Now that the new year is well and truly underway, it's about time I gave you a little life update. This blog has been a little infrequent the last few months and I know that means many of you actually have no idea where I am right now. Well, after a month of flat-hunting and staying with friends as I job searched, I can now officially say I am all settled in my amazing new flat right in the middle of Melbourne city, I have an awesome job working in a rooftop bar, and life feels pretty damn incredible. Once again, Melbourne feels like the home I've been waiting for and I couldn't be happier to be back surrounded by all my amazing friends, and a whole heap of new ones. I know the blog posts have been few and far between since I left England again, but between Bali, Cairns, road tripping through Tasmania and now Melbourne - it's been pretty hectic. Life just got in the way and I won't apologise for that, because life is exactly what this blog is about - living every second to the max. And I can assure you I've been doing just that.

Yesterday was officially my two year travel anniversary, just two months ago I hit my 30th country, and I'm already making plans for the next exciting year of travel. I'm still the same girl who left home two years ago, I still have the same best friends at home, the same family and I'm still happily single and independent. But I'm also an amazing new version of myself - happier, brighter, bolder, crazier and ready to take on the world with every step. I'm capable, I'm knowledgeable and quite frankly, I know exactly what I'm doing, I don't second guess myself. It's the best version of myself I've ever been and I plan to keep taking steps to evolve and grow myself in this direction, I can't see any reason why not to. So for all the people who have asked when I'm coming home, or when I'm going to stop travelling. My answer is who knows, whenever I get bored of growing as a person, learning, changing and being happy - but it won't be anytime soon.

If you haven't seen my post from just before New Years, check it out here to read about my travelling highlights from 2016. It was a year of serious highs, and one serious low, but you can't live the highs without having the lows to compare them with. I use the lows to add fuel to my fire and make plans for the future, it's the one thing that pushes me to make snap decisions and to book the trip, or take the plunge. So for all those girls out there who message me almost daily to ask about their relationship problems, or choosing between love and travel. Two years on, I will still say that choosing travel over love was the best decision of my life, that we remain the best of friends but both say this was the best thing to ever happen to us. That choosing to keep travelling and forget the love that I found on the road was also the best decision I could have made, because I know otherwise I would have regretted it and been let down. It wasn't so much choosing travel over love, but choosing myself over people who would just let me down. That's not a selfish decision, it's a smart one and because I chose well, I have no regrets.

So what are the big travelling plans for 2017?

I'll now be settling in Melbourne for a few months to work and save money for my big West Coast road trip - hopefully happening around March/April - when myself and a friend will drive from Melbourne up to Darwin over a few months. I've been looking forward to this trip since arriving in Australia and I know it's going to be the best yet. Then up in Darwin, we'll be taking in all the National Parks as I work and save for my last few months in Australia - gotta make the most of these $$$.

After my visa runs out, I'll be having a month-long holiday somewhere in Asia - possibly the Philippines as I've been desperate to visit since I arrived in Asia. I'll be craving huge untouched beaches by then and a chance to relax and detox after Darwin. Then I'm hoping to be joined by one of my best travelling friends for a huge trip to South America where I'd love to spend a few months travelling as much as possible.

It's all just a vague plan at the moment and it may all change at the drop of a hat, but it's exciting to have goals for the year. So this year will be less countries ticked off, but I'll be crossing at least three continents and should hopefully get at least another five countries ticked off my list which is far more than many people around the globe. I'd say I'm a lucky girl, but I made all this happen by investing in myself and my trip. You can make it happen too, it's very easy, just make a decision to do it and you'll get there.

My New Year's resolution?

Forget all this "New Year, New Me" bullshit, I've been doing awesome the last two years so if anything, I'm planning to keep up my attitude to life and following my own bliss - the rest all falls into place as a result. Stop worrying about the small negative things and the rest suddenly becomes the everything you've been searching for.

What are your New Year's resolutions? Where do you plan to travel in 2017?

There's no doubt about it, 2016 has been a pretty incredible year for me. I've had some soaring highs and felt pretty low at times, but I've also had the chance to experience some thing I never could have dreamed I would. I crossed three continents and ticked off my 30th country, worked with hotels, spas and restaurants either side of the globe for this blog, I said goodbye to love so that I could travel Europe solo and I made some incredible friends along the way. I've worked as a sales manager, a cocktail waitress, a journalist along the way and all the while I've been working on creating amazing content for this blog. 2016 has been a year of working hard and playing harder, and as it draws to a close I can't help but reminisce over the special times I've shared with amazing people. From the teary goodbyes at the airport, to the mates I've shared incredible road trips with this summer, to the incredible welcome home I got from some of my best friends when I arrived back in Melbourne. Getting the opportunity to celebrate a real Aussie Christmas surrounded by so many amazing friends was a perfect way to end the year. But what have the highlights been?

