- Published on
A whirlwind of a trip
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
With different people, in different locations
Every day for thirteen days
My vain attempt to fit everyone and everything into two weeks
Leave summer in New York
Travel for over a day
To the other side of the world
Land in Sydney winter
Brunch with Mum, Dad, and Anita
A trip to the Northern Suburbs Memorial Garden
To “visit” the grandparents
There’s something comforting in the fact that they’re all in the same place
It’s a beautiful resting place
Gum trees and bottlebrush and eucalypts
I miss them
Playing in the park with Anna and Lucas and Meg and Phoebe
Dinner with Emma and Zaza
Passing out mid-sentence
Waking up to a bright blue sky and
The glorious view of Sydney Harbour
Our airbnb, a generous gift from Mum
Fighting off jetlag by
Running up and down to
Sawmillers Reserve
Memories of housesitting and
Heartbreak
The hills leave me winded
Catching the ferry
The old green and “gold” ferries still in operation
Are they really going to be decommissioned?
The Scarborough and Borrowdale, Fred Hollows, Victor Chang, and May Gibbs
Will being on the water under the Harbour Bridge ever get old?!
Walking through Circular Quay and
The Royal Botanical Gardens
The last place I sat and journaled before I went away
The NSW Art Gallery
Remembering the Singers’ concert
December, a 30C/90F day
Three people fainted, one right after the other
Contemporary Indigenous art
Walking the Gods exhibit
The appeal of Buddhism
Martin Place
Remembering the first time I walked into the Theatre Royal
Just to see if there were any jobs going
I stayed for eight years, on and off
It led me to work in the West End
And Broadway
It’s hard to see it boarded up
Braving the chilly wind to walk around Barangaroo
The surprise of the scale of it
Reclaiming the foreshore
An astonishing achievement
At the price of another casino
Laksa with Sam in the CBD
Cake and tea with Zaza in the QVB
Sushi train with Emma in The Galleries
Breakfast with Miren
Accompanied by a flock of rainbow lorikeets
And a view to melt your heart
Walking from Bondi to Coogee
Skirting the glorious Pacific Ocean
Was it always this clear?
Remembering when I used to go running here
When I used to sit in Waverley Cemetery overlooking the ocean
When I went through a phase of meeting foreign men and going on one date and realizing I was not even a little bit interested
It’s not quite spring, but the flowers are in bloom
Fluffy yellow wattle on dark green leaves against a bright blue sky
Lunch at Tum’s, still the best pad thai in Sydney
Before cancer
Before Aaron
Before London
Before Buck’s Rock
Before Kris
There was uni
The site of my worst depression
The place of my happiest late teens and early twenties
Never leaving campus for more than week from the day I enrolled
To the day I graduated
Twelve years and a lifetime later
Meeting up with Sanger and Yaui
Drinking in the fancy new alumni bar
Crying at the place where Studio One used to be
Being devastated that Contact (my first job with a salary)
Has been replaced by Google
Back in my day, there were no smart phones
Dinner with Peter and Janiene, Alyse and Ryan, and Dad and Anita
Re-discovering Chatswood and the shopping centre
The brands are all still the same
Glassons and SportsGirl and the Australian Geographic
The fairy shop in Lemon Grove has vanished
But a Chinese restaurant downstairs is serving breakfast
We order everything on the menu
Congee, noodle soups, dumplings, pork buns, and fried dough
Accompanied by philosophical discussion with Eran
Steven, a friend from high school appears out of no where
I don’t think I’ve seen him in about seventeen years
Riding the new metro
It’s clean and fast and goes all the way to Tallawong
North Shore/Eastern Suburbs/Inner West me
Has never even heard of Tallawong
When I was little, going to Kellyville was going to the ends of the earth and it took forever
The metro gets you there in half an hour!
