31st of December, end of this year & here I am in Sydney, the only place in the world I wanted to be in. The first thing I do is to say hello to its two landmarks I hadn’t seen for years, the Opera House & the Bridge.
I find many roads closed due to the New Year’s celebrations. The spots with the best views have fences & you could only access them if you had bought a ticket beforehand. In order to have a good spot, regardless where you went, you needed to be there very early.
Around the Opera House the people were camping, literally.
I had just arrived & was really tired, I thought about going to sleep for a few hours to be able to enjoy this special night. I had booked a bed in a youth hostel, like a backpacker, as you do in a very popular country for backpacking. I realized I was in the best one of the city, the Sydney Harbour YHA, in Cumberland St. It had a terrace with views to the harbour, & even though all the tickets for the New Year’s party were sold out, that night I managed to find a window with a good view to see the fireworks from.
I woke up at 7pm with a torrential rain & thought about all the people who were camping. Thank god the rain stopped & the plans for the last night of the year continued. I went for a walk to get into the festive mood. I realized they celebrate the party before midnight, & after the fireworks they go home.
At 9pm the children’s fireworks start, & at midnight the ones I used to see from home around midday while thinking “there is where I want to be”. They were wonderful, exciting, I got very emotional as I remembered my dad who had passed away just a few days earlier.
I must mention that even though it is a great show we must remember how many animals get scared & go into panic, how many fish and dolphins must have disappeared from the bay that night. We must take care of them all, we are their voices.
After the fireworks I went for another walk against the flow, since as everybody was heading back, to enjoy the wet streets full of people, in this new year, in a city that stole my heart & became one of my favourite places in the world.
Next morning I picked up my staff & headed to where I was going to live for the next ten days. I had booked a room through Airbnb, as soon as I entered the house I felt a wonderful energy, it smelt of incense & there was a crystal salt lamp, which I love, on. Helene, the owner, was out so I made myself at home in my bright and airy room facing the garden.
As I didn’t have internet I went out and allowed my trainers to lead me. Two minutes from there I came across the nice Anderson Park near a harbour. As Sydney has the biggest natural bay in the world they live surrounded by water, I felt in my element.
There I found steps that led to a very nice residential area and to a ferry terminal, they use them as much as the bus or train in this city, with so much water it is a good & funky way to get to many places.
I was looking for a place to eat so I decided to come back. In the park I met a very nice gentleman who was walking Joey, my first four legged friend in the city. In the old-fashioned way I asked for directions, after a pleasant chat he told me how to get to Kirribilli’s main street. There were shops, cafes, restaurants & a small church.
I ended up in a small cafe called Osky, there I had my first meal of the year, a delicious Karma Bowl. The tap water is good to drink, therefore the restaurants bring you a glass bottle & a glass to the table, you can also take it yourself from the shelf.
Again the owner was very nice, he chatted with me & the rest of the clients. One of the best things of this trip has been the people, they are all so kind, welcoming, helpful, laid back & easygoing.
I was very happy with my neighbourhood, my home was only four minutes away from the north part of the Sydney Harbour Bridge & Milsons Point station.
Today I’d like to talk to you about a very special book called “Mutant message Down Under” by the author Marlo Morgan. It is the story of an American doctor who arrives to Australia & has the most incredible & spiritual experience of her life when she embarks in a mystical journey in the outback. She joins an aboriginal tribe whom she learns their way of life from & their special connection with the land. A book which won’t leave you indifferent & will reconnect you with you most spiritual part.
Stay tunned nomads, this is only the beginning, more posts of all my Aussie adventures are coming.
G’day mates!