My top 5 travelling experiences of 2016:

Melbourne

Without a doubt, Melbourne is my number one for the year. Voted the Most Liveable City in the World six years running, it's no wonder I've just moved back here for the second time. I lived in Melbourne at the start of the year and it was the first place in nearly two years that had felt like home. I had an amazing flat, a great job as a sales manager, the most incredible friends and I completely fell for a great guy. Now I'm back for round two and I'm already well on my way with a great job at a rooftop bar and my own brand new apartment. Melbourne, you are well and truly my second home.

Budapest

A city I had dreamed of visiting for years, Budapest was everything I had imagined and more. I loved the history, the beauty, the architecture and the people I met there. Part of my summer backpacking trip around Europe, it was a perfect opportunity to explore the city independently and to have some amazing experiences. One of my favourites was eating dinner in a traditional Hungarian restaurant with my newfound Aussie and Norwegian mates talking about the world under a blanket of stars. Visiting Budapest reminded me how much I love exploring a new city alone on foot, and it's a city I can't wait to revisit.

Slovenia

Slovenia was an amazing experience - not only did I get to explore some of Eastern Europe, a dream of mine for several years, but I was invited along on my first blogging trip. It was an amazing privilege and a reminder of how hard I have worked to build up this travel blog over the last few years. Spending a week at a luxury glamping site on the Slovenian/Croatian border was a fantastic way to see the country - from woodland hikes to swimming in the rivers, to visiting locals and eating feasts of freshly caught local fish. The people, and the place, made it unforgettable.

Bali

My second blogging trip of the year came about only as a last minute plan - I was at a low point and unsure of what my next move would be when one of my best travelling friends invited me to Bali. It was the best decision ever and led to my being invited along to review hotels, spas and restaurants on the island. What was supposed to be a week-long trip turned into a month and yet I still wasn't ready to leave. I explored the Bali countryside on motorbike, visited temples, explored monkey forests, swam in the waves, spotted manatees and swam with sea turtles. It was the holiday I had needed - not just travelling, it was a holiday and one of which I appreciated every second.

Tasmania

Definitely the most breathtakingly beautiful place I have been yet, by far. Tasmania was somewhere I had longed to visit since arriving in Australia and "mini-New Zealand" definitely lived up to the hype. I spent three weeks there staying in the best hostel I have found yet in Australia, exploring Hobart and road tripping around 11 national parks in just 10 days. I hiked for days on end, camped wild under the stars and the full moon, I climbed several mountains and spotted countless whales, kangaroos, wombats and wallabies. It was a magical experience and one I'm so glad I made happen, it was just what I needed. A true breath of fresh air.

After such an incredible year, it's hard to imagine just how 2017 could top 2016. I've travelled to eight different countries this year, I've lived in two of them long-term, I've gone from outback living to city slicker to beach babe and total mermaid. I've taken my clothes off on top of a mountain in the snow, I've changed my mind in 10 minutes and booked a spontaneous flight to the other side of the world. I've refused to stop living my dream for anyone other than myself and I've made a plan for the future. It's an exciting time to be Absolutely Lucy and it all starts again when the clock strikes 12 on New Years. Another fresh start, another exciting adventure and another dream come true. I'm ready, are you?

Where has been your favourite place to travel to this year? Have you enjoyed following my adventures? What are your travel plans for 2017?

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Wow, I can't believe 2015 is finally at an end. It's been a hell of a year and I still can't quite believe I didn't dream some of it. It's safe to say, this has been the best year of my life yet and I am happier than I've ever been before - if you knew how I was feeling at the end of last year you'd realise what an incredible change a year has had on my life. I ended 2014 with my life totally up in the air, I'd just quit a good, steady job, I'd put all my money into a plane ticket to the other side of the world, and I'd just broken off a nine year relationship. Pretty dramatic eh? So although I was beyond excited about my plans for travelling across Asia, Australia and New Zealand, I was also questioning whether I had made the right decision, whether I could really do this. Whether I could do this all by myself. I had a bit of a wobble in the airport over a glass of wine when I read all the amazing messages of support from friends and family, but then I realised it didn't even matter if it all went tits up - I had the best people at home to pick up the pieces. Knowing that gave me all the strength I needed to realise it would all be fine and I was going to have an incredible adventure. So that was exactly what I did. In just five days it will be a year since I boarded that plane and set out on the trip of a lifetime, which should have been ending in just a few days but instead is still going strong with no real end in sight.