More memories in Epping
I squeeze Aaron’s hand extra tight
Featherdale Wildlife Park with Mum
A chance to see Aussie flora and fauna up close
The in-heat koalas stink, but they are rather gorgeous
We have a photo with Archie
And wander through the park
Kookaburras and cockatoos and lorikeets
Warblers, magpies, pipits, and owls
I’d forgotten the abundance of of birds
Kangaroos and wallabies
Echidnas, quokkas, snakes and
Eerie ghost bats devouring baby chicks
A baby echidna is called a puddle
The smallest penguins on earth are called Little Penguins
The infamous ibises (ibi?) terrorize small children and
Threaten to steal our lunch
In Katoomba
The temperature drops
The wind blows furiously
It feels like we will be blown away past The Three Sisters
Dinner with Lenny and Sarah and Luca, and Molly
Being spoilt in a fancy hotel
Breakfast overlooking the valley
A sea of trees
The thrill of the Scenic Railway, steepest in the world
Formerly providing access to the mines below
Now a tourist attraction
Descending into the beauty of the rainforest
The astonishing cliffs
The smell of earth and stone and eucalypts
Ancient tall trees and barbarous vines and pale green ferns
Lyrebirds dance beneath the boardwalk
We meet Trish at the Sydney Coliseum
Another place that Didn’t Exist Before
An incredible new cultural venue in the West
Visions of abandoning everything and coming to work for Trish again
Back in Sydney
Aaron prepares for his talk
Mum and I have our nails did
Then off to the pub and the skeptics
For Aaron to deliver his lecture on moral luck
It is inspiring and amusing to see the philosopher hold court
My worlds collide, high school, singers, uni, and camp
Mikey, Erin, Jenna, Sam, and Emma
Feeling so lucky to have crossed paths with such wonderful folk
Day six - sister day!
Meet Anita at Taronga Zoo
Ride the skyway to the top of the hill
Pop into see the Bird Show
Owls and black-crested cockatoos fly perilously close
Parading their beauty
Sydney Harbour provides the scenic backdrop
Cerulean blue sky and dark navy water
Offset by the green of the gum trees
Makes my heart catch in my throat
Wend our way down
Playful chimpanzees show off their high ropes skills and
Tumble in the grass
Crocodiles, saltwater and fresh, sit low in the water
Around the corner, line up for the Tiger Trek!
Pretend you’re on a plane
Land in “Sumatra”
A surprisingly effective reminder of
Where the tigers actually come from
The threat of extinction caused by humans
Across the way, the giraffes no longer have the best in view in Sydney
A “savannah” is being constructed
We arrive to their temporary enclosure in time for feeding
Long blue tongues lick up carrots and spinach from the innards of giant bottles
And strip leaves off branches for dessert
Giraffes have colour vision so they can see which leaves are ripe
A mob of meerkats stand as tall as they can
Right before we leave we come across
Fire pillows! Red pandas playing on a fallen log
Drive across to Balmain
A quick tour through Phoebe’s school
Up to Darling Street for
Decadent pastries and tea
Meet Meg
Lavish Turkish grill for dinner
Up early for the Eveleigh Farmers Market
Aaron is ready to move to Sydney for the food alone
I want a croque madame and instead
We stumble upon Vietnamese pho and decide
Breakfast pho is imperative
Meet Anita at King’s Cross
Over to the inner west to catch
Phoebe’s netball game
It’s hot on the court in full sun
Flashbacks to PSSA netball
A lifetime ago
The day gets away
We don’t make it to Sanger’s game day and I feel awful
Dinner with Mum’s side of the family at Delicado
Paella and croquettes, chorizo and ensaladas
At the last minute we decide to go down to Luna Park
Sydney Harbour by night
Sparkling lights, cool air
Walk off the rich food
In the morning, out to Marrickville
Picnic brunch
A meeting of dear friends, old and new
Kane, Ste, Theresa, Danielle, David, Sarah, Erin, Courtney, Keyna, Tully, Lyra, and Sol
Hannah and Lesley, and the skeptics from the pub
Delicious dips and cinnamon doughnuts
We could chat for hours
Taxi home to McMahon’s Point
The strange coincidence of one of the new friends living in the exact same building
In the afternoon
Over to Aunty Lou’s to see Dad’s side of the family
The little cousins not so little any more
The afternoon slips away
And we’re ready to go home and fall into bed
First meal of the day at Rising Sun Workshop
Breakfast ramen and miso tomato soup
Grilled cheese with bacon
The beautiful Heldon crew, Lori, Kristen, Naomi, Carolyn, and Lily
Wandering through Newtown and wishing we had more time
Jump on the train
Traveling down the North Shore Line
St Leonard’s, Artarmon, Chatswood, Roseville, Lindfield, Killara, Gordon, Turramurra
(All stations to Berowra)
Like traveling back in my own time capsule
My first love
My first kiss
My first engagement
Singing on the train (thank god I was a teenager before smart phones and social media)
Taking the meditation course and being unable to say my own name out loud from grief on day one to announcing on the last day that I was moving to London
