Christmas Down Under

Spending Christmas alone is something that every long-term traveler has to accept. All the special days – birthdays, graduations, and the biggies like Christmas – aren’t spent eating your grandmother’s pie with your cousin Brad as your Dad sleeps in front of the TV. Nope. We travelers spend these holidays in a hostel common room drinking a bottle of €2 wine with SvÜrgen, the Viking dude in the bunk above you. And I’m here to say there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s awesome actually - everyone should spend at least one holiday with a Viking. So as a weathered traveler, it was strange yet awesome for me to head to Melbourne this Christmas to spend the holidays with my Uncle Tony, Aunt Angela, and cousins Mick and Pat. I was finally spending time with the fam. And traveling. Living the dream… Let’s just say it was sweet. We’ve never spent Christmas in such a different place. Instead of two-feet of snow (what up NY) we had 41 C heat (that’s 106 F America). Instead of deep-fried turkey (what up Tennessee) we had jumbo shrimp, salmon, and a lobster like shellfish called a Moreton Bay Bug. Needless to say, the food was amazing, but the craziest part was that CAZ ATE SEAFOOD. It was an Aussie Christmas miracle. The weather is different, the food is fresh, and the summer is just getting started. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a cooler way to end the holiday season than with the start of summer. And I’m pretty sure that all the reindeers down here have red-noses. You know…sunburn. Hey O.