Bella Scipione

Jan 09 2023

The sun is finally shining here in Sydney. G and I have spent the last couple of days relaxing at the beach and enjoying time with our Aussies and their mates. We feel sad to be leaving them again after being reunited and will miss their madness and chaos. And while we are pretty exhausted, the past week has been an excellent start to our travels. Jesse, Michael, Callan, and Dane are people that will always feel like home and it feels good to seem at home when home is over 8,000 miles away.

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at Malabar beach. Malabar beach is a ten minute walk from Jesse and Callan’s unit with a smaller crowd and beautiful view. The boys took us to a more secluded area on the rocks that overlooks the beachside town. Before going for a swim, I thought it was a genius idea to take off my sunglasses, or ‘sunnies’, right on the rock. Sure enough, the water had swept them away within minutes. I was ridiculed by the boys for not knowing one of the main rules of being at the beach: always leave your things where you can see them. Nonetheless, I will take this as an excuse, and an opportunity, to find some new groovy sunnies to carry with me for the rest of our trip.

The sun is no joke in Australia and it doesn’t take long to catch a burn. After about an hour, we made our walk back to Jesse and Callan’s and listened to music on the balcony until the sun set. It was nice to be in good company and unwind together after a long weekend of partying. We ordered pizzas in and binge watched Squid Games on Netflix until about 1am. All of us had already seen Squid Games, so it was entertaining to rewatch it as a group, pointing out the foreshadowing clues in each episode. As much as we wanted to finish strong and complete the South Korean drama, the next day would be Monday and most of the boys had to return to work after being away for holiday.

This afternoon, Jesse picked us up and drove us an hour South of Sydney to Royal National Park for a day at Stanwell Beach. The drive through the park was absolutely unreal and brought a completely different view to Sydney. New South Wales is home to over 225 national parks, each diverse with outback walking tracks and coastal outlooks, to picturesque campgrounds and beaches. Our day spent at the beach was much needed for each of us, but in all different ways. It is always good to take a moment and soak in what’s around you, a break from the head noise of every day life.

We drove back home after our day at the beach and started packing up before meeting with Jesse and his best mate, Christine, for a fish ‘n’ chips picnic on top of Coogoo hill. Christine and Jesse have been mates for nearly ten years and are both well travelled with endless stories to share. It felt refreshing being around Chris, a girl that has been by Jesse’s side for such a long time. Plus (although only 3-1), us girls had finally outnumbered the number of boys in the room.

We laughed about some of our not so hot moments and made awareness of the moment we were living in for exactly what it was. There were dozens of people going for runs, walking their dogs, and enjoying their Monday evening. Christine signified how special it was to be out having a picnic on a weekday, enjoying and appreciating the space around you. It is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of our daily routine and can take a lot to pause and just live.

Ants started to invade our remaining chips as we finished our meal just before the sun set. We said goodbye to Christine and went back to Jesse and Callan’s to enjoy one last night with the boys before the next leg of our trip. Michael and Dane came over too and the six of us watched two more episodes of Squid Games, with only the series finale left. We will be returning to Sydney for a few days before heading back to the states, so this was not quite goodbye, but I know G and I will both miss having the four of them on the rest of our journey.

As each day passes, I grow more and more grateful to be surrounded by friends who are honest, easy going, and will always have your best intention at heart. Friendship and family have forever been the two most important aspects in my own life. What makes a good friend varies from person to person, but the one quality it consistently points to is presence. It means grieving with the person in their lows, and celebrating them in their highs. To encourage one another and love one another honestly, even when the truth can hurt. This blog has been my way of sharing my travels with my loved ones from all over the world and reflecting on the gift that true friendship brings. To each of my loved ones, I love you and I thank you for loving me. Queensland, here we come.