Even with the astonishing development all along the Pacific Highway
It feels quaint after the freeways of New Jersey
The train station signs used to be blue
Now they’re all orange
Meet Mum at Turramurra
Drive down Bobbin Head Road
The Sphinx
Carved by a war vet who lived up the road
A quick walk down a bush trail
Kuringai Chase National Park
The literal backyard of my childhood
The air-blackened sandstone
The sandy soil
The spiky grass trees with their scorched trunks
The scribbly gums and eucalyptus still charred from the fires that raged over twenty years ago
The morning’s rain makes the air smell quintessentially
Australian Bush
I breathe it in deeply
Meet Miss Boyle at Kuringai
Twenty years since I went to school there
Memories of people and a life past
The Bini, dome-shaped school hall
Where it all started
My first solo
My first lead in a musical
The place where I performed my first devised pieces
The bush behind the school where I ran cross-country
After school drama club in the dance studio
Creative arts camp
Outside the classroom where the science teacher set off mini mushroom clouds
The library, now named for Catherine Jinx
But stripped of its books to make way for
Open Learning Spaces
Thankful thankful thankful for the time I had there
Drive over to Mount Colah
Clairie is a Mama, sweet little boys and a growing garden
Further up to Brooklyn, Sydney
By the time we get there it’s dark
Dinner at the Workers’ club with Helen, Sofia, and Luisito
Family and musical theatre
Catching the bus over to Lane Cove
Check out Dad’s new digs
Breakfast at the shops
Over to Circular Quay
We decide to wander the gardens again
The muscular Moreton Bay Figs seem enormous
The sails of the Opera House
The Museum of Contemporary Art and the whirling dervish
Back on the train and up to Roseville
Coffee with Aunty Lou and Benny
Over to Killara to see Amanda and newborn Mieke
Dinner with Sarah and Dave and little Annabelle
Walking around the Harbour on a warm evening
Breakfast with Dad at City Extra
Avocado and toast instead of chicken and chips
Meet Fred outside St Andrew’s Cathedral
Wandering around Darling Harbour
Being constantly amazed at construction and development
Over to Star City (now called The Star)
Matinee of Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical
A joy to see Victoria and Kaeng and Tom doing what they do best
Wandering around the bookstore
Dumplings with Emma and Carol in Ashfield
The second-last day is
The first full day of rain
Breakfast with soon-to-be-mama Yvette in Redfern
Meet Susan in Circular Quay
The rain will not cease
And the Manly-Spit Walk is off the cards
Find refuge in tea at the MCA
Over to Chinatown for lunch where
The noodle bowls are hot and spicy
Down to the Chinese Gardens, maybe the rain will stop
The gardens are beautiful
The weather is freezing and wet
We meet Zara and Courtney for a drink in a hidden cozy bar
Head over to Meg and Phoebe’s
Roast for dinner
Missing being able to hang out with my sisters on a regular basis
The final day
The rain has not abated
Emma meets us
Leftover-clean-out-the-fridge breakfast of champions
Catch the ferry to the aquarium
Merlin have bought the attraction
Now you take a ride to see the penguins
The shark tunnel is still thrilling
The giant stingrays
The beauty of the tropical tanks
I’m thankful I got to see the Great Barrier Reef when it was still alive
I was only small, but I still remember the colours
Back on the ferry to McMahon’s Point
Load up the car, last sweep of the flat
Lunch at Piato’s with Mum and Howard
Pick-up Anita from work
Over to the airport
Check-in via computer, no human interaction any more
Family pictures before we go through
It’s tradition
How lucky I was to grow up in Sydney
City of beach and bush
Sandstone and trees
The strangeness and loveliness of being in
The land of childhood and memory
With my husband by my side
Thankful to my parents who made it all possible
Thankful to everyone who gave us time
Sorry to have missed so many
Say farewell, for now.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
With different people, in different locations
Every day for thirteen days
My vain attempt to fit everyone and everything into two weeks
Leave summer in New York
Travel for over a day
To the other side of the world
Land in Sydney winter
Brunch with Mum, Dad, and Anita
A trip to the Northern Suburbs Memorial Garden
To “visit” the grandparents
There’s something comforting in the fact that they’re all in the same place
It’s a beautiful resting place
Gum trees and bottlebrush and eucalypts
I miss them
Playing in the park with Anna and Lucas and Meg and Phoebe
Dinner with Emma and Zaza
Passing out mid-sentence
Waking up to a bright blue sky and
The glorious view of Sydney Harbour
Our airbnb, a generous gift from Mum
Fighting off jetlag by
Running up and down to
Sawmillers Reserve
Memories of housesitting and
Heartbreak
The hills leave me winded
Catching the ferry
The old green and “gold” ferries still in operation
Are they really going to be decommissioned?
