I am home. Actually, it has even been over two months since my plane touched Dutch soil. Coming home to all my family and friends after seven months was truly magical! Finally I was able to give them an actual hug instead of a Skype emoticon. Finally I could tell everyone my stories without losing internet connection midway through the story. And finally I could catch up with all their experiences. Though it was freezing outside, all the hugs, kisses and cuddles (and the warm blanket on my parents' couch) made me feel so happy and warm!

To be honest though, this feeling did not stick around for the entire two months. I had seven months of life to share; from the quokka's in Perth to Sydney's Opera House, but reality settled in quite quickly. After sharing a couple of my stories, answering the question 'what was your favorite part?' about 20 times, and showing some of my 30GBs of photos, life continued. Before I knew it, that soft, warm bubble I had arrived in transformed itself into the busy schedule of university, work, and committee meetings from before Australia. My time abroad was now officially in the past, and there was no time left to even think about all the things that had happened while I was there. My to-do list continued to grow as the days passed, and I could already feel the tension in my shoulders and back. Not that there was more to do than there was before I left, and so the full schedule wouldn't have been a problem at all if there had not been that one big difference: I had experienced a life without this stress. In Melbourne, I learned what it felt like to be able to not do anything for school for an entire weekend, to not plan every single day from start to finish, and to not worry too much about the future. I had learned to enjoy every single minute of every single day and to create as many memories as possible, so that this would be a part of my life I would never want to forget. 

Now that I am back in the daily routine of a life without a departure flight, I have seemed to have forgotten all the things I learned there. To enjoy every minute, to have fun and live in the moment. Being back in this life sucked me back into the bubble of having to achieve, to plan, and to always know what the next step is going to be. And this bubble blocks my view, and the view of so many others around me, because we seem to forget that there is beauty right below our noses. That memories and experiences like those in Australia are right there at my doorstep. That it's not just Oceania, but every single part of the world that has its charms, but that you have to actively look for them, seek them, and embrace them. In the midst of all our worries and plans for the future, we overlook all the prettiness that is right in front of us. Of course, travelling brings us places that are unforgettably stunning, but that doesn't mean that our life on this side of the world is not pretty. So pause every once in a while, look right below your nose, and see some of the beauty around you! And so if there is one thing that my semester abroad has taught me, is that it is a place in itself that brings happiness, but that how you see and live in that place is what truly makes you happy. 

Not convinced just yet? Take a look at some of the pretty things that I stumbled upon this week, and who knows, you might be able to see some of the beauty that surrounds you at this moment.

My last Australian blogpost, the last chapter in this story. Last Friday I safely arrived back in the Netherlands, but before that I still enjoyed a few days in the biggest city of Australia: Sydney. After a 12,5 hour night bus from Byron Bay I arrived in Sydney early on Friday morning, leaving me four days to explore the city, one to go to the Blue Mountains National Park, and one day for my day trip to Canberra. Arriving in such a big city again, with more than five million inhabitants, was quite a change after the small cities and towns of the East Coast, but I definitely loved the vibe and the fact that I had a long list of things to do!

So on day 1 I immediately took the bus to Coogee, a suburb of Sydney along the beach, to start the famous Coogee to Bondi Beach walk. This six kilometer walk connects the prettiest beaches of Sydney while also bringing you past the numorous parks, cliffs, bays and rock pools. As I was pretty tired from the night bus, it was very refreshing to walk along this beautiful coast line, and I have to say that although I have seen a lot of beaches and coast on my East Coast trip, that this was still something completely different.

And so I started off in Coogee and from there walked past the Dolphin's Point to Clovelly, and from there on past the Waverly Cemetery to Bronte. There were a lot of surfers here trying to catch some of the big waves crashing into the beach. From Bronte I continued to Tamarama beach, a cute beach where I had lunch on the rocks watching families and children enjoying the refreshing water and another bunch of surfers trying to catch some waves.



Then from Tamarama it was only a short walk to Sydney's most famous and busiest beach of all: Bondi Beach. Of course I had to take some shots of the Bondi Icebergs swimming pool, an ocean pool filled with the salty water that surrounds it. The big waves come crashing into the pool and can make swimming really challenging, but it makes for spectacular sights and photos! Bondi Beach also has a lot of street art around it and I explored this some more before heading over to the other side of the beach to see the rock pools there. I then sat down at the beach and waited for two of my friends from Melbourne to arrive who happened to be going to Bondi that afternoon as well, so we could catch up on our travel stories! A very good first day in Sydney!



Saturday is market day in Sydney, and so I set off early in the morning to take a look at the Paddington markets, a local arts and crafts markets where they sell art works, souvenirs and jewelry and fashion. Though not very big, the items sold were all very beautiful and I picked out a new phone case while strolling past the various stalls. After Paddington, I headed to the other side of Sydney to the Glebe markets. Glebe is a very hipster part of town and it came with no surprise that this market was full of second-hand clothes, jewlry and healthy food and drinks. With some new souvenirs in my bag I headed to Circular Quay to take a first look at the Opera House and Harbour Bridge when meeting up with two girls I had met on the Whitsundays. After an amazing lunch it was time for the third and last market of the day, the Rocks arts market, where I enjoyed the numorous arts stalls in the old neighbourhood.

From the Rocks I also walked across the Harbour Bridge to the luna park on the other side of the river to enjoy a beautiful view of both the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House at once. Unfortunately, I missed the ferry back so I had to walk all the way back across the bridge, but luckily the views were worth it.



Day three in Sydney I actually left the city to explore some of its surroundings, the Blue Mountains National Park. Protected as a World Heritage Site, this enormous national park is famous for the amount of gum trees that give it its blue glare during sunset. Though the average age of the tour group was about 40 years older than I was, the sights of the Blue Mountains definitely made up for that. We first went to several lookout points and some of the mountain towns before going to the famous Three Sisters rock formation and the Wentworth Falls. From there we went to Katoomba Scenic World, where we first took two skyrails to cross the cliffs of the national park, and then took the steepest incline train back up the cliffs. It was very cool to see the national park this way!




Included in the tour was also a scenic cruise back to Circular Quay, and I enjoyed the sights of the Sydney skyline, Opera House and Harbour Bridge from the boat. A spectacular way to end this tour! It was also a perfect timing to see the sunset behind the city skyline and Opera House, very stunning!




My last two days in Sydney, I did a lot of souvenir shopping for family and friends while at the same time exploring many of Sydney's suburbs. I walked through the CBD area and saw Town Hall, the Queen Victoria Building, and many of the other beautiful historic buildings of this part of town. I also brought a short visit to Alexandria where I went to the Grounds of Alexandria, a cute hub of several cafés, restaurants and shops, which looks really cute due to all the plants and flowers surrounding it.




I also went to Chinatown to buy very cheap souvenirs at Paddy's Markets and to taste some of the very delicious cream puffs they sell for just 35 cents per piece at one of the Chinese bakeries. Last but not least, I visited Newtown, which reminded me a lot of Fitzroy back in Melbourne, and where I enjoyed a good last lunch in a cute café and the many artsy shops.


Last but not least, I ended my time in Sydney by going to the ligtshow at the Opera House together with a friend I had met in Cairns. Badu Gili is on display for a full year and runs twice a night showing Indigenous art. It was very impressive to see and a great way to end my time in this beautiful country!



And so now, 209 days, 108 classes, 53 Skype sessions, 28 hostels, 10 flights, 8 states, 4 rental cars, 3 flatmates, 2 countries and 1 amazing exchange later, I am finally back home! And though it is really sad to leave this unforgettable experience behind, it is also really nice to see each and every one of you again!