A landmark day

This day last year, 5 May 2015,  I arrived in Sydney, my final destination in Australia. In a trip full of fantastic moments, this one was special. I had driven a good distance from Port Nelson, over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and straight to the car rental drop-off; much as I loved my trusty Golf, I was glad to be ditching it and not having to deal with Sydney traffic.

My lovely Air BnB host gave me a glass of wine to calm my nerves,  and off I went to discover the city. First stop, the opera house. It turned  out to be my last stop that day, because once I walked into Sydney Harbour I could not drag myself away from it.

As I walked down the quays and got my first glimpse of the Opera House, and the harbour with that bridge, I almost dropped to my knees – it was overwhelming. My eyes filled with tears as I stopped to take it all in: I was standing in Sydney Harbour, a world landmark, a place I never really imagined I would ever go. I thanked the universe for my good fortune, for being alive at that moment, standing there with nothing to do except admire the view.  I will never forget that day. I ended up sitting in the Opera Bar, drinking sparkling Australian wine and marvelling at the beauty of the place till long after dark. Another traveller sat down beside me and we ended up chatting. It was late and we both knew we had to go home but couldn’t. ‘It’s very hard to leave this place’, he said. He was right. A little bit of my heart was left in Australia that day. Long before really.

Today I am back in Dublin, working and living a regular life again. And that’s ok. The sun is shining, the evenings are long and I am so grateful that I ever had the chance to go to Australia at all. I still thank the universe.