Coming home after a long trip – or even a 2-week holiday – can feel strange and alienating. Your home doesn’t feel quite as you remembered it, you’re tired from travelling back and all you can do is think about being back where you just left. Here’s what we did after our 3-month journey recently.
On one hand there’s nothing like the feeling of coming home. The gentle caress of your own bed, the views from your windows that you know so well… but on the other hand, it can feel a bit strange to be back.
It certainly was for us after our last trip. 3 months and 10 countries later, we thought we’d be glad to be home again, but post-travel blues are a real thing. Thankfully we’ve got pretty good at dealing with the decompression and have some processes that help.
Including these food-related hacks for post-holiday blues, we also deal with the feels by getting out and about as much as we can – especially on the first few days of getting back.
I also prefer to unpack immediately whereas Christina hates it.
But to give you some idea of what we do – plus so we can have a bit of a catch-up on what Christina and I have been up to since we’ve been back in Sydney, here’s our first Weekly Edition now we’re back home.
Our flight home from the UK has been quite a long one. Unfortunately we ended up with a long layover in Abu Dhabi Airport while we waited for our second leg of the flight.
Thankfully we do have lounge access passes, though if you don’t and you have a long wait, it might be worth looking at things like Plaza Premium Lounge, which allows people entry regardless of the airline they’re flying with.
We also paid a bit more for our seats on the A380 h0me, which gave us lots more legroom. It wasn’t much money, but it meant we could travel much more comfortably. It’s worth asking at checkin if there are any better seats in your seat class.
Almost as soon as we’re home, we’re exploring new bars and restaurants we haven’t been to in Sydney before. Christina’s sister Mary has had a work event at the new Squire’s Landing – a very cool bar at the end of the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay. We’ve met her after her dinner here.
The views from here are unbeatable and Mary tells us the food’s pretty good too.
This afternoon, Christina has met up with our lovely friend Rohan for lunch at Barangaroo – Sydney’s newest entertainment development. I’ve gatecrashed their meal – mostly to try this excellent pie. But also to say hi to Rohan too of course!
This is Banksii Vermouth Bar and Bistro, and their special 2-course weekday lunch menu is not only great value, but also delicious. I’m very happy with the beef cheek pie – as you can imagine.
There’s also a choice of cheese or trifle for dessert. I’m pretty happy with the slab of aged cheddar, but Christina and Rohan enjoy their modern take on a classic sweet too.
After lunch, I head back home while the other two leave for the next part of their day out…
The Archibald exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales is an annual favourite of ours. The Archibald Award goes to best portrait, ‘preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia’.
There’s always some fascinating takes on portraits, and it doesn’t hurt to get a bit of culture into your jetlag, does it?!
Today I’m meeting up with a couple of good friends of mine to chill out at the beach, enjoy the winter sun and take our ease over a cigar and a couple of beers. We’re at probably my favourite Sydney city beach: Bronte. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much of the sand! Where is everyone?
I’m here with my friend Dave, who I’ve known for years now and who started the now sadly closed Plant Gallery raw vegan restaurant.
We’re graced with the rare presence of our friend John, who runs Cuban Adventures. We’ve worked with this awesome tour company both times Christina and I have been to Cuba – actually the first time we didn’t realise we had a mutual friend in Dave, which is quite funny.
After our smoke and beers, we decide to walk the famous Bronte to Bondi Coastal Walk. As we come round the corner to Tamarama Beach I have a realisation:
I haven’t done this walk for an age. And I’d forgotten how beautiful it is. Plus getting out and about doing things like this is exactly what’s great for killing that jetlag. It also makes you realise that what you’ve got around you on your doorstep is often just as good as most things you can find while you’re travelling.
The views out over the coast of this city really are stunning. It might be a bit cold out of the sun today, but the bonus to that is there are fewer people around, which makes it much more peaceful on this popular walk.
It’s almost impossible to get bored of this view. Bondi is famous for good reason: it’s very pretty. Even Dave, who has lived in this neighbourhood for years, enjoys the view. And there are some pretty good sets for the surfers today too.
Perhaps one of the most iconic sights at Bondi – and definitely one of the most photographed parts of Sydney – is Bondi Icebergs. The pool here is beautiful enough to make me want to swim lengths… almost! Still a bit cold for that kind of thing. There are a couple of brave souls in there though. Now that’s commitment.
Today, we’re driving south. We’re heading to the beautiful little country town of Berry about 2 hours out of Sydney.
We love a bit of a road trip and getting away again so soon after our long trip – even if it’s only a couple of nights – seems to revamp our travel spirit.
Plus I’ve got a feeling the place we’re staying in is something a bit special…
This is Mount Hay Luxury Retreat – a 5-suite escape just up the road from Berry. The views are incredible and the suite is sublime. If this isn’t the perfect spot to escape winter and any post-holiday blues, I don’t know what is.
By the way, this is a sneak peek of our full review of Mt Hay Retreat we’ve got coming up very soon – so watch this space!
This part of the south coast of New South Wales is absolutely stunning. It always surprises us that it’s not more popular with Sydneysiders. It’s so close yet feels like another world.
The other bonus of coming down here is that we can pop in and see our awesome friend Beth from BabyMac.
Beth knows me so well. She’s sourced a local beer for me to try with my lunch! This pale ale is very hearty, and warms me up nicely. It turns out I’m lucky to even taste this beer: her friend who makes it is having trouble keeping up with demand!
Lunch could not be better. Seriously. It’s been ages since we’ve seen Beth – amazing how life gets in the way of best intentions – so it’s great to be able to chew the fat with her. Plus, this soup she’s made is incredible and perfect for the chilly weather.
Beth’s soup repertoire is impressive though, so I shouldn’t be so surprised how delicious this one is. Here are some more of her brothy masterpieces.
This awesome lady has also knocked up a bit of sweet for us too. It’s an apple crumble slice, which came about almost by accident. You’ve got to check this out – it’s so good.
Thanks to all this fresh air – and a host of our friends all as excited as we were to catch up – we’re back up to speed. It’s lovely to be in Sydney again – especially with Europe now going through a nightmare of a heatwave. I hope everyone there is ok.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this catchup and have gleaned some useful tips on how to cope with coming home from a long journey.
Do you have any tips for getting settled back into the swing of normal life after a long trip? Tell us in the comments. We love to hear your ideas.
Cheers – Jim & Christina xx
