There's No Place Like Oz

Welcome to the second guest post on There’s No Place Like Oz! My parents came for a week-long visit last month, and below my dad shares some of his favorite moments from the trip.

It started out innocently enough. “Dad, I found this great trip to Ireland in Budget Travel Magazine. It’s affordable and includes airfare, rental car and lodging in B&B’s. You interested in a father-daughter trip? Say YES!” So with that, Heather and I booked her first international trip. The year was 2003 and yes, it was very reasonably priced. But it came with challenges. The tricky part would be self touring and weathering (no pun intended) the cool November weather in a foreign country. It was a memorable trip from the beginning. Our flight from Baltimore was changed unbeknownst to us and Heather had been temporarily placed on standby. Ultimately, we boarded our Aer Lingus flight and traveled through the night, landing at 5 am. After securing our luggage and breezing through Customs, we were handed the keys to a small car. I hopped in to drive, change gears and steer on the wrong side (at least for me) while the rain fell and Heather navigated. The trip created beautiful, lasting memories and a desire to see a greater part of this beautiful planet God created and the people who inhabit it.

Fast forward to 2010. Several years ago Heather and her youngest sister Katie visited Australia. A love affair with the Aussie culture and her people was born. Heather decided then that she wanted to return. And so it was, this May, she left the United States and all she loves, to experience a year in Australia. She created a journal and began blogging her experience before she left. She asked all that could and wanted to visit, to come. And in November, we did.

Not seeing her for nearly six months was hard enough. Knowing she was halfway around the world made it even more challenging. The reunion was sweet and the long trip suddenly didn’t seem so taxing. She lives in a cute flat in the Sydney Inner West suburb of Petersham. She took us on a mini tour right away and we had dinner at a nice Thai restaurant beside the hostel where she began her journey during both visits. We had our best dessert of the trip that evening. Named “BTS”, it captured not only our fancy, but our taste buds as well…a brioche base with a huge scoop of pandan ice cream on top. But enough about sweets!

The attributes of this beautiful city and her people are vast. Culturally, Sydney reminds me a little of California. There is an American influence, particularly in the entertainment sector of television and music. Former American Pop Star David Cassiday made the news while there for “drink driving”. Guess there wasn’t much going on in the news that day. The Aussies have their own version of a “Good Morning Nation” show, but inject more humor, which was nice. One readily sees Starbucks, Ford Automobiles, K-Mart, Burger King in the form of “Hungry Jack”, 7-11 Convenience Stores, McDonald’s and F. W. Woolworth Stores (they no longer exist in America and serve as grocery stores in Australia).

Challenging though it was to choose my Top 5 experiences, memories etched in my heart from November 2-11 follow. Truly an experience that left me on top of the world down under!

Number Five: Downtown Sydney is a vibrant and busy place. What makes it truly special is the diversity of the city. Beautiful parks. We visited two famous Sydney beaches, Bondi and Manly, which were absolutely gorgeous. On the way to Manly, there was Craig, one of many New York Yankee fans that I witnessed in Sydney. Every day, with the exception of one, we encountered a person wearing a Yankee hat or jersey. Derek, A-Rod and Reggie would be proud. Westfield is Sydney’s newest and grooviest shopping mecca in the heartbeat of the city. The food court alone takes up more square footage than Charlottesville’s Fashion Square Mall. Arguably, our best value meal of the trip occurred there at “True Cravings”. At a mall no less! And the desserts? Lets not even go there.

Number Four: Okay, so we’re back at desserts! Adriano Zumbo’s “Macaron Day” came with a lot of fanfare and rightfully so. Admittedly, I have a sweet tooth, which Heather seems to have acquired from yours truly. Initially, I was thinking, why is there such a fuss about sweet cookies? When I saw the film crew there, I knew it must be special and our taste buds confirmed what Sydney already knew. Once per year, on the owners birthday, Adriano Zumbo celebrates with flavors not typically available to the public. 65 to be exact! Randomly, the crew selected various people waiting in line to interview, which happened to include Heather and me. Lauren Fritsky was the treat we didn’t expect. She is a freelance journalist from New Jersey, also living in Australia for a year. Warm and engaging, she fit in immediately as though we were family. It was a pleasure to meet her! My only regret on this day? A vendor handed out samples of an Australian tea company’s product in hopes of creating traffic at their store several blocks away. I didn’t go. It was a mistake.

Number Three: The day at Taronga Zoo. A ferry takes one across the Harbour to Taronga, something many do just for the breathtaking views of the city. Heather’s Christmas gift to us was the adoption of an koala and it was at Taronga that we finally saw this beautiful creature for the first time. The elephants, lions and penguins all caught our fancy, but it was the koala that we found most beautiful.

Number Two: Nearly every major city in the world has a landmark that is synonymous with its identity. Sydney is blessed with two and interestingly enough, they are so close together, you often see them in the same photograph. The Sydney Opera House is a majestic structure and has become a symbol of not only Sydney, but the Australian nation. I can’t think of another structure this man has seen that compares to the architecture of this magnificent monument. The Sydney Harbour Bridge offers incredible views of the city and built to accommodate auto, rail, bike and foot. Tours are offered to climb along the arches of the bridge. You could spend a better part of your day at these two landmarks and leave feeling like you hadn’t seen enough. They were that striking.

Number One: The most beautiful sight in Sydney for this man was “Heather”. It’s interesting how we sometime take people we love for granted. Heather has seized this time in her life to take a chance and embrace life in a way I admire. One of her favorite quotes is from Eleanor Roosevelt, who once encouraged her fellow Americans to “do one thing every day that scares you”. Heather and I made time to go on several walks, most of the time talking about life and living…sometimes just walking silently and appreciating the moment. We visited where she works and on the Sunday we were there, greatly appreciated the worship experience where she attends church. She has met some wonderful people along this journey, some that I’m sure will be lifelong friends.

So there you have it. Eight days and seven nights in the Australia’s ‘Harbour City’. A place where young people look snappy in their school uniforms. A place where the it’s hot in January and cold in July. A place where ones backside is referred to as “bum” and your Mom is “Mum”. A place where you hear “no worries mate” and realize that most citizens truly don’t get stressed about the small stuff. And yes, a remarkable place for a sweet reunion!