In the last 12 months I've been through so much - I've met the most incredible people and seen the most beautiful things, I've stayed up all night to watch the sunrise in the most amazing places, I've faced my own mortality and I've realised so much about myself and what I want out of life. It sounds cheesy, but getting away from life as I knew it has really taught me a lot about the way I want to live my life and it definitely doesn't fit into any boxes society has carved out for me. The last 12 months has been about breaking all the rules, setting new ones and living the dream. Looking back, all the pain leading up to my decision to travel was more than worth it now because it led me to this part of my life and I wouldn't trade this for the world. I've never felt freer and being trapped at home while I raised the cash to come and do this was totally worth it because I have appreciated every second since then all the more. I feel so incredibly proud of myself for doing this all alone - it's the first time I've done anything truly independent of friends, family and a boyfriend so that is a huge achievement and it has been the biggest boost to my confidence. I know now that if I can survive a year of travelling solo and not only smash it, but have the most incredible time, then I can do anything!

I've done so many amazing things in the last year; from racing round Bangkok in tuk tuks to trekking through jungle to waterfalls, I've volunteered with elephants and gone hill tribe trekking in Northern Thailand, I've partied insanely hard down on the Thai islands and eaten copious amounts of curry and pad Thai. I've swam through caves and kayaked out on a lake in the centre of a 180 million year old rainforest at sunrise, I've hiked up to a temple to watch the sun rise over Phuket, I've bartered at markets and lived my days in tie-dye, I've clung to my friend as we raced around on motorbikes and persuaded friends not to ride elephants. I've spent two days on a slow boat to Laos singing annoying songs, I've swam through waterfalls pretending to be a mermaid, I've gone bowling in weird places in Laos and been tubing with a load of nut cases as we drank our way down the river bars and created chaos. I've fallen in love with Vietnam from the history to the food, I've been on cycling tours, visited waterfalls, worked out on the beach, explored markets, had clothes made for me, abseiled down waterfalls and jumped off cliffs.I've seen the beauty in rural Cambodia and the genuine kindness of the locals, I've been healed by yoga, meditation and the beautiful people around me, I've been pampered and massaged by experts, I've learnt all about a history I never knew happened and I've watched the sun rise over Angkor Wat. I've celebrated my 25th birthday surrounded by friends old and new in a brand new country, I've realised what Australia has to offer, I've seen cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin and I've travelled for two months with another person. I've seen what the East Coast has to offer; I've 4WD around Fraser Island, I've swam with sea turtles on Whitsundays and been white water rafting, I've kayaked with dolphins, surfed in Byron Bay and been whale spotting, I've cuddled a koala and fed a kangaroo. I've found the best travelling family a girl could ever ask for and spent three months partying and raving my heart out with the best friends you could find. I've experienced the outback in Darwin and seen the Northern Territory. I've travelled solo across the country to live in the bush and work alone for three months.

Don't get me wrong, it hasn't all be amazing - there have been rough bits too. But as one of my best friends always says, "you take the rough with the smooth". There have been times I've been scared and felt horribly alone, when it's all gone wrong and I didn't know what to do. I've been robbed by taxi drivers and had to punch my way out of an argument, I've had to look after more than one friend after they were attacked in the most unlikely places, I've had to look after another friend when all of her money was stolen out of her bank account by someone we thought we could trust, and I've faced my own mortality three times. It's not all smiles and sunlight when you travel and in particular those three serious crashes left me pretty shaken up. Until that point I think I always thought in the back of my mind that everything would be okay and that I was invincible but suddenly I realised that it could all come to an end quicker than you can say bye. But all of these experiences have taught me quite how important it is to live every second like it's your last. I always have done anyway, but now it seems even more important than ever. I've realised that even when you're thousands of miles away from your friends and family that there are people, good friends you meet along the way, who will come drop everything and come running to save you. And most importantly, I've learnt how to save myself and not rely on anyone else to do it for me.

2015 has been a year of growth, a year of triumph and success. I've never been prouder of myself for all I've achieved, and I've never been more excited about what the future holds. I've already changed my plans countless times and instead of heading home in a few days like I was supposed to, I'm staying in Australia to keep living the dream. I've already made travel plans for the following 18 months and I can't wait to start living them. Instead of being the end of an incredible year and the beginning of reality kicking in, I've made this my reality and it feels like just the beginning of another incredible adventure. It might be egocentric but I don't really care, this last year has shown me how amazing, strong and brave I am and it seems only right that someone who possesses these qualities would want to take on the world - so I shall. Thank you all for being with me every step of the way and I hope you'll be sticking around for the long haul as we've got a long way left to go!

