Sydney living, lately

Since returning from Africa, I’ve mostly concentrated on writing about all of the experiences that I had there. As I got back in January (where has the time gone??), I thought I’d write a summary of my Sydney living highlights from the beginning of the year ’til now.

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

For my birthday in February, JJ booked us this cabin in country New South Wales. My sister, brother-in-law, and niece came along too. The cabin is near the small town of Dungog, which is about a 3-hour drive northwest of Sydney in the Hunter Region. Nestled in peaceful Barrington Tops National Park, we spent the weekend making delicious food, playing board games and bushwalking – it was so relaxing and exactly what I was hoping for.

Elouera Cottage

Bushwhacking in Barrington Tops NP

LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE

As soon as I return from an overseas trip, I start planning the next one (can’t help myself!). Next month JJ and are off to Colombia and until earlier this year, neither of us spoke any Spanish. Back in February we enrolled in 3 months of evening classes at our local community college.

Since finishing Spanish classes at the end of April, we’ve been doing some self-directed study and have been watching Spanish movies to try to cram as much as possible. It’s been a really fun experience learning and practising a new language together, I’m thinking of writing a post dedicated to the tricks we’ve found helpful.

VIVID FESTIVAL

In June a girlfriend and I went on a dinner cruise during Vivid Sydney, how civilised! As usual, in the lead up my introversion was getting the better of me and I started getting anxious about having to be on a crowded boat for 3 hours with a bunch of strangers. I’ve avoided Vivid for the last couple of years because of the crowd situation, I literally “can’t even”.

As it turned out, a cruise was the perfect way to see the impressive light displays around the harbour and the boat wasn’t crowded at all because dinner was seated. The food was excellent too! Our experience was with Clearview Sydney Harbour and I thought it was great value for such a lovely evening out.

Iconic harbour bridge during Vivid

WINTER COASTAL WALKS

Although we don’t get to enjoy the beach as much in winter, it’s my preferred time of year to go walking. Cool temperatures make exploring Sydney’s coastline much more comfortable and enjoyable. I wrote a post a while ago about my top free things to do in Sydney which includes my favourite walks.

Right now, I’m getting super excited for our Colombia trip that’s coming up in 3 weeks. It’ll be my first ever time on the South American continent! As usual, I’ll share what I’m packing for this holiday before I head off.