City sights

The ANZAC War Memorial , Hyde Park

St Mary's Cathedral

The Royal Hospital for Women

King George VI Memorial Garden - Hyde Park

 

Yep, I flew to Sydney again this weekend...trip number 2. It's a long story, but rest assured there won't be any more jet setting for a while (I got my airport fix - have I ever told you HOW much I LOVE airports????? really, I do). 

For this trip I had accommodation smack bang in the city, putting me in the perfect position to walk everywhere. I nearly wore my shoes out covering so much ground on foot!I love exploring the city and because I was on my own I took this opportunity to get better acquainted with my new camera - stopping to photograph whatever caught my eye. I've always thought Sydney was a beautiful place, but sometimes I think you see things more acutely when looking through a lens - for this trip I found the city to be a visual feast.

Following a better path

Image source here

I lost my way in Blog Land recently. Boy, it's a rabbit warren out there. We bloggers are prolific! There are so many wonderful inspirational writers, not to mention photographers. The problem is, I found myself drooling, no....getting a bit caught up in the consumable blogs. I call them that because for me they are, in essence, like beautiful shop window displays; "selling" everything from designer mummy outfits and magazine style home interiors to perfectly-gorgeously outfitted children. Some portray this with intention (for business purposes), while others present this image because it's how they live and who they are. I love those (a fore mentioned) things, I do, but in my heart of hearts I know it's wrong. Well, not wrong, just decadent and indulgent and against my gut feeling 'that our beautiful planet is getting choked up with all this unnecessary materialistic stuff'. 

I don't know about you, but it's hard for me to not want stuff. Perhaps women have that 'gatherer' trait ingrained. We don't spend all our days gathering nourishment and sustenance anymore, so we've moved on to harvesting wants or desirables. Part of why I love our small island life is we are shut off from consumerism, on a big scale anyway. I guess you could label me an "anti-consumerist'. I avoid chain stores and mass-produced as much as I can. The appalling air and lighting in shopping centres naturally deters me from entering anyway. But I'm not going to sit here and make out I don't enjoy wandering markets and specialty stores. What is it about shopping? Why do we enjoy touching, seeing and smelling new things? I wish I knew.

On the flip side, burrowing further and deeper has led me to discover some lovely bloggers who seem to be a bit more like me.  People who get excited when they dig up a real op shop treasure. Folks who have outdated mismatched furniture, crumbs on the floor and kids wearing hand-me-downs or home-made. Tree hugging writers who think about food miles and free-trade, chemical free cleaning, whole-food living and recycling. People who celebrate simplicity in general. Ah, kindred spirits. You know who you are! Thank you for keeping it real and giving me SO MUCH inspiration. xxx