Really Moving In

So on Monday morning I decided to chase up what was happening to my belongings which had arrived in Sydney 2 weeks earlier. At least they told me they'd arrived and were in their bonded warehouse, so I knew they hadn't dropped off the back of the boat on the way over!  However, I had no idea how long customs & quarantine clearance was likely to take. Within a couple of hours of sending the email, I had a response to say they'd been cleared and were going to be delivered Friday - 5 months to the day from when I left the UK!!

I quickly arranged to take the day of work and started to get excited about discovering all my stuff again! It's amazing how quickly you forget about things when they've been packed away for 5 months!

The day before, I got a call to advise me they'd be arriving about 7.30am and would take about 2 hrs... no lie-in on my day off then! In fact it was looking like I wouldn't get a day off anyway & would be going into the Sydney office to sort of some month end issues... no rest for the wicked!

In the end, they arrived about 8.15am... 2 lovely guys who were very organised and got everything up the 21 steps (yes I did have to count them to advise the removal company! ) in double-quick time. I was put to work checking off each of the numbered boxes as they came in and in between I was manically emptying some of the easy stuff so they could at least take some boxes away with them!

By 9.30am, everything was in the apartment and they asked me whether I wanted help with unpacking. I declined... I haven't even decided where everything's going yet, so it won't help if someone else is unpacking & asking where I want it!  After all the racing around I was feeling hungry, so I had some toast and then headed off to the office. I didn't mind going in, but I'd already arranged to meet a friend for drinks at the Bar At The End Of The Pier in Walsh Bay around 4pm, and wasn't going to miss that!

With work out of the way, we spent a lovely couple of hours in this marvellous place - nect door to Sydney Theatre Company and so tucked away you would miss it if you didn't know where to look!  Lovely views across the harbour to Lunar Park and the Harbour Bridge virtually next door to you! Perfect place to enjoy Sunday as the lights come on in the city. Both food and drink were delicious & not particularly expensive and I could quite happily have spent the whole night there! However, NRL beckoned and I had to be at ANZ Stadium for the 7.45pm start. I could have said it wasn't worth the train fare because my lovely Rabbitohs lost, but the Roosters played extremely well, so it was a good game to see.

After my fun-packed Friday, the weekend was all about getting the apartment sorted. The sitting room was first & didn't take too long as it's mainly furniture rather than stuff.  Then DVDs, CDs, books & files and I was very impressed that I managed to fit all my files from my loft into my built in bookcases in the bedroom. The rest of my books, films & music fitted in the built-ins and my small bookcases, which means I can use my tall narrow bookcase for glasses & drinks!

After that it was clothes, all of which are looking very crumpled!  I think I shall need to have lots of hot showers so I can steam my coats, but after the winter we've had I'm wondering when on earth I'm going to wear them!

The kitchen was the last place to sort out (apart from all the lift stuff which is currently housed in the spare room) and it was lovely to get all my decent saucepans and crockery out and cook a meal! It was all packed really well and out of 6 boxes of breakables, I only had 3 breakages..  my plastic rice steamer, 1 wine glass from a set of 4 and 1 Wedgwood pasta bowl from a set of 4 in the 'Paris' design which was discontinued a few years ago.  I shall be making a claim on the insurance and stay hunting in eBay for a replacement.

With most things sorted, I ventured of to buy a few bits & pieces... light bulbs for the lamps I've now got & Aussie plugs for the same. UK plugs are the same voltage, so you only have to take one plug off and put the Aussie one on. The choice of plugs is surprising though... different colours and different types of wiring - either the plug will sit flat against the wall (so it will sit behind furniture) or it has it's lead sticking out at 90º to the wall meaning you can't sit anything in front of it and it looks unsightly!  Make sure you get the right one! The plugs come with wiring instructions, which is good news as the live & neutral wires suit the opposite way around to in a UK plug! Anyway, I successfully word my lamps and managed to bring over exactly the right ones and the right number for this apartment! So by Sunday evening, I was able to sit & relax in relative calm and beautiful surroundings. It suddenly feels really lovely to be at home as it feels like my home now!