Australia: Sydney - where Santa works as a Surf rescue

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Eat & drink healthy - go to the Hotel!


 Sydney has not escaped from the new age trends for food and healthy living. There is no shortage of avocado, quinoa and gluten-free food on the menu. Smoking is not permitted literally anywhere (even in outdoor spaces). On the other hand, Aussies do like to drink - while it is (technically) not permitted to drink on the beach, in the parks and in many public spaces, the bars are always welcoming and, for some unexplainable reason, nearly all bars in Sydney are called..."Hotels".



Christmas and New Year's on the other side of the world



 It is not the first time I celebrate Christmas and New Year in the South hemisphere (having spent them in South Africa before) and I am convinced ...this is not my gig, but it is tons of fun, nevertheless.

 As Christmas is approaching, people get together in huge crowds to celebrate, make donations and sing Christmas carols under the sun in the parks.


Christmas day Aussie style - a walk along the Sydney coast towards Bondi beach. People are chilling in their beach houses,  others are having a barbecue on the beach (supposedly not drinking any alcohol), and the surf rescue guy is dressed like Santa...









We go to a vegan & gluten-free Christmas party of Sydney expats. Hearing their stories is what interests me the most. Every story is different but there is a common line that I can capture. First or second-generation expats - they have left everything they had not been happy with back at home to land in one of the possibly most isolated places on Earth, Australia. All they have packed in their suitcases is just their determination for a change and willingness to work hard and do whatever it takes to build a new life on the other side of the World. I guess we do need to burn bridges every now and then.

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