Sydney (I'll Come Running)
Straight from the airport
(I'll come runnin')
Cut through the customs line
(I'll come runnin')
Bust down the courthouse doors
(I'll come runnin')
Sydney, I will testify
(I'll come runnin')
Sydney, I will testify to ya
At this very time last year, I visited Sydney, Australia for the first time. This wasn't an ordinary tourist vacation, though. In April of 2016, I found the greatest love I have ever known. A little more than 2 months later, that love would span hundreds, and later thousands, of miles. From Chicago to DC, and then DC to Hobart, Tasmania, and then Hobart to Akita, Japan, my love was painfully far from my side.
It had been exactly 100 days since we had last held each other and 100 days can feel like an eternity when you first fall in love with someone. But during those 100 days there was the hope of Sydney on the horizon. When our relationship began, we already knew we would be going abroad to different places. It was a bit intimidating to think of only dating someone for 2 months and then having to be apart for so long, but I think we both knew it would be worth every second. In our very first discussion about traveling abroad, he promised we would meet somewhere in the world and we did whatever we could to make that happen.
Sydney was the place we chose. Sydney is an incredible city. It is one of my favorite cities in the world, right behind Florence and New York City. The air feels incredibly clean, even when it is soaked with the salt water. The streets are clean and naturally, everyone is beyond friendly because that is the way of the Australian people. I love big cities and I love the ocean and Sydney is truly the best of both worlds. I never dreamed that Sydney would become such an important place to me, but it was and it is. For 100 days, I counted down until I would finally step off the plane in that city. It represented a temporary cessation of my suffering. My heart ached every day and the only way I could get through such an emotionally taxing time was to focus all of my energy on Sydney and what awaited me there.
And it was everything I hoped it would be, and more. In all of my life, I don't think I was ever happier than I was in those five days. Not only was I reunited with my love (in that first moment when I laid eyes on him at the train station I was overwhelmed by the most powerful emotion I have ever experienced), but Sydney was a place I had always wanted to visit. I had finally made it. I also owe the greatest day of my life to that city. We went on a whale watching cruise and immediately after we left the Sydney harbor we saw a mama humpback whale teaching her calf how to breach. They repeated this undoubtedly tiresome activity for an entire hour and I spent a great deal of that hour crying the happiest of tears.
The day I had to leave Sydney was an incredibly difficult one. I probably would have given almost anything to stay in that remarkable city. There was so much left to experience, so many people I had yet to meet. I wanted to know that magical place inside and out, and I had barely scratched the surface of what it had to offer.
Sydney will always represent the end of a long and painful wait and a place of hope and happiness. An eternal reminder of "this too shall pass". It is everything that is beautiful about love and being reunited. I wish I could have lived in the dream that was my time in Sydney for all of eternity. I will look back fondly on my time there for the rest of my life and it will always be my city of love.
Rick and Ilsa may always have Paris, but I'll always have Sydney.
(I'll come runnin')
Cut through the customs line
(I'll come runnin')
Bust down the courthouse doors
(I'll come runnin')
Sydney, I will testify
(I'll come runnin')
Sydney, I will testify to ya
At this very time last year, I visited Sydney, Australia for the first time. This wasn't an ordinary tourist vacation, though. In April of 2016, I found the greatest love I have ever known. A little more than 2 months later, that love would span hundreds, and later thousands, of miles. From Chicago to DC, and then DC to Hobart, Tasmania, and then Hobart to Akita, Japan, my love was painfully far from my side.
It had been exactly 100 days since we had last held each other and 100 days can feel like an eternity when you first fall in love with someone. But during those 100 days there was the hope of Sydney on the horizon. When our relationship began, we already knew we would be going abroad to different places. It was a bit intimidating to think of only dating someone for 2 months and then having to be apart for so long, but I think we both knew it would be worth every second. In our very first discussion about traveling abroad, he promised we would meet somewhere in the world and we did whatever we could to make that happen.
Sydney was the place we chose. Sydney is an incredible city. It is one of my favorite cities in the world, right behind Florence and New York City. The air feels incredibly clean, even when it is soaked with the salt water. The streets are clean and naturally, everyone is beyond friendly because that is the way of the Australian people. I love big cities and I love the ocean and Sydney is truly the best of both worlds. I never dreamed that Sydney would become such an important place to me, but it was and it is. For 100 days, I counted down until I would finally step off the plane in that city. It represented a temporary cessation of my suffering. My heart ached every day and the only way I could get through such an emotionally taxing time was to focus all of my energy on Sydney and what awaited me there.
And it was everything I hoped it would be, and more. In all of my life, I don't think I was ever happier than I was in those five days. Not only was I reunited with my love (in that first moment when I laid eyes on him at the train station I was overwhelmed by the most powerful emotion I have ever experienced), but Sydney was a place I had always wanted to visit. I had finally made it. I also owe the greatest day of my life to that city. We went on a whale watching cruise and immediately after we left the Sydney harbor we saw a mama humpback whale teaching her calf how to breach. They repeated this undoubtedly tiresome activity for an entire hour and I spent a great deal of that hour crying the happiest of tears.
The day I had to leave Sydney was an incredibly difficult one. I probably would have given almost anything to stay in that remarkable city. There was so much left to experience, so many people I had yet to meet. I wanted to know that magical place inside and out, and I had barely scratched the surface of what it had to offer.
Sydney will always represent the end of a long and painful wait and a place of hope and happiness. An eternal reminder of "this too shall pass". It is everything that is beautiful about love and being reunited. I wish I could have lived in the dream that was my time in Sydney for all of eternity. I will look back fondly on my time there for the rest of my life and it will always be my city of love.
Rick and Ilsa may always have Paris, but I'll always have Sydney.
 |
| My love and the Sydney harbor. |
This was a very heartwarming post. I love how Sydney holds such a special place in your heart, even though you've visited only once. I can only imagine how the memories of the city are tied up in the memories of your loved one. Throughout your time studying abroad, looking forward to Sydney meant also looking forward to your boyfriend. I, too, have places on this Earth that remind me of certain times in my life or certain people in my life. I hope you have the chance to travel back to Sydney one day together to make new memories there.
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