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Thomas and Monica met at St. Christopher's Inn in London. Thomas was the assistant manager of the pub. They got along right away and would frequently take day trips around the city together becoming great friends.
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| St. Christopher's Inn, London |
Thomas left to take a trip to Egypt while Monica went back to Vancouver to attend to her duties as Erin's maid-of-honour.
They went their separate ways as friends, but always kept in touch. Even before Monica landed back in Vancouver, she knew that she would be flying back to England soon. Monica booked her trip to England in November of 2000. Meanwhile, Thomas was in Florida working at a summer camp for the second time. They soon found themselves back at St. Christopher's Inn, coincidently, at the same time.
It was there that Thomas declared he wanted to tag along with Monica and her friend Jody. So the three of them moved to Leeds, England, found jobs and worked for about 3 months.
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Monica in Leeds England |
Jody left and took a job down in the south of England. Meanwhile, Thomas and Monica decided to take a trip to Belgium to meet Thomas' family.
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| Ghent Belgium |
They then explored Scotland and Ireland before starting a job at a pub in Chipping Norton, England, where Thomas worked in the kitchen and Monica resumed her job as a barmaid.
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| Blarney Castle, Ireland |
It was in this tiny village setting that Monica and Thomas grew really close, both of them realizing that the possibility of true love was starting to take hold, and that they would be fools not to give it a go. Amidst the hurly burly of a new relationship Monica and Thomas managed to save a few quid and take another trip through Europe taking in sights unseen.
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| Thomas in San Sabastian, Spain |
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| Monica & Thomas - Spain |
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| Monica in front of the Louvre, Paris, France |
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Monica & David |
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Monica & Thomas in Paris, France |
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On top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France |
Once the money had dried up it was time to ply their trade at another pub, this time in Surrey before leaving England for the last time and heading over to Australia via Vancouver.
Before they headed to Australia on Monica's one year work Visa, Monica and Thomas took a detour and went to Toronto and Montreal, where they stayed with St. Christopher's Inn friends, Sophie and Genevieve, then off to Vancouver where Monica's family awaited. After an all too brief visit over the holiday season it was off to the heat of Australia.
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Monica & Thomas - Great Barrier Reef, Australia |
Poor Monica suffered heat stroke on her second day; it was the start of a rough and tumble year for Thomas and Monica as they lived alone for the first time and worked separate jobs. Being away from backpacking and the easy pub life, Thomas and Monica grew closer than ever as they took on independent living, reveling in its freedoms and responsibilities.
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Thomas - Bells Beach, Australia |
The year was dotted with loads of day's trips and adventures in wine country, followed by an all out trip exploring Eastern Australia. Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge and camping in the bush.
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Exploring Caves in Australia |
It was a great time. Sadly the day came when Monica's visa expired and she had to go back to Canada.
After that Monica and Thomas were apart for a year awaiting the approval of Thomas's resident Visa, then finally in July of 2002 Thomas and Monica were one again.
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