As I'm sure you can imagine, last week flew by in a blur of family time, catching up with friends and saying my goodbyes, packing and a constant battle between eating my fill of British food to last me the next year and working it off at the gym to get my body even remotely bikini ready. As you read this, I'll be somewhere in Bangkok - hopefully wandering around a market eating delicious food and taking in the sights. I'll be spending the first couple of days in a hotel, getting my bearings and making a firmer plan for the upcoming weeks and meeting up with friends. I'm sure it will only just be starting to register that this is how my life will be for the next year - no more getting up at the crack of dawn to go to work in cold, raining England - but finally what I have been working for and planning for over 12 months is finally a reality! I can't quite believe it myself. I have to be honest, I've had the worst possible run of news stories since booking my flights - it seems there's pretty much been a murder on a Thai beach, a shark attack in Australia, or a plane going missing every bloody week! Great for reassuring my mother I'm going to survive my trip, and great for reassuring me that I'm going to survive my flight. It's okay though, I've never been much of a worrier so I'm putting all these news stories to the back of my mind and just doing everything I can to avoid being mugged, raped, murdered or involved in some horrible incident. In the meantime though, I have been doing my utmost to make sure I have some very special memories of home, my family and my friends. I'm sure there will come a time when homesickness strikes and I am very glad of them! As you guys will have already read by now - I've got some pretty good ones in the bag after a perfect Christmas with the family, my Mexican-themed New Year's, my Nineties-themed Leaving Party, and a couple of lovely dates with the boyfriend.This post is just a quick one to show you what else I got up to in the week between Christmas and flying out. My week started with a bracing, windy walk on the beach with my parents at Sunny Hunny - we have a beach hut there and it was a chance for me to say goodbye to the hut as I won't be seeing it for over a year. It was a beautiful day, very frosty and the coldest morning yet of 2014, but perfectly fresh at the same time. I love walking at the beach on cold, sunny days - the air is so clean and it really does blow away all the cobwebs. It was great to get some serious fresh air and some colour in my cheeks - plus with that and a few workouts, it was great to get past feeling so stuffed with all the delicious Christmas food. We covered about six miles and it was good to spend some time back by the sea - my inner mermaid was satisfied. As you can see scattered around this post there are a few pics I captured while by the sea - it's such a pretty place. I also had a lovely day at the spa with my mum where we were treated to a lovely facial and full body massage, plus lots of lovely steam rooms, Prosecco and cake. A pretty perfect mummy and daughter day - it was really lovely to have a day just the two of us before I go. This was followed by New Year celebrations, catch-up's with the boyfriend's family and other friends and then my long-awaited Leaving Party! The week finished with a lovely family meal with my parents and grandad - then some sad goodbyes with my best friends and the boyfriend. Then before I knew it, my parents were driving me down to Heathrow and I was on a plane, and whoaa now I'm in Bangkok. Life is pretty crazy sometimes, but crazy good. After a really rubbish start to the year, I couldn't have ended it on a better note.

What have you guys been up to? Are you sad to say goodbye to 2014, or are you already head-first into making 2015 the best yet?

Just a quick post today to share with you guys how I spent my New Year's Eve - as you can imagine I'm completely up to my eyeballs in packing, organising paperwork and trying to find everything I need for the next year - yikes! So this post is just a little one to mark another Happy New Year spent with the boys - my last one for a while. We've been having a New Year's party together for years now so it will be strange to spend the next one away from them all. But we made sure this was a good one - me and Wolf whipped up some Mexican food and supplied the tequila - the boys brought the fun. We had a great night, all rounded off with some very bad dancing. Hope everyone else's New Year celebrations were as much fun.Of course there was talk of what our New Year's resolutions might be, but we all agreed there is very little point in making a resolution when we're all happy the way we are. Also - I certainly don't want to come back from travelling to find out they have all changed! All this New Year New Me rubbish... I think we're all getting a bit old for that - if we really wanted to make a change, we would just do it and there would be no reason to wait for the New Year. I made my change months ago and next week it will finally begin! Bring it on! I hope that however you spent your New Year, that it was full of family and friends, and plans for the future. Whatever 2015 has in store for you, make it a big year!

How did you celebrate New Year? What have you got planned for 2015?