be spotting a rugged up Aussie in the top corner! 


“For it matters not, how much we own, the cars ....the house .....the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash”. (Linda Ellis). 


So buckle in for the usual wordy daily blogs as I give an inside account of the Winter Olympics from Italy! 

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