Sydney in Christmas is a magical time of the year, made all the more iconic by the loud noisy chorus of Cicadas, the heavenly scent of Frangipani and the lemony Magnolia Grandiflora in the warm sunshine. The screeching of Rainbow Lorikeet squadrons overhead and, of an evening, the plumes of large Fruit Bats heading off to gorge on the overripe figs that line the Harbour foreshore. It’s been hot with blazing sun, though thankfully we missed the 42 degrees of late last week. For now, it’s warm harbour breezes and endless sunny days. 

It’s wonderful to be back in the Emerald City (the Big Smoke) – looking particularly fine after years of major building and engineering works, like the impressive Metro and the ever-expanding Light Rail. Ever taller skyscrapers appear as if by magic, squeezed into slithers of space in the CBD and clad in shimmering glass. It’s amazing they still have room for more, but more come year after year. Sydney is rapidly changing – seemingly every time we venture down here from our home in Far North Queensland. 

We’re staying in our old haunt of Elizabeth Bay, a gorgeous small pocket of harbour-side elegance. 30’s/40’s Art Deco apartment buildings jostle with Moorish inspired mansions, 50’s post-modernist blocks of harbour-side flats and, increasingly, stunning brand-new apartment complexes with pleasing nods to their Art Deco architectural surrounds. They look impressive and so they should with their sky-high prices. Sydney ranks in the top 5 of the world’s most expensive and least affordable property markets, often placed second behind Hong Kong. 

It’s been wonderful being back in glorious Sydney, albeit briefly before we head to the frozen north of Canada for January.