The Scarborough and Borrowdale, Fred Hollows, Victor Chang, and May Gibbs
Will being on the water under the Harbour Bridge ever get old?!
Walking through Circular Quay and
The Royal Botanical Gardens
The last place I sat and journaled before I went away
The NSW Art Gallery
Remembering the Singers’ concert
December, a 30C/90F day
Three people fainted, one right after the other
Contemporary Indigenous art
Walking the Gods exhibit
The appeal of Buddhism
Martin Place
Remembering the first time I walked into the Theatre Royal
Just to see if there were any jobs going
I stayed for eight years, on and off
It led me to work in the West End
And Broadway
It’s hard to see it boarded up
Braving the chilly wind to walk around Barangaroo
The surprise of the scale of it
Reclaiming the foreshore
An astonishing achievement
At the price of another casino
Laksa with Sam in the CBD
Cake and tea with Zaza in the QVB
Sushi train with Emma in The Galleries
Breakfast with Miren
Accompanied by a flock of rainbow lorikeets
And a view to melt your heart
Walking from Bondi to Coogee
Skirting the glorious Pacific Ocean
Was it always this clear?
Remembering when I used to go running here
When I used to sit in Waverley Cemetery overlooking the ocean
When I went through a phase of meeting foreign men and going on one date and realizing I was not even a little bit interested
It’s not quite spring, but the flowers are in bloom
Fluffy yellow wattle on dark green leaves against a bright blue sky
Lunch at Tum’s, still the best pad thai in Sydney
Before cancer
Before Aaron
Before London
Before Buck’s Rock
Before Kris
There was uni
The site of my worst depression
The place of my happiest late teens and early twenties
Never leaving campus for more than week from the day I enrolled
To the day I graduated
Twelve years and a lifetime later
Meeting up with Sanger and Yaui
Drinking in the fancy new alumni bar
Crying at the place where Studio One used to be
Being devastated that Contact (my first job with a salary)
Has been replaced by Google
Back in my day, there were no smart phones
Dinner with Peter and Janiene, Alyse and Ryan, and Dad and Anita
Re-discovering Chatswood and the shopping centre
The brands are all still the same
Glassons and SportsGirl and the Australian Geographic
The fairy shop in Lemon Grove has vanished
But a Chinese restaurant downstairs is serving breakfast
We order everything on the menu
Congee, noodle soups, dumplings, pork buns, and fried dough
Accompanied by philosophical discussion with Eran
Steven, a friend from high school appears out of no where
I don’t think I’ve seen him in about seventeen years
Riding the new metro
It’s clean and fast and goes all the way to Tallawong
North Shore/Eastern Suburbs/Inner West me
Has never even heard of Tallawong
When I was little, going to Kellyville was going to the ends of the earth and it took forever
The metro gets you there in half an hour!
