The Wayfaring Path

I’m back home now and want to capture my memories before they fade – it’s been a busy week at work as I get used to my new role and new hours, and I’ve felt pretty tired. If a two hour time difference gives me jetlag, I dread to think how I’ll be after my flight to London!

The weather was wetter and milder in my last week, which was far more comfortable for this Wellingtonian! My friends arrived back home at the start of the week, much to mine and the dogs’ delight, and it was fab to see them again and hear about their trip. It was such great practice for our upcoming dogsitting in the UK, but I doubt any dog can top Poppie’s extreme cuteness.

My last few days were a bit of a whirlwind, we went to Pub Choir at the legendary Hordern Pavillion – the venue holds 5,000 people and was sold out! We had a ball, singing our wee hearts out. You can check out the video of our performance here. (Spoiler – I’m not in the video). An absolutely amazing gig, with an incredibly talented team, and a ton of fun. If you get a chance to go, grab it!

Friday morning I drove up to Katoomba, further up the mountains; a cool wee place full of good shops and old buildings. I didn’t have very long to wander about, as I was meeting friends in the CBD that afternoon, but I did have time to have lunch in a cafe reportedly run by a Christian cult! The food was tasty, the interior looked like it was created by Hobbits (which is a Very Good Thing in my opinion), and I was duly invited to celebrate sabbath on the coming Sunday.

I headed down to the city and was whisked away from the station on a Vespa – so much fun blatting through the streets of Bondi and Edgecliff! My friends took me out for an UH-MAY-ZING vegan dinner and then on to a gig in a brewery – Bananagun playing at Yulli’s Brews. It’s been ages since I’ve been to a gig like that and it was awesome to see such great musicianship and to hang out with two wonderful people (and their lovely cat!). Bloody magic! I’ve loved this trip for reconnecting with people I’ve not seen for ages, and it’s shown me how important it is to stay in touch with such excellent humans.

The next day dawned wet and grey so I made my way to the city to check out the Museum of Australia… along with every family with young children within a 500 km radius! The noise! Jeebuz. I was able to use my earplugs from the gig to reduce it to a dull roar but I just did a quick tromp around and then made my way to Olympic park to meet my buddies, via some excellent trees and some prehistoric-looking Ibis. The train lines in the CBD part of Sydney feel so much like the London tube, it was getting me super excited for our trip to the UK!

Olympic Park is a bit weird – it’s got strong Canberra vibes with lots of huge buildings but very few people around – but I kind of love that vibe. We were out there to go to The Horizon of Khufu, an immersive VR experience that was totally mind-blowing! It’s set in the pyramids of Giza, where I’ve actually visited, so was a wonderful mix of nostalgia for my 20s and incredible visual effects where you totally feel like you’re flying around the pyramids and attending Khufu’s funeral! It was so amazing I took my phone out of my bag to take a photo, but of course it wasn’t ancient Egypt there but a bunch of people with VR headsets on, wandering about in a warehouse! I’m assuming the black and white patterns everywhere help the headset to know where you are in space.

Where I thought I was…

Where I actually was!

A fecking yummy curry for my last dinner in Sydney and then we were up super early to get to the airport. A good flight home – I upgraded my seat so I wasn’t trapped in amongst flatulent fellahs – and it was so wonderful to see Regan at the airport, and to get home to the cottage. Lulu gave me the cold shoulder for a couple of hours then lots of cuddles so I’m a bit nervous how she’ll be when we return home from 7 months away!

So now starts the hard work – trying to catch the ducks so they can go back to WBRT, and trying to find a nice person to live with Lulu while we are away. Plus about a million to-dos, all on top of figuring out my new job. It’s a busy time, and so it’ll be nice to finally get on the plane and go “aaaahhhh” 🙂