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Hello, Happy New Year and welcome to our life for the last 2 weeks.
RETURN TO SYDNEY
The build upto Christmas is usually a time fraught with the stress of last minute shopping, present wrapping and food planning, so imagine our joy at not having to endure any of the above. The only real pressing issue for us was deciding which beach to go to on Christmas day... oh, the hardship!
Christmas in Austrailia is different, not any better or worse than at home, just different, & it takes some getting used to. The first thing that strikes you is the toned down commercialism, there's none of the buy, buy, buy advertisements that appear from October onwards back home, things just seem to go on as normal. Of course, you still get the odd house or two with the ridiculuos plethora of xmas lights & inflatable santas in the garden, but mostly you can walk down a street and not notice the festive time of year. I guess what we're saying is that there's none of the 'Christmassy' feel that we're both used to, mainly due to the fact that xmas falls bang in the middle of summer here and lets face it, who wants to roast chestnuts on an open fire when you can BBQ on the beach?!
So, our Christmas in Australia was always going to feel slightly alien to us being so far from our homes and family, but we both fully immersed ourselves in the Aussie festivities which mainly consisited of eating, drinking and partying (so in the end not too disimilar to what we're used to back home). Over the yuletide period, we have probably eaten more food than is healthy for a human being, including all of the usual xmas fare, more meats than we thought exsisted and Kerryn & Petes gargantuan, mega massive Christmas eve seafood platter containing shark sized lobsters and prawns the size of people! Of course we do have to rub it in that we spent part of Xmas Day on the beach with a picnic of sausages wrapped in bacon & turkey with stuffing which was just fantastic, not to mention the collection of 'coldies' that were stashed in the cool box. Not quite 'walking in a winter wonderland', but it has to be said, bloody fantastic.
After the main festivities & the boxing day cricket watching BBQ (you have to wonder, why do we even bother continuing to watch) for a post xmas treat, Kerryn drove us up to the home of TV's Home & away, Summer Bay, The Surf Club and Ray Meager a.k.a Alf Stewart, the finest actor of his generation......Palm Beach in the north of the city, a great day relxing on the beach, but heartbreakingly for Dan, no actual sightings of the man himself, "the flaming mongrel!!" More Aussie soap star rejection on the back of the Stefan Dennis no-show on Ramsey Street, it's becoming difficult to take.
No visit to Sydney is apparently complete without a trip on the famous Manly ferry, which departs from Circular Quay and whose journey offers some of the most stunning waterside views of the city skyline, harbour bridge and opera house as it sails off towards the northern beach resort town of Manly. After arriving at Circular Quay the day after the Ray Meager disapointment, ready to board, it became evident that we weren't the only tourists in town with the same bright idea of a day on Manly beach. The terminal was just heaving, but flukily we somehow managed to squeeze a spot at the front with those picture postcard views. As it turned out, unsurprisingly the main beach at Manly was towel to towel with sunbakers and so as a plan B, we headed to a great little German bar on the seafront for a litre of pure bier and some serious people watching. To complete our perfect day at the seaside, what else could we do, but eat fish & chips out of newspaper whilst watching the moored boats bob endlessly on the harbour, the views back into the city as the sun was setting were just incredible. These are the exact moments when you fully realise just how much Sydney has made you love her.
If anything is going to be better than xmas in Sydney, its going to be New Year. Sydney is probably the standardbearer for new year celebrations the world over and the city that everybody looks towards as the first to welcome in the new year. So, with this in mind, it will come as no surprise to hear that none of it disappointed. The fireworks in the city were simply phonomenal and the party at the Hotel Whitehurst was definitely what you'd term 'rocking' way into the daylight hours of 2007, mainly thanks to a Playstation 2, a little known game called 'Sing Star' and a fridge full of the good stuff (and we're not talking about milk). On top of all this, we were still up and awake at 11am the next morning with slightly bleary eyes, specially to watch the London fireworks see in the New Year back home.
It's been at this usually family orientated time of year that we've both found ourselves really thinking of home and missing all of our friends and especially our family for the first time properly. 8 months is a long time to be away from the familiarity of home and all the people you love, and this last couple of weeks have really reminded us of all the things and the special people we've left behind at home. Most comforting of all is the contemplation of how lucky we are and what perfect lives we've got to look forward to over the next 12 months.
And of course we have to offer our largest and most spectacular thanks and gratitude to the wonderful Kerryn and Pete, who have welcomed and looked after us for over 4 weeks in Sydney. Our time with you has been one of our highlights, and its been a pleasure to share so much of our trip in your company. Not only the two of you, but all of your friends and family who also welcomed us into their homes at an already hectic time of year. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, You've all been fabulous. We love you.
The next time we see you you'll be Mr & Mrs Whitehurst, have you thought about Leeds for your honeymoon?
Happy New Year to you all and all the best for 2007. We miss you all.
We'll update again once we've settled in New Zealand - thats if we can find time amongst our busy 'Lord of the Rings' schedule!!!
Love to you all, Dan & LJ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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