Sydney, Bali, Tokyo… and Finally Home
We flew into Sydney in the evening and enjoyed a brief stay at our favourite five-star hotel near the airport (thanks Airmiles). The next morning we headed into the city to try our luck at the Greek consulate, hoping we might sort out citizenship matters without an appointment. It went both better and worse than expected, and we eventually concluded that we simply don’t have the fortitude required for the epic hero quest this process would demand. Onwards and upwards.
From there we wandered around Newtown, where I once lived, grabbed some food that claimed to be gluten-free (it was not), and visited a friend from university. Unfortunately, the gluten incident made the rest of the day/trip uncomfortable including the flight to Bali… less than ideal. To add insult to injury, Sydney Airport security also claimed another pair of my favourite scissors. GUH!!
Bali itself was hot and humid, and my stomach made it hard to enjoy our short stay — though Cotty made the most of it. I tried to rally and see what I could, but discomfort won out.
The next morning we were off again, this time to Tokyo, with a very brief stop in Hong Kong where security confiscated another one of my tools - tweezers!! :( I found the whole process surprisingly violating.
Once we arrived in Tokyo, we navigated the transit system and made it to a station near our hotel — a cool little place my friend had booked us into, complete with an onsen. It was exactly what we needed after such a huge day, and Cotty especially loved it. We checked out at the last possible minute before heading to Yokohama to stay with our friends Jeremy and Aya.
Bags dropped, we immediately launched into a wild adventure of many steps and many transit lines that eventually deposited us at — of all places — a Venetian Glass Museum. We even got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji, which was very cool. After the museum we headed home and crashed hard.
The next day we aimed for a gentler pace, but Cotty had a list and our friends were determined that he experience everything. After coffee, we went for ramen, then into Tokyo to Shinjuku for a fantastic art supply store, then to explore a few wild shops nearby, and finally to Shibuya — because apparently everyone needs to see it at least once. Afterwards we visited the Yokohama harbour, which was very pretty, and even went for a ride in a gondola. Then came a taxi ride to dinner (gluten-free, thankfully), but unfortunately by the end of the meal it was clear Cotty was not well. It turns out he had gotten food poisoning from lunch. It was a rough night for the poor kid :(
In the morning he seemed well enough to handle the journey home — a relief, because we had a nine-hour flight to Calgary ahead of us. We’ll either hang out with our friend Amanda there or collapse on her couch again like last time (haha), then catch a quick evening flight to Comox.
As we make our way home — a little rumpled, definitely tired, and carrying far more stories than souvenirs — it feels like the right moment to pause and take it all in. This trip gave us so much: bright beaches, wild winds, family catch-ups, old friends, new friends, long drives, hotter days than we were prepared for, a few storms, a bit of gluten chaos, the occasional bout of food poisoning, and a lot of unexpected sweetness in between. We crossed oceans, hopped through cities, soaked in onsens, camped under Tassie skies, snorkelled around shipwrecks, climbed dunes, rode ferries and trains and buses with no A/C, and somehow still kept laughing through the wonky bits. Now we’re heading back to Canada with full hearts, sandy bags, and the feeling that this big adventure was exactly what it needed to be. And who knows — the next one might already be brewing.
