Australia Week Five Recap

Hello! Welcome to my last and final post from my trip to Australia and abroad (for now)! I spent my last week in the Bondi beach neighborhood in an Airbnb. I went to an Australian Football League game, walked around the markets at Manly beach, and met up with friends from prior trips. I was sad to leave, but ready to head back to the US and start getting ready for my move to Denver.

Accommodation

Click here for the Airbnb posting

Nice little one bedroom studio that I stayed in. It was about $100/night.
Kitchen area
Bathroom

Coogee Beach

There’s a really nice oceanside path that connects Bondi beach to Coogee beach that I highly recommend. The views are amazing.
More walks along Bondi beach because I couldn’t get enough.
I had dinner one night with Mardi who I met on my Japan trip last year! She works in Sydney.

Australian Football League Game

This game has such different rules! It was like a mix of rugby, American football, and soccer.
Front row seats with Clare and Geoff’s friends!
I borrowed some gear from Clare’s friends so I could show my support for the Sydney Swans.
Full stadium

Manly Beach

Another famous beach in the Sydney area.
Clare’s friends from university.
Clare and I.
Soaking up my last few days of sun before I head home.

Some things I ate

So many fresh fruit and vegetable options in the Bondi area. It was the perfect place for me to be.

Acai bowl with nuts and granola
Fruit, granola and yogurt bowl
Veggie bowl

Heading Home

Packed and ready to head home. I can’t believe I fit 2+ months worth of luggage in these bags.
I had a direct flight on the way home from Sydney to Los Angeles, it was about 13.5 hours.

What a trip!

That’s a wrap! Eight months off and 6 countries checked off my list: Japan, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, New Zealand, & Australia. This time off has been incredible. I wish I could keep traveling but the funds I set aside for this trip have run dry (and some more if I’m being honest) and I had to head home and get ready to start my new job July 1st. This time abroad was the life reset that I needed after a few tough years, and I will boldly say this has been the BEST year of my life to date. I know that’s saying a lot but how could it not be? I feel grateful that I was in a place in my life where I had the time, funds, and lack of responsibilities to do this. I know not many people can say all of those things have lined up at the same time. I’m so glad I took the risk of leaving my comfort zone in North Carolina. I’d gone back and forth about it for YEARS, yes years, and it was one of the hardest decisions of my life. Looking back I kind of always knew it wasn’t my forever home. I didn’t even buy furniture my first three years there because I was so convinced I wouldn’t be staying for long. Fast forward 7.5 years later and I was still there feeling the exact same way, but I was never sure when would be a good time to leave and where would I go? I made some lifelong friends there so saying goodbye was tough. I finally decided on Denver since I have a few friends there and I’m really excited for this next chapter in Colorado. I’ve been here 7 weeks now and I’m loving it. More on that to come.

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