More memories in Epping
I squeeze Aaron’s hand extra tight
Featherdale Wildlife Park with Mum
A chance to see Aussie flora and fauna up close
The in-heat koalas stink, but they are rather gorgeous
We have a photo with Archie
And wander through the park
Kookaburras and cockatoos and lorikeets
Warblers, magpies, pipits, and owls
I’d forgotten the abundance of of birds
Kangaroos and wallabies
Echidnas, quokkas, snakes and
Eerie ghost bats devouring baby chicks
A baby echidna is called a puddle
The smallest penguins on earth are called Little Penguins
The infamous ibises (ibi?) terrorize small children and
Threaten to steal our lunch
In Katoomba
The temperature drops
The wind blows furiously
It feels like we will be blown away past The Three Sisters
Dinner with Lenny and Sarah and Luca, and Molly
Being spoilt in a fancy hotel
Breakfast overlooking the valley
A sea of trees
The thrill of the Scenic Railway, steepest in the world
Formerly providing access to the mines below
Now a tourist attraction
Descending into the beauty of the rainforest
The astonishing cliffs
The smell of earth and stone and eucalypts
Ancient tall trees and barbarous vines and pale green ferns
Lyrebirds dance beneath the boardwalk
We meet Trish at the Sydney Coliseum
Another place that Didn’t Exist Before
An incredible new cultural venue in the West
Visions of abandoning everything and coming to work for Trish again
Back in Sydney
Aaron prepares for his talk
Mum and I have our nails did
Then off to the pub and the skeptics
For Aaron to deliver his lecture on moral luck
It is inspiring and amusing to see the philosopher hold court
My worlds collide, high school, singers, uni, and camp
Mikey, Erin, Jenna, Sam, and Emma
Feeling so lucky to have crossed paths with such wonderful folk
Day six - sister day!
Meet Anita at Taronga Zoo
Ride the skyway to the top of the hill
Pop into see the Bird Show
Owls and black-crested cockatoos fly perilously close
Parading their beauty
Sydney Harbour provides the scenic backdrop
Cerulean blue sky and dark navy water
Offset by the green of the gum trees
Makes my heart catch in my throat
Wend our way down
Playful chimpanzees show off their high ropes skills and
Tumble in the grass
Crocodiles, saltwater and fresh, sit low in the water
Around the corner, line up for the Tiger Trek!
Pretend you’re on a plane
Land in “Sumatra”
A surprisingly effective reminder of
Where the tigers actually come from
The threat of extinction caused by humans
Across the way, the giraffes no longer have the best in view in Sydney
A “savannah” is being constructed
We arrive to their temporary enclosure in time for feeding
Long blue tongues lick up carrots and spinach from the innards of giant bottles
And strip leaves off branches for dessert
Giraffes have colour vision so they can see which leaves are ripe
A mob of meerkats stand as tall as they can
Right before we leave we come across
Fire pillows! Red pandas playing on a fallen log
Drive across to Balmain
A quick tour through Phoebe’s school
Up to Darling Street for
Decadent pastries and tea
Meet Meg
Lavish Turkish grill for dinner
Up early for the Eveleigh Farmers Market
Aaron is ready to move to Sydney for the food alone
I want a croque madame and instead
We stumble upon Vietnamese pho and decide
Breakfast pho is imperative
Meet Anita at King’s Cross
Over to the inner west to catch
Phoebe’s netball game
It’s hot on the court in full sun
Flashbacks to PSSA netball
A lifetime ago
The day gets away
We don’t make it to Sanger’s game day and I feel awful
Dinner with Mum’s side of the family at Delicado
Paella and croquettes, chorizo and ensaladas
At the last minute we decide to go down to Luna Park
Sydney Harbour by night
Sparkling lights, cool air
Walk off the rich food
In the morning, out to Marrickville
Picnic brunch
A meeting of dear friends, old and new
Kane, Ste, Theresa, Danielle, David, Sarah, Erin, Courtney, Keyna, Tully, Lyra, and Sol
Hannah and Lesley, and the skeptics from the pub
Delicious dips and cinnamon doughnuts
We could chat for hours
Taxi home to McMahon’s Point
The strange coincidence of one of the new friends living in the exact same building
In the afternoon
Over to Aunty Lou’s to see Dad’s side of the family
The little cousins not so little any more
The afternoon slips away
And we’re ready to go home and fall into bed
First meal of the day at Rising Sun Workshop
Breakfast ramen and miso tomato soup
Grilled cheese with bacon
The beautiful Heldon crew, Lori, Kristen, Naomi, Carolyn, and Lily
Wandering through Newtown and wishing we had more time
