Home...

It's freaking freezing here. And it gets dark suuuper early. What the heck. It's December, it's supposed to be sunny and warm!

Arrived in Seattle yesterday afternoon after a surprisingly easy flight from Sydney via San Francisco (exit rows on both flights, I even sweet-talked my way into one on the way from SFO free of the usual $40 charge). After only a short delay I collected my big suitcase from Morgan (big props for carrying that home for me) and headed home to a house I had not seen in five months. After so long away from home, it feels extremely odd to be back. Almost everything is entirely familiar, yet it seems weirdly out of context - I am constantly finding myself asking, "Wait, what am I doing here? I'm not supposed to be here...what's my next destination?" Ah, but it's the holidays, and nothing beats being home for the holidays. I had a lovely time today wrapping all the gifts I brought back from my travels, decorating the Christmas tree, and going downtown for a night out on the town - all those little things you don't really think too much about but which are wonderful, warm reminders that you have a loving home and awesome parents that supported you through a truly amazing trip.

My last few days in Sydney were incredible. I don't have too much time to talk about them just now, but there were some great highlights - the amazing botanic gardens, the opera house (possibly the most iconic building in the world?), Taronga Zoo (incredible exhibits, amazing animals), and, on my last night there, climbing the Harbour Bridge, which was a truly phenomenal experience and provided some of the best views I've ever seen.

Over the next few days I will do my best to try and post some highlight pictures of my trip since Brisbane, but no promises on the timetable. For now, it's good to be back home, thanks for all those who managed to stick through reading this thing with what I'm sure was some really convoluted and grammatically horrible writing over the past few months, and I really had the most spectacular trip ever. Merry Christmas, and it's sure good to be back in the world's greatest city!