Australia & New Zealand Adventure Part II: Giovanna arrives in Sydney

Dear Friends,It has been an incredible last few weeks here in sunny Sydney. I have found romance, rekindled a wonderful childhood friendship, and partied like a rockstar, and finished my job at The Sheraton!! I am now heading off with Giovanna for 3 months of travel, adventure, and the great unknown.... All that hard work is about to pay off!

Giovanna arrived on Sunday the 25th. She did not suffer much in the way of jetlag, probably because she was just so excited to be here! Interestingly, the same day, I was at work and bumped into a work colleague who had stood me up for a date the previous Thursday. I have liked him for the past two months, and just assumed that he was not interested because he had not called. Well, as it turns out, he had one digit incorrectly entered into his phone address book. So, all this time, there were sad assumptions being made on both our parts. Anyway, whilst I was disappointed to find this out with only 1 week left in Sydney (typical for me, right?) I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to make the most of the time we had left. I have enjoyed an amazing week with him, I am so glad that we had this time together. It has been a romantic high, and proven very difficult to juggle my time with my new friend! I have gotten so exhausted that I now find myself stricken with yet another cold, with one day to go before I take to the New Zealand skies.....boo hoo for me!

Not to say I didn't find time to take Giovanna to some cool places. We have been to the beach (many times!), done some coastal hikes, enjoyed a picnic and free opera in the botanical gardens, numerous free meals at The Sheraton, Open Air Cinema, Theatre to see Sir Ian McKellen in Dance of Death, the zoo, a gay drag show rendition of the Sound of Music, had massages & high tea, gone on a tour of the Blue Mountains, not to mention a lot of coffee shops, bars (drinking? Never!) and breakfast establishments.

I think my highlights were the opera in the domain — we saw Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles and it was absolutely incredible, and free! We had wine and cheese on a blanket, with over 25,000 people in attendance.

I am saddened to be leaving Sydney. A city that proved so tumultuous for me when I first arrived has slowly become a place where I've found good friendships and a comforting sense of home. I actually remember my work with fondness (now that it's over) and all of the wonderful people I worked with. Giovanna and I are in the travel agency right now, about to book all of our trips beyond Melbourne. We have a full schedule ahead of us, including Australia's West coast, learning to dive, canoeing in bushland, treks in the red center, sailing in Queensland....the list goes on.

Of course, I will stay in touch and be sending more photos shortly too! Keep writing!

Much love and wishes,

Anita

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