Back to the CBD

The new year has started well, but there's been big changes. Again. 

Our lovely house in Epping lost Annie and Brita in December, and this week we also said goodbye to Alex and Kai. They picked up a campervan and headed off into the wild for a 3 month adventure. So then there were 3.

And then there was 1, or 5, as 'backpacker' became real. (turns out you can't stay in one place for long, who knew?!) Will and Marcus are planning to stay in Sydney for longer, while I am leaving on Feb 1st, so they were looking into other accommodation - 3 people in a house that previously held 7 (plus 3 more German boys and 3 Malaysian women over New Year) was not going to work. After a scouting mission they came back having paid a deposit and with 5 days until they moved. A very nice long term hostel type house, minimum 3 months, so I'm out. 

Cue panic and freak out.

Wasn't ready to say goodbye to the boys yet. And even more, wasn't ready to find somewhere else to live. But I wasn't going to stay there by myself. AND our Landlord told us a family of 4 was going to move in on the same day they were moving out. So that would have been weird!! Started hunting in between very long days at work and finally found somewhere that looked decent back in the CBD - exactly where I was trying to stay away from!

So we packed up and cleared out. The hardest part was leaving my poor broken backpack. I brought it my first year of uni and love it so much. But the zip had broken and I couldn't actually use it anymore. RIP backpack =[

I'm going to miss our adopted cat, Billi, and the view from our indoor/outdoor patio area. We spent many great evenings out on the back deck talking, drinking and having a laugh.

I'm not going to miss the little (GIANT) friend Marcus found when moving his things!

While I didn't want to move back to the city, it is good to be nearer to where things are going on. Epping was a 40 minute train away, and once you are there you are surrounded by suburbia. Giant palatial mansions with nothing in between. But I now live a lot closer to work, so that saves time and train fares. And there's things going on everywhere. I am in Sydney for Sydney Festival, my work friends are nearby, there's places to wander and sit in the sunshine, and my hostel has a pool.

I now live in the YHA at Railway Square. And the coolest part about that is not the great included breakfast, or even the sun deck, but the fact my room is a converted train carriage!!! It's very well insulated so it's very quiet inside - except the humm of the much needed air con - but from the shower you can hear "The next train to arrive on Platform 1 goes to ..." 

I'm spending long, hot days working at Luna Park and coming home to make plans. In less than 2 weeks I will be meeting my beautiful momma in Melbourne, we will be picking up our campervan and driving the coastal road to Brisbane. Heading West first to drive the Great Ocean Road of course. There are so many beautiful places out there it is hard to figure out which are the most essential!