Two for the Road

Christmas is a time to be thankful, to reflect and express one’s gratitude for everything that has happened in the year gone by. As such, I’ve been ruminating on our time travelling so far this festive season.

We’re in a gorgeous old terraced house in Redfern, Sydney. I’ve managed to shrug off a cold to get out and explore our beautiful neighbourhood. There are shops, cafes, and bars aplenty. We’re also not far from several shops, wine bars, and pubs, in case you were worried we would run dry.

We’ve managed to take in a fair bit already. Iris has been scuba diving, the story of which I will leave her to tell as it was, well, eventful¹. We’ve scuttled down to Sydney Harbour to take in the bridge and the Opera House. It’s slightly surreal seeing such famous places where you’ve only seen them in photos but they did not disappoint!

Now we’re settling in for a cosy Christmas Eve. A cheese spread is out before us and we couldn’t resist opening the port. It’s been unusual, walking around in shorts on Christmas Eve in 30° heat, but we’ve managed to keep Christmas well, I think. To further prove this, The Muppet Christmas Carol is about to start. Can’t go wrong, can you?

Our thoughts naturally, though, come back to you, the family, friends, and loved ones back home. It’s the first Christmas in who knows how long where we haven’t seen you, and each of us at times has felt it.

We miss you all, but we sincerely thank you for reading this blog. Iris and I have each enjoyed using this not only as a creative outlet, but as a way we can keep in touch with you by sharing stories of our travels. Every view and comment has meant the world to us. Whether you’re a regular subscriber or this is the first post you’re reading from us, thank you. The title of this blog came from the Aussie wine merchant we bought (too many) bottles of wine from, and you all deserve it.

Merry Christmas!

Matt

1. Iris here! Basically it was a dive where all the minor things that could go wrong did go wrong. One diver in our party experienced exhaustion in the 30+ Celsius heat and another’s air tank came loose from their BCD under water. We had unexpected strong currents to deal with. If any of you have dived before you’ll appreciate the stress. Luckily all I had to deal with was a leaky mask! ↩︎