The Reception - Sydney

During the last two-and-a-half years living in Hong Kong I have returned to Sydney a handful of times. Each and every visit has been tied to a wedding. The wedding is the proverbial stone that kills two birds. Bird #1, I attend the wedding of close friends. Bird #2, there's a a high chance that the wedding draws together common friends from Sydney, making it an excellent place to reminisce and of course, catch up.

Sydney trips share the same theme for all people: Catch up with things that you have been deprived of living overseas. For me, this includes fresh air, low humidity, great food, fresh produce, driving and the company of family and friends. Just like there's a standard list of things that have to be seen and done by the Hong Kong visitor: Eat in a Dai Pai Dong, hike the Peak, catch a tram, shop in Causeway Bay and go out in LKF. I have my own Sydney list: Sleep in my old bed, go to the Fish Markets, drive around listening to Mix 106.5, walk around the CBD, eat, attend a wedding and create a new meal decoying as an excuse to meet up with somebody. Anybody fancy a meal between brunch and lunch?

The wedding itself was held on the first weekend of Spring. The weather gods could not have planned a more glorious day, blue skies, wisps of clouds and crisp breeze made for a perfect backdrop to the Wedding. Thankfully, all activities including the Bridal Party games, tea ceremony and reception were all held in the same venue. The wedding was small intimate and included close friends and family of the bride and groom. For the bride and groom, this was far more relaxed compared to the Bali Ceremony. It was more of a formality and neither appeared to be stressed having already declared their love.

Other highlights include Dad's Birthday dinner, sumptuous Japanese dinner with the family, took quite the effort to convince the family to steer away from Hurstville and Chinese Food. Experiencing Lizzie and Viv's new yoga class, excellent teachers, great sequences, oh and of course the massages. Dies. Huge family feast with extended family and finally being afforded the chance to train with Mr AIS.

I really don't visit Sydney enough...

Sydney Baby!

Gotta love this place!

Home Sweet Home

The simple act of having somebody pick you up and drop you off at the airport is such a touching gesture. This is even more evident before or after a long trip. I'll always remember the people who saw me off at Heathrow and it was equally as nice to see my family at Kingsford Smith. It's a strange feeling of disconnect being back in Sydney. To be honest, the void has nothing to do with Sydney but more because of the sudden absence from London. No matter how bad or good the experience anything that occupies that much time in your life is going to have an lasting affect. After catching up with friends and family the reality of it all settled in. I was indeed having London withdrawals, I missed the conveniences and the lifestyle that had dictated the last 3 years of my life.

Since being back, I've come to realise how amazing the city of Sydney really is. The sights, the food, the people. Everything. There is one but...

Everybody here is so settled. I've lost count of the number of weddings, engagements, baby showers and house warmings. I can understand why people here in Sydney engage in these life choices. It, for me, feels like a place to settle down. Heck, even I went through moments where I wanted to get a stable paying job in Australia, save some money, buy property and find a nice girl to set myself up for the proverbial "and they lived happily ever after". So here I am, single, unemployed and with very little to show in terms of achievements over the last two years. Yet as I lie on the couch reacquainting myself with cable TV the memories and experiences from London flashback and make me feel over privileged and lucky to have experienced it all. It's for that reason I need to get out.