It was for this reason that the beginning of my holiday started in tears – of happiness of course. When you have been away from family for so long there is nothing like seeing a familiar face when you walk out of the arrivals gate. There were lots of tears and hugs, which is a lot different from when I usually trudge out of a airport arrivals and then onto the tube. An hour wait later (longest hour of my life) and James walked through the arrivals and the whole thing happened again. After introductions to the family we were on our way home. Then once we were home it was tears again as I got to play with my families dog and give him a cuddle. It was quite surreal to be standing in the house I grew up in and look around at all the similar surroundings but also all the things that had changed.
One of the things I was most looking forward to about going home was of course the warmer weather but more importantly Mum’s cooking and I was treated to a BBQ out on the patio and it was.so.good. The next day we headed to one of my favourite pubs ready for a Sunday session. I was so happy to catch up with all my friends who I hadn’t seen, introduce them to James and have lots of drinks and great time out in Brissie, It was so reassuring to be able to spend so much time apart but when I saw my friends it was like I had never left and it just reiterated how lucky I am to have such good friends – both in London and in Oz.
After all the catching up was done it was onto the sightseeing. This was James’s first time to Australia so the next few days were spent doing the touristy things in Brissie. I must say though it was fabulous to be a tourist in your own city. We spent time over at Southbank, riding the City Cats up and down the river, going out to Redcliffe for an ice cream near the beach. Once of my favourite nights was going to watch the 20/20 cricket. We were lucky enough to get tickets to a game where Shane Warne was playing and while we sat there eating pies, drinking beer and watching Warney play I was pretty proud to say that I’d exposed James to a pretty decent Aussie experience.
We also had a couple of trips to the beach and while the beaches in Europe are nice many of them just don't’ quite cut it to Aussie standards. We went up to Kings Beach (one of my all time favourite beaches) and had a good swim, sun bake and chill out at a friends apartment. I could have spent my whole holidays up there but then it would have been a very lazy holiday.
As much as I loved having a white Christmas last year there is nothing like having a Christmas at home with the family. We were lucky to get a sunny but not too hot Christmas day which meant lots of drinking on the patio while nibbling on Christmas ham. I was spoilt rotten by pressies (I should really go home more often) and had so much fun giving out my pressies which were all made in England. We were joined by my Aunty and Uncle whom I had a great time catching up with too.
While Brissie is a great town I did want to show James another place in Oz so we decided to fly up to Townsville to see my Grandparents and also splash out on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We were quite lucky in the end because the weather wasn’t too great but the trip still went ahead and we got to go and have a couple of hours snorkeling and trying to spot a Sea Turtle (James’s wish) and a Nemo (my wish). Unfortunately we didn’t get to see either but we did get to see lots of other gorgeous fish and cool things. After the trip I was really happy to catch up with a friend who was living up there and I hadn’t seen in aaaaaages.
The trip was short and sweet and it was back down to Brissie for New Years Eve. On the morning of New Years Eve James and a couple of his friends climbed the Storey Bridge which was a perfect way for him to see Brissie and learn a bit about the history. Our New Years Afternoon was spent decorating my sisters (who had so kindly offered to host a new years party) house as we had decided to have a Naughty Nautical Party. The house was soon transformed into an under water cave (under the house), the ocean/beach (the back yard) and a pirates den. Our costumes were even better with James and I going as sailors and Ali going as a mermaid. There were lots of variations on the theme as our guests arrives, lots of sailors, pirates mermaids and even a fisherman. It was a great night and was fun to be lighting sparklers and counting down the New Year with old friends.
As soon as New Years was over it felt like the rest of my time in Oz flew by and it was a whirlwind of last minute dinners and catch ups with friends but we still managed to do more touristy things. By far my favourite day was when we drove down to Byron Bay and spent time at the beach on the most perfect day of the whole trip. The clear blue skies and sunshine in a beach town made me almost want to cancel my flight home. We wandered the city centre, had a yummy lunch on a balcony followed by sun baking and swim. We even managed to fit in a trip to the lighthouse.
We also managed a trip up to Alma Park Zoo which was a gift from Ali for Christmas where we got to check some Aussie animals and much to my delight hold a Koala. I’ve never held one before and she was soooooooo cute. Her name was Maple and I could have stolen her and had her as mine forever. I mean Koalas aren’t that bad to look after they sleep 22 hours a day!
Before I knew it my time was up and three weeks had flown by in a blur of fun. Was extremely hard to pack up my bags again and say goodbye to all those special people in my life. It was even harder to say goodbye to James who was heading back to Japan. When I left last time it was open ended and very much up in the air as I didn’t know if I would even like living in London let alone wanting to stay. But I do love it! So now I feel like I have two homes and I’m torn between which one I want to be in. Since being back in London I’ve been the most homesick I’ve ever been. I know why I’m in London – its so I have access to a variety of cultures on my doorstep, because my career is better here, because I can pop to Europe on a whim for £30. Because right now this is where I need to be and where I am happiest BUT what I did learn about my trip was that I think I will still always call Australia home.
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