Showing posts with label life in australia. Show all posts

When I first moved to Australia with my partner, 3 years ago, I had no plans. We didn't know if we were going to like it here or how long we were going to stay.
We left our home country for the biggest trip either of us had ever made, left jobs, friends and family (and a cat) behind. Packed our lives in a couple of (big) suitcases and left.

I still remember the day we arrived in Sydney for the first time, coming literally from the other side of the world. Going from Winter to Summer in a matter of hours and dealing with the jetlag, everything seemed so strange and I didn't think I was going to like it at first.
But then in the next few weeks we visited the main landmarks, discovered more about the city, met people from different cultures, started to enjoy the lifestyle, and eventually fell in love with this place. One day, I don't know exactly when, on my way to the local grocery store, I remember thinking to myself how I got to know those streets so well and how nothing felt strange to me anymore. I was home.

3 and a half years later, we feel at home in Australia but a big part of us will always be in Portugal - our home country. Because that's were our most important people in the word live and we miss them everyday.
This year we're coming back for 2 very special events: our niece's 1st birthday and my sister's wedding. The hardest part of living abroad is definitely being far from the people we love, so we're looking forward to spend some quality time together with our families (and the cat!).

I'll try to update the blog with posts about the holidays and details of the parties we're going to attend. In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram @mypartydesign to see what I'm up to these holidays.

'The Three Sisters' - view from the Echo Point lookout

This year in Australia we've been blessed with a warm and sunny start to Autumn. It would be a shame to let another gorgeous sunny day go by and not enjoying it fully, so I took the opportunity to visit the Blue Mountains on a day off.

So many steps!

About a third of the way we reached one of the 'sisters'

Under the 'Sisters'

The Scenic Railway

The plan was to take the train, but somehow my partner convinced me to continue on another walk to see the Katoomba Falls. I don't know how I agreed with it, but in a matter of minutes we were starting to climb the Furber Steps.

I think I regretted the decision after only a few steps...

Katoomba falls

The Skyway

On the way to the beach

On the other side

Beach on one side, forest on the other

It was a complete change of scenario from the grassed picnic area and suddenly it felt like we were somewhere else.

We followed the little river further into the beach, where a lagoon formed near the waterfalls. It was the perfect setting for our relaxed afternoon.

The waterfalls and the "jump rock"

Photo from here

Photo from here

Photo from here

Storm coming over Bondi Beach. Photo from here

Storm front moving over Bondi Beach. Photo from here

Summer is slowly slipping away, so we try to spend every sunny weekend outside, while the good weather lasts.
We woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning and the weather was perfect for a pic-nic, so we packed some food, joined a couple of friends and headed north to Morisset Park, 100km from Sydney. It had been a while since we'd seen kangaroos and this park is known to be the best spot to catch them in the wild.

It wasn't hard to tell we were in the right place, as we approached the park and we could spot kangaroos casually sleeping on the side of the road. Some curious ones would stick their ears up at the sound of the car, checking us out.
There were so many of them, just hanging around in large groups, and lots of mothers with babies in their pouches.

We found a quiet pic-nic area, away from curious wallabies, and had a nice relaxing lunch, before venturing through the park to meet the locals.

They are so used to human visits that they allow us to come really close and we can interact with them safely.

Note the joey's legs sticking out of her pouch on the left

The couple of seconds when we actually saw the baby's head

December is here and with it comes Christmas and Summer. This is my 3rd Christmas down under and it still feels a bit weird not to feel cold during this season...

But there's nothing like a night walk in Sydney to get me in the Christmas mood, so I headed to the city on Saturday night. There's just so much to do and see at this time of the year!
You can't miss the David Jones' Christmas windows, with animated puppets and music, for the delight of kids and grown ups.

David Jones Christmas windows (image credit)

David Jones Christmas windows (image credit)

David Jones Christmas windows (image credit)

David Jones Christmas windows (image credit)

Every evening, after sunset, you can enjoy spectacular light projections in Town Hall's facade on George Street.
From December 12, "The Lights of Christmas" show will bring St Mary's Cathedral to life and gather thousands of viewers right up to Christmas night. This is my favourite Christmas show and one not to be missed!

Christmas projections in Town Hall (image credit)

In Martin Place, you'll find the traditional Christmas tree, but this year with a twist. You can text a message to the interactive tree and it will be displayed along a special LED ribbon, with words travelling up the branches for everyone to see.

Interactive Christmas tree in Martin Place (image credit)

There's also the colossal Swarovski Christmas Tree in the iconic Queen Victoria Building, spanning three floors and holding over 144,000 sparkling Swarovski crystal ornaments and 60,000 twinkling lights. It's truly a sight to be seen.

Swarovski Christmas tree in the QVB (image credit)

The weather has been humid and warm and the sun doesn't show up that often.
It's hard for me to accept that this is the Summer I'll get this year. In Portugal, were I came from, Summer started in June and lasted until September with beautiful sunny days and no sight of rain. Hopefully we'll have that kind of Summer here later on too. They say Summer is a bit late this year and it will probably last longer than usual. I can't wait to be able to go for a swim everyday after work, since I'm now living a few steps from the beach!

In the meantime, I'm taking conform in the flavours of the season. There's so many beautiful fresh fruit in the markets now, and cheaper than ever!

So for now I'll get my inspiration from all the colours and flavours that surround me. I'm working on some Valentine's Day goodies that should be in store very soon. Stay tuned!

About 5 months ago I moved from Portugal to Sydney.

Although I loved my country and I had a stable life, living in a brand new apartment and working full time as a graphic designer, I wasn't completely fulfilled with my job and I was worried about the future with the economical crisis going on there.
Taking the step to move so far away wasn't easy, but my boyfriend had a lot of relatives here and they welcomed and supported us through this new beginning.

My boyfriend found a nice job straight away, but for me it took a while. At first I was studying, then I started to work in casual jobs. By the time I finished the English course I was only working about 5 hours a day, so I grabbed the opportunity to spend my spare time doing something I love and that could give me some extra money.
That's when I opened the Etsy shop at www.mypartydesign.etsy.com and started taking my party decoration ideas more seriously.

This blog will not only be a showcase of my work, but also a diary of my Australian adventure. Wish me luck! :)