Home versus Home

"London? Why would you want to live there? It's so bloody cold!". The conversation I had with a lifeguard on Maroubra Beach on Saturday went on like this for about 20 minutes (he must have decided I looked like a friendly person who was up for a chat). I've been getting that a lot in the past week since I've been back. Fair enough though - since we're in the prime of the Australian summer, beaches are packed, BBQs are in full swing, sun-soaked revellers sit at outdoor tables in cafes and restaurants, tropical fruits are ripe and luscious....why wouldn't you want to stay here forever? Lots of people just can't understand why there are thousands of Australians, Kiwis, Saffas etc trekking over to 'cold, grey, rainy, miserable England' (my lifeguard certainly couldn't). But the fact is, there are. There ARE thousands of working travellers making the break from the sun, surf and sand to head to the UK. So, what's so good about it and why are we all heading over there?

Well, anyone who has been reading this blog over the past year and a half, hopefully have got some idea of why I'm still living there! I was a little worried that coming home would make me start to resent England from keeping me away from all this Australianess, but it has only made me even fonder of both my homes. Of course I love Sydney and it's indescribably wonderful to be back with my family, friends, eating watermelon, hearing the cicadas, feeling the sand between your toes, getting sunburnt, hearing Aussie accents on the radio, shopping at Coles, eating chips and gravy; I'm also missing my other home in London and all the great things there that people who haven't lived there wouldn't understand (and plenty of reasons they would understand if they knew about them!).

While I'm back home I'm waiting to hear about a UK visa I have applied for and although coming home for good this year is a very real possibility and something I definitely could get used to; I would definitely be sad to leave my London home so soon (never thought I would say two years would be so soon!). I can't wait this summer for trips to Europe and the US, sunny afternoons in pubs by the Thames drinking Pimms, country Cotswold weekends, picnics in the park while dodging the Queen's deer, high street shopping in Chelsea (or Brighton!), musicals in Covent Garden, surfing in Cornwall (hopefully i'll get down there this summer!), McVitties chocolate flapjacks, £3 French wine, comaraderie between travellers away from home and the hugely varied Pommy accent. All these things I would miss!

Nothing compares to home, but who said you can't have more than one?