November and early December were a mad rush to get ready to leave California. We had to sell the car, organise shipping, sell most of our furniture and excess household goods, organise flights, finish up work and tenancy commitments, and so on. The month since then couldn’t be more different – it’s been almost pure relaxation.
We arrived back in Australia on 11 December. We were meant to arrive on the 10th but our flight was delayed more than 24 hours. There’s a long story there and I intend to write about it further on my travel blog, at the same time as drafting my complaint letter to Qantas. The actual flight itself was not bad because my lovely family donated enough Qantas Frequent Flyer points for me to nab a business-class seat, so I actually managed to get some sleep.
We’ve been staying with my husband’s family in a harbourside suburb in inner Sydney. Tomorrow we go to a neighbouring suburb for two weeks to housesit for a friend of my mothers. After that we’ll be moving into our own place. We’re lucky enough to be escaping the horror of trying to find a place to rent in a landlords’ market because we’re going to be staying at a family-owned property in a central location. It needs some work done so we’ll be overseeing some renovations as part of the deal.
I’ve spent my days catching up with friends and family over lots of coffee and a few meals. I’ve been for swims at the local Olympic pool – luxuriating in the fact that I can stretch out my body over 50m instead of 25m. I’ve read a few books and thought about doing some writing but mostly I wanted the month to decompress. I have of course looked after the essentials like getting myself registered as a maternity patient at the local hospital.
We spent Christmas Eve at my dad’s new house with my little sister and brother and assorted relatives, then Christmas lunch with my in-laws, then a party in the late afternoon at our friend JV’s place. We had a great feast of food and exchanged presents and it was all very pleasant.
Christmas was followed by a mellow New Year’s Eve with friends and family. We kicked off with a backyard barbecue and then we wandered down to one of the nearby harbourside parks for the 9pm fireworks. A few people went back to the park for the midnight fireworks and the rest of us watched from the balcony upstairs. Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks are world-famous and deservedly so.
On New Year’s Day, I met my mum for brunch at a cafe down the road. Then in the late afternoon, my husband and I drove over to Bronte for a dip in the sea. It was the first time I’ve swum in the ocean since I became pregnant. It was lovely being in saltwater but I was glad the surf was relatively sedate! The water was full of English tourists jumping up and down and saying “omigod, it’s so cold, it’s so cold”. Actually I thought the water was lovely – and I thought it was ironic given how cold the water is at English beaches. (I’ve swum at the beach in Cornwall in England!).
I intend to do more blogging but the internet connection here is slow. Also, some days have been quite hot, which I find really enervating at seven months pregnant! My main focus is trying to get the house set up once we can move in and also to try to enjoy this last stretch of time before the babies come. Neither of us are working right now and while that might not last forever, it’s quite nice for the time being.
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