Reading Material

At the moment, our living room is full of half-packed suitcases, the air smells like the laundry I have been doing all day, and I have packing lists splayed across the apartment. All this hoopla is due to our upcoming two-week South Pacific Glamorama Cruisefest (I'm hoping the cruise line will ask if they can buy that name from me).

While Partner-in-Crime and I are sailing the high seas on the looooove boat (exciting and new!), you can fairly well expect that I will be abandoning you, Blogland. I love you, but I plan to love Fiji even more. So, it is only fair that I leave you with some reading material in my absence.

When I was preparing to come to Oz, reading blogs by other expats in Sydney became a hobby an obsession. It was as if, in other expats' experiences, I could begin to channel what my new life might be like. And, honestly, my blog reading was quite the helpful spark in the dark. I still read all my favorite blogs like they were my afternoon stories. 

If you're an expat-to-be, a current Aussie expat, or just a blog-lover, may I recommend ...

• My good friend Mimi blogs over at Gone On a Lucky Country. Mimi and I became blog buddies before we became real-life buddies, and we met we shared that we both had a feeling we'd hit it off because we shared a similar sense of humor and style. Thanks to blog-meeting, we've shared lots of interesting Australian adventures together.
• Another great real-life friend can be e-found at One Day At a Time. In addition to her interesting observations, I think you will adore her fantastic photography, in which she documents not just exciting travel adventures, but the loveliness of everyday life, as well.
• Now, I don't know Florida Girl in Sydney "IRL," but I seriously love her blog. She is so funny, and she often has great recommendations about restaurants and events around town. I think there must just be something particularly rad about Florida girls who blog in Sydney.
• Little D Down Under has turned into a fantastic e-comrade. She reached out and helped me a lot with my job hunt, and her blog reflects her kind and so-friendly personality. She has a bit of a history of living in Oz, and I have to admit that I learned a lot about expat life by reading through a lot of her older entries, in addition to the newer posts.
• Newer on the  block, but clearly having a good time in Sydney are the blogging duo of Adam and Sharon at The View Down Under. They've also compiled a nice page about moving to Sydney that I think would be helpful to any American making the move.
• Not an expat blog, but of interest to anyone who wants to get a sense of Sydney, I really like Sydney: City and Suburbs. The author posts a new original picture of a spot in or around Sydney daily, and also provides a bit of history or context. It's quite expansive and gives a great sense of the aesthetic of the city.

This list just hardly scratches the surface of the expat blogs that I frequent. You can see some of the other links at left and, oh, there are more. I can see that I will have to plan another extended holiday, so that I can leave you with a Part Two. 

Back in a couple of weeks with tales of excitement, mystery, and adventure at sea. Until then, happy reading!