A grieving widow has taken a cardboard cutout of her late husband on a dream trip around the world.
Michelle Bourke has carried the lifesize effigy of hubbie Paul to a host of tourist hot spots, including the Grand Canyon, Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace and Stonehenge.
The pair, who enjoyed 25 years of happy marriage, hoped to travel the world together before he died of cancer aged 61 in 2016.
In a conversation before his death Michelle promised to honour their globetrotting dream.
When he died, she decided to embark on the trip in his honour alongside a cardboard cutout.
The stand-in husband uses a photo of Paul taken when he was 34 on the day of their wedding.
The 58-year-old from Melbourne, Australia, said: "Paul asked 'what are you going to do when I'm gone?'
"I said: 'I'm going to travel - I'll pack a photo of you in my suitcase and take photos of us in all the different countries'."
Michelle took it one step further after learning about a business producing lifesize prints of loved-ones.
The fold up cutout is transported in a bag which never leaves Michelle's side.
It will be replaced ahead of its latest adventure because it is tatty from all the travelling.
She said: "Twelve months after Paul died I went on a tour with Cardboard Paul from LA to Las Vegas and San Francisco.
"Then we flew to Houston and later visited Paris, London, Edinburgh, Wales, Dublin and Somerset.
"Stonehenge was an amazing experience because I really wanted to go there.
"It was silent but windy and I had to stop Paul from blowing away. I felt at home.
"The Grand Canyon was spectacular - the energy there was lovely, peaceful and calm.
"Paris was amazing because Paul and I always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower.
"When I saw it I cried, it was beautiful.
"En route back to Australia I visited Singapore to relax."
Michelle has two children with Paul - Sarah, 24, and Matthew, 26 - and is step-mum to sons Brendan, 36, and Garry, 38, from his previous marriage.
The "soulmates" were in separate marriages when they met at work and struck up a friendship.
Their friendship blossomed into a romantic relationship two years later after their marriages broke down.
Michelle, who works for a dementia charity, said: "Paul was family oriented, my best friend and soulmate.
"We were comfortable around each other and enjoyed going for breakfast every Sunday.
"Paul was fun, quirky and had a weird sense of humour.
"He talked more than the average man and would follow me around the house telling the same stories over and over again."
In 2008 Paul was diagnosed with melanoma, a type of skin cancer after discovering a big rash on his neck which resembled a reaction to shaving.
Despite going into remission two years later, he was later diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lyphoma which would eventually spread to his spine and brain.
He died on May 20, 2016.
Michelle describes his final years and the impact of his death in her first book, 'Conversations With Paul'.
Her second book, 'Travelling With Cardboard Paul', will be released on Saturday, May 25.
Michelle Bourke has carried the lifesize effigy of hubbie Paul to a host of tourist hot spots, including the Grand Canyon, Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace and Stonehenge.
The pair, who enjoyed 25 years of happy marriage, hoped to travel the world together before he died of cancer aged 61 in 2016.
In a conversation before his death Michelle promised to honour their globetrotting dream.
When he died, she decided to embark on the trip in his honour alongside a cardboard cutout.
The stand-in husband uses a photo of Paul taken when he was 34 on the day of their wedding.
The 58-year-old from Melbourne, Australia, said: "Paul asked 'what are you going to do when I'm gone?'
"I said: 'I'm going to travel - I'll pack a photo of you in my suitcase and take photos of us in all the different countries'."
Michelle took it one step further after learning about a business producing lifesize prints of loved-ones.
The fold up cutout is transported in a bag which never leaves Michelle's side.
It will be replaced ahead of its latest adventure because it is tatty from all the travelling.
She said: "Twelve months after Paul died I went on a tour with Cardboard Paul from LA to Las Vegas and San Francisco.
"Then we flew to Houston and later visited Paris, London, Edinburgh, Wales, Dublin and Somerset.
"Stonehenge was an amazing experience because I really wanted to go there.
"It was silent but windy and I had to stop Paul from blowing away. I felt at home.
"The Grand Canyon was spectacular - the energy there was lovely, peaceful and calm.
"Paris was amazing because Paul and I always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower.
"When I saw it I cried, it was beautiful.
"En route back to Australia I visited Singapore to relax."
Michelle has two children with Paul - Sarah, 24, and Matthew, 26 - and is step-mum to sons Brendan, 36, and Garry, 38, from his previous marriage.
The "soulmates" were in separate marriages when they met at work and struck up a friendship.
Their friendship blossomed into a romantic relationship two years later after their marriages broke down.
Michelle, who works for a dementia charity, said: "Paul was family oriented, my best friend and soulmate.
"We were comfortable around each other and enjoyed going for breakfast every Sunday.
"Paul was fun, quirky and had a weird sense of humour.
"He talked more than the average man and would follow me around the house telling the same stories over and over again."
In 2008 Paul was diagnosed with melanoma, a type of skin cancer after discovering a big rash on his neck which resembled a reaction to shaving.
Despite going into remission two years later, he was later diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lyphoma which would eventually spread to his spine and brain.
He died on May 20, 2016.
Michelle describes his final years and the impact of his death in her first book, 'Conversations With Paul'.
Her second book, 'Travelling With Cardboard Paul', will be released on Saturday, May 25.
Music: "Windswept" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Source: Mirror, Metro
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