A day in the life

…. of well, ME 😃

I mean, not to sound too egocentric, but I did want to share what a day in my life looks like with you. Well, not just one day, I will zoom in on one day where I travel from a hostel in the heart of Sydney to a hostel in the heart of Melbourne and one day during my housesit in a suburb in Melbourne.

Sydney ☀️

Melbourne ❄️

Why?

Because I think it’s not always completely clear for most people what a day of a person in a big life transition looks like. And the misconception may arise that my life is forever fabulous because I am travelling and chasing my dreams.

So, here we go.

Day 1

Thursday 21st September 2023 (Sydney 🌤️ 24 ºC > Melbourne ☁️ 16 ºC)

Which was officially day 4 of my journey, which you can follow on my polarsteps page as well 🙌

That day I woke up extremely early (yes, even for me). I always try to catch at least one sunrise when I’m in a place for only a few days and coincidentally, this was also the perfect timing for my weekly phone call date with a close friend from home, who was just getting ready for bed.

So, alarm at 05:30. Which is usually at 05:45, so it wasn’t a major difference to be fair, and out the door at 6. I am currently staying at the YHA Sydney Harbour hostel in The Rocks, a very pretty and old part of town with lots of stairs and hills. It’s located at the foot of the Harbour Bridge and overlooks the Opera House from the rooftop terrace. The location of this hostel is SPOT ON.

Sunrise in Sydney

I went for a walk with a takeaway cup filled with tea while chatting on the phone. The sunrise was insane, and it was lovely catching up with my friend.

Full disclosure: what a lot of people don’t know about this part of travelling, the part where you just took off and said your goodbyes to loved ones and promising everyone to keep in touch, is that this is also the loneliest part of the trip. At least, for me. I am not in the mindset of a 20-year-old backpacker looking to become friends with just about anyone and going out on pub crawls anymore. I am here to start a new life for myself, and short and shallow conversations just don’t do anything for me anymore. It almost feels like having to deal with withdrawal symptoms from a very busy social life to a blank sheet and no one to really connect with yet.

Anyways, my flight to Melbourne was scheduled at 1PM so I had to make sure my backpack (just my carry-on backpack, because my suitcase hadn’t arrived at that time) was packed and I was ready to go.

The meal preps

Before leaving the hostel, I made breakfast (the simplest, most travel and budget friendly breakfast: warm oatmeal with apple), ate breakfast, and packed my prepped meal and snacks so I had something to eat at the airport. This is something I got way better at throughout the years and saved me a lot of money and worries about bowel issues.

I am one of those people who likes being at airports, so it’s not unusual for me to make my way to the airport 2 to 3 hours before my flight. So, I took the train to the airport around 10:00 and arrived there around 10:30.

At the airport, I spent time updating my admin, my mails, my financial plan (yes, I really have one of those), watching a movie, and reading a book on my e-reader.

The flight itself only took one hour and I arrived in Melbourne late that afternoon.

From bikini to beenie weather in one day 😄

The difference in temperature was pretty big for only a 1-hour flight, damn.

I know my way around Melbourne quite well, so I took the Skybus (the bus line between the airport and the city center) and walked to the next hostel, Selina Central, from Southern Cross Station. Which was a 20-minute walk.

After checking in the hostel, my suitcase arrived as well, and it was dropped in my room by the lovely staff. Which was perfect timing.

I made myself a simple dinner (“fresh soup” and crackers with cheese) and crawled into bed (with a little curtain, which I love) with a Netflix show I started watching. After a few hours in bed, I felt a little nauseous (I was about to get my period apparently) and went for a little walk around the block.

And that’s it.

On to the second day in the life of me.

Day 2

Thursday 28th September 2023 (Safety Beach, Melbourne ☀️ 17 ºC)

Which was officially day 11 of my journey.

For the curious minds who wonder what I do on a during housesits, the answer is this:

Not a lot to be completely fair. I usually don’t know anyone in the area, so I just live a very quiet and basic life. I eat healthy homecooked meals, go on a ton of walks, and rest.

These are the best places for me to reset, get back in touch with myself and my routines.

And for those who like lists, here’s a list of an average day in the housesit life:

1. Get up before 06:30

2. Walk the dog for a morning pee and poo

3. Do my morning routine

4. Go for a chai

5. Work on admin things on laptop, write, update my files (financial and personal files)

6. Hang around the house or at the beach

7. Read

8. Eat (a usually prepped) lunch

9. Take the dog for a long walk

10. Eat dinner while watching Netflix

11. More Netflix

12. Take the dog out for a final pee

13. Go to bed around 9

To get a bit more specific, though:

Today I got up at 06:40, which is quite late for me. It turns out, I was more exhausted from the past months of living the high life than I realized. I journaled for about 10 minutes, which I always do right after waking up. I write down the dreams I had (if I remember or even had any) and how I feel waking up that day.

After that, I brushed my teeth, went downstairs to prep my breakfast, boil some water, prep a glass of warm water with a teaspoon of coconut oil and a pinch of turmeric, did oil pulling (rinse coconut oil in my mouth for 10 minutes before spitting it out), walked the dog for 10 minutes, came back for a quick 20-minute yoga session (5 sun salutations and some stretches), rubbed myself in with coconut oil, and made my infamous banana oatmeal pancake for breakfast. With strawberries, peanut butter, and honey this time.

I did the dishes and took a bath after that.

It was time to do some grocery shopping, so I made my way to Aldi, which is a 10-minute walk from the house.

On my way back I got a chai at the cute bakery next to Aldi and walked home.

That’s when I crawled behind my laptop because I felt inspired and started typing this blogpost.

It really depends on the day whether I get inspired to write and actually finish something. Today feels like the day.

As for the rest of the day:

I will eat lunch after this. A lunch I prepped yesterday (rice, carrots, beetroots, tuna from a can and goat cheese). And will spend some time in the hammock in the backyard reading a book.

Around 4/5PM it’s time to walk the dog, so I’ll take him to the beach.

That’ll take me about an hour.

And after that I’ll get ready for the night.

I’m going to meal prep a quinoa salad for the next few days, eat a portion for dinner, and watch a movie on Netflix. I saw the new Murder Mystery movie (with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler) came out, so that is going to be the movie I’ll watch.

I will probably be in bed by 9.

And that’s it for day 2.

Wasn’t that unexpectedly underwhelming?

It really works for me, though. I love the quiet, the time to reflect, to catch up on sleep and “me time”.

And after this week of housesitting, I’ll probably be more than ready to continue my journey and jump on the train to Adelaide for the next adventure of my life.

I will keep you posted on whatever happens next!

Cheers!

Xoxo Domi

PS. Just in case you’re wondering: the seasons in Australia, at least for the southern part, are the exact opposite of those in Europe. Which means it’s early spring here, going into summer in December 😉.