Visa granted!

'Dear Mrs Galt

The processing of your application has reached the stage where I am in a postition to grant your visa...'

I finally received this email last week from my case officer at the Australian High Commission in London! Unfortunately though, as we were so impatient and came over here before it was granted it means I now have to leave Australia for at least three working days. So we are now looking into last minute deals to go anywhere within a 3-4 hour flight from Sydney. At the moment we are hoping to go to Auckland for four nights at The Langham as they are doing a really good deal, but this could all change if we don't book it soon! This news has coincided with Steve landing a couple of interviews this week, so it all depends on the outcome of these meetings.

Hopefully though, this time next week I will be flying off to spend a few nights here...

Images from The Langham website

This aside though, it has come as an enormous relief that my visa has finally be granted. It now means I can start looking for a job as soon as I return to Sydney, which is not only good news for our financial situation but also for my sanity! If we both get jobs in the next four weeks, we should be able to secure our own place by the beginning of October which is the thing I am focused on at the moment. It is really hard to settle anywhere when you are living out of suitcases, and the need to nest is growing by the day!

A visit to Hyde Park Barracks

Being a History geek, I got very excited a couple of days ago when I stumbled upon the Historic Houses Trust website. For UK readers, it's the Australian equivalent of the National Trust and they have a number of historical houses in and around Sydney. We were going into the city yesterday for a wander around, so I dragged the husband to the Hyde Park Barracks museum on Macquarie Street. He wouldn't admit it but I know he enjoyed it!

Between 1819 and 1848, Hyde Park Barracks housed male convicts who had been transported to Sydney to serve out sentences handed to them in the UK. After 1848 the main building housed female immigrants, mainly from Ireland, who had been encourgaed to emigrate out to Australia. The main building and surrounding outhouses are now a museum after several reincarnations as courthouses and government buildings during the 19th and 20th centuries. It is a beautiful building from the outside and there are lots of Victorian features still evident inside.

Hyde Park Barracks. (Image from Time Out Sydney www.au.timeout.com/sydney)

The museum itself is definitely worth the AUS $10 admission fee with exhibits on the transportation of convicts from the UK, their daily lives in the barracks and the integration of reformed convicts into Sydney society. There are also fascinating models on how the building itself was transformed during the 19th and 20th centuries.

My next visit will be to the Museum of Sydney and then I will hopefully make my way though the list of other historical houses. Check out the Historic Houses Trust website if you're into all things historical like me and you happen to be in Sydney!

Details

Hyde Park Barracks, Queens Square, Macquarie Street, Sydney 2000. Open daily 9.30am-5pm (Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day). Adults: $10; Child/Concession: $5.

Historic Houses Trust www.hht.net.au

A winter's morning walk along the beach

Even though it's winter at the moment here in Australia, it is still a lovely 16-18 degrees during the day and bright sunshine (although still very cold at night). I've had a few days where I've felt extremely homesick already (mostly when I'm given insipid tomato sauce instead of Heinz Ketchup!), but going out for a morning walk along the beach in Manly has made me realise why we made the move here. Sipping coffee and power walking along with all the yummy mummies while watching the surfers may even encourage me to exercise more... I'm so looking forward to exploring more of the Northern Beaches in the next few weeks and discovering more walks to enjoy on bright sunny mornings.