Jump on the train
Traveling down the North Shore Line
St Leonard’s, Artarmon, Chatswood, Roseville, Lindfield, Killara, Gordon, Turramurra
(All stations to Berowra)
Like traveling back in my own time capsule
My first love
My first kiss
My first engagement
Singing on the train (thank god I was a teenager before smart phones and social media)
Taking the meditation course and being unable to say my own name out loud from grief on day one to announcing on the last day that I was moving to London
Even with the astonishing development all along the Pacific Highway
It feels quaint after the freeways of New Jersey
The train station signs used to be blue
Now they’re all orange
Meet Mum at Turramurra
Drive down Bobbin Head Road
The Sphinx
Carved by a war vet who lived up the road
A quick walk down a bush trail
Kuringai Chase National Park
The literal backyard of my childhood
The air-blackened sandstone
The sandy soil
The spiky grass trees with their scorched trunks
The scribbly gums and eucalyptus still charred from the fires that raged over twenty years ago
The morning’s rain makes the air smell quintessentially
Australian Bush
I breathe it in deeply
Meet Miss Boyle at Kuringai
Twenty years since I went to school there
Memories of people and a life past
The Bini, dome-shaped school hall
Where it all started
My first solo
My first lead in a musical
The place where I performed my first devised pieces
The bush behind the school where I ran cross-country
After school drama club in the dance studio
Creative arts camp
Outside the classroom where the science teacher set off mini mushroom clouds
The library, now named for Catherine Jinx
But stripped of its books to make way for
Open Learning Spaces
Thankful thankful thankful for the time I had there
Drive over to Mount Colah
Clairie is a Mama, sweet little boys and a growing garden
Further up to Brooklyn, Sydney
By the time we get there it’s dark
Dinner at the Workers’ club with Helen, Sofia, and Luisito
Family and musical theatre
Catching the bus over to Lane Cove
Check out Dad’s new digs
Breakfast at the shops
Over to Circular Quay
We decide to wander the gardens again
The muscular Moreton Bay Figs seem enormous
The sails of the Opera House
The Museum of Contemporary Art and the whirling dervish
Back on the train and up to Roseville
Coffee with Aunty Lou and Benny
Over to Killara to see Amanda and newborn Mieke
Dinner with Sarah and Dave and little Annabelle
Walking around the Harbour on a warm evening
Breakfast with Dad at City Extra
Avocado and toast instead of chicken and chips
Meet Fred outside St Andrew’s Cathedral
Wandering around Darling Harbour
Being constantly amazed at construction and development
Over to Star City (now called The Star)
Matinee of Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical
A joy to see Victoria and Kaeng and Tom doing what they do best
Wandering around the bookstore
Dumplings with Emma and Carol in Ashfield
The second-last day is
The first full day of rain
Breakfast with soon-to-be-mama Yvette in Redfern
Meet Susan in Circular Quay
The rain will not cease
And the Manly-Spit Walk is off the cards
Find refuge in tea at the MCA
Over to Chinatown for lunch where
The noodle bowls are hot and spicy
Down to the Chinese Gardens, maybe the rain will stop
The gardens are beautiful
The weather is freezing and wet
We meet Zara and Courtney for a drink in a hidden cozy bar
Head over to Meg and Phoebe’s
Roast for dinner
Missing being able to hang out with my sisters on a regular basis
The final day
The rain has not abated
Emma meets us
Leftover-clean-out-the-fridge breakfast of champions
Catch the ferry to the aquarium
Merlin have bought the attraction
Now you take a ride to see the penguins
The shark tunnel is still thrilling
The giant stingrays
The beauty of the tropical tanks
I’m thankful I got to see the Great Barrier Reef when it was still alive
I was only small, but I still remember the colours
Back on the ferry to McMahon’s Point
Load up the car, last sweep of the flat
Lunch at Piato’s with Mum and Howard
Pick-up Anita from work
Over to the airport
Check-in via computer, no human interaction any more
Family pictures before we go through
It’s tradition
How lucky I was to grow up in Sydney
City of beach and bush
Sandstone and trees
The strangeness and loveliness of being in
The land of childhood and memory
With my husband by my side
Thankful to my parents who made it all possible
Thankful to everyone who gave us time
Sorry to have missed so many
Say farewell, for now.
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