Interlude: 2 weeks in Australia

My time in Australia felt like a bit of a holiday from travelling! Having lived there for 3.5 years I didn't feel the need to do any touristy stuff, so I spent the time catching up with friends for brunch, coffee, dinner, drinks, a free Google lunch, a picnic on the beach and a couple of backyard barbecues! While they were at work I enjoyed just wandering around, stopping off for coffee or brunch, reading my book, doing a bit of shopping and catching up on the latest releases at the cinema (I went six times in nine days!). It felt like I’d never been away!

Actually I was surprised at just how happy and content I felt, being back. Of course I’d been really excited to see my old friends again, but in the end it was more than just that. Perhaps it was the comfort of being somewhere so familiar again - knowing my way around, re-visiting some old favourite haunts etc. But I've also found that being away from a place you know well makes you appreciate the things you took for granted before. I know that’s true of London and now I find it’s true of Sydney too. I’d forgotten just what a beautiful city it is and what a wonderful lifestyle you can have here - brilliant weather, amazing outdoors, incredible restaurants...(In my opinion Sydney has the best brunch in the world, the best coffee in the world and the best Asian food outside of Asia!). Lots of people asked me if it felt like coming home, and I wouldn't go quite that far... but my second home maybe!

My ideal brunch: poached egg and avocado on toast, freshly squeezed juice and a latte!

For the first 5 days I stayed with my friends Bianca and Troy, in Manly, and got to wake up to this view every morning: 

The view from Bianca's apartment

Stepping out of their apartment, I walked down the steps straight onto the sand and had to cut across the beach to get to the centre of Manly. From here I'd take the ferry across the harbour to get into the city centre. I've always felt that one of the best ways to see Sydney is from the water, so I was pretty happy to have to do this journey every day!

I will never tire of this sight!

Over the first weekend I moved to stay with some other friends, Maureen and Doug, in Bondi, so I got to experience life in two of Sydney’s best beach suburbs!

Luckily for me, Maureen had a couple of spare tickets to go to my favourite cinema in the world: the St George Open Air cinema. This outdoor cinema only runs for about 6 weeks every year so I'd picked the right time to visit! The screen rises up out of the water in the harbour and you have the most beautiful backdrop to your movie that I have ever seen:

Setting for the St George Cinema: screen on the left, view on the right!

That week I also met up with my French friends Chloe and Jean-Sébastien who I had originally met in Ecuador. They had continued travelling down through South America on a very similar route to me but always about a week ahead, so it was great that our paths finally crossed again in Sydney! I took them on the beautiful coastal walk along the Eastern beaches from Coogee to Bondi... unfortunately it happened to coincide with the worst weather I had here, but we didn't let that deter us! 

Chloe and Jean-Sébastien at Bronte Beach

In my second week I had a holiday within a holiday: I decided to use up some of the air miles I'd built up when I lived here, and headed down to Adelaide and Melbourne for a few days. 

In Adelaide I stayed with my friend Suha who I’d met in Buenos Aires. Completely randomly, another traveller she’d met in Buenos Aires, Steve, had decided to visit her at exactly the same time as me so we spent a good amount of time reminiscing about Argentina! While we were there it was the opening night of the Adelaide Fringe Festival and we went to a show by Circolombia: a circus group from Cali, Colombia, which fit in nicely with our South American theme. We also took a day trip out to the McClaren Vale wine region. I’d spent a bit of time in the Barossa when I lived here but had never been to McClaren Vale so it was nice to sample the delights of another new region. 

McClaren Vale Wine Tasting Crew: Noel, Me, Suha, Steve

Next I headed over to Melbourne to spend the weekend with my friends Steve (from England) and Kat (his Aussie wife). They had also planned a trip to a local wine region (apparently my friends know me quite well!) - this time, the Yarra Valley. Kat did ask me if I’d had enough of visiting wine regions, but of course I told her not to be so ridiculous! 

Yarra Valley Wine Tasting Crew: Steve & Kat

All in all, a couple of weeks “holiday” in Australia was just what was needed, to recharge the batteries before heading to Asia. I have some really wonderful friends there and it is a beautiful country... I only wish someone could move it a bit closer to England!

Until next time, Sydney...