Home while Away!

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I didn’t want to use the heading ‘Home and Away’ as that would be too easy so I went for ‘Home while Away’. Original, hey?! Sydney has been exactly that though. What was meant to be six days turned into twelve and we couldn’t have felt more at home for those twelve days, other than being in Galway. Old friends, travelling friends, Irish bars, Tayto, socialising and relations. Add to that the type of weather that we associate with a perfect Irish summers day and you have a recipe for home. Where do I start? The beginning I suppose!
Katy arrived from New Zealand and we all caught up on old times (the previous 4 months!), ate some food and saw some sights. I had wanted to walk across the Sydney harbour bridge at night so that I could get some good photos of the city lit up at night and also of the Opera House. The walk across is excellent, with breath taking views of the Sydney skyline. After crossing we found a small Italian restaurant before getting the ferry back to the city centre. The following day we took a trip out to Manly, a suburb of Sydney, where you wouldn’t even know there was a large city nearby. With my swim shorts in tow it was time to stop looking at the Atlantic and finally get in. We had been to the world famous Bondi beach a few days previous and although there is nothing wrong with the beach we were less than impressed. Maybe when you build something up in your mind it never appears as good. While at Bondi I wished I had brought my shorts as it was warm out and the water looked quite inviting. I didn’t forget them for Manly. Another guy from our hostel, Owen, came with us and brought his shorts too. A quick change and we were making our way towards the great Pacific Ocean. Even tough it was warm out the water was freezing. We tipy toed into the water and it was a good few minutes before we dived into it. It wasn’t long before we were making our way back to dryer and warmer land.

We had arranged to meet up with Michelle’s relations Tony and Sally on Sunday for dinner at their house. Tony is Michelle’s grandmothers brother. In true Irish style we arrived on the Sunday and left on the Thursday! For 4 days we were wined and dined and hadn’t been fed as well since we left home. On the Sunday Tony and Sally’s son and daughter Tom and Eleanor came over for dinner as well. Tony’s wife and four children also came. We were fed to the last on got some great advice on where to go up the east coast of Australia. That evening Eleanor and her husband Michael brought us out for dinner and then some ice cream at an Italian ice cream parlour. They paid for everything and we can say when they come to Ireland we will gladly return their generosity. The next day we visited Bobbin Head with Tony and Sally and had a small walk through the Australian bush (forest to us!). That evening they brought us out for dinner at an Irish bar called PJ Gallagher’s. Both myself and Michelle had Beef & Guinness Pie. Again the bill was looked after. We returned to their house and talked until late at night about all sorts of different things. Sally showed us all her different ceramic dolls that she had made. She said it is easy, but I can quite honestly say it would take a lot of time, effort and skill to create what she has done. The next day myself and Michelle took Mrs. Doyle (the name we put on our camper van) out for her maiden voyage. We took the Grand Pacific highway and passed some beautiful scenery along the way. We returned that evening to there house, where we were fed to the gills again and talked until late that evening. We were going to the Blue Mountains the next day and they said we were more than welcome to stay again after returning from there. We didn’t want to overstay our welcome but they insisted that it was no problem.

We set out early to see the Blue mountains. There are lots of different stops along the way and you would need a week to fully appreciate all the walks and views along the way. For the first time on our travels my camera battery ran out. The last time I charged it we went to Milford Sound in New Zealand, that is how good the battery is. I had just forgot to check it and it ran out just before all the main sights. Luckily Michelle had hers so we got some photos of the area. We have the memories though and that’s what matters most, although I do like to take photo’s!. We got back to Tony and Sally’s and had another feast. We were definitely hitting the road the next day as we had to head north, but we would be sad to leave them after all their kind hospitality. When they come to Ireland again would like to return their generosity to them. They put us up and fed us and we had a brilliant few days with them.

We now have three weeks to get to Cairns for our flight on the 1st of September to Singapore. Australia has been impressive so far and we have a feeling we might need to return one day as our time here is very short. You never know, we might come to live. Only joking, Mothers!

In a bit. DH

Song of the blog: Pink Floyd - Hey You

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