These are a few of the things that I miss.

Last week I watched a slideshow of the 2008 Sculpture By the Sea and had a massive wave of homesickness for Sydney. Sydney in the summertime is one of the best places in the world, you can't beat it. Especially during the month of Jan, when most people take time off work and everything slows down. 

Jan in Sydney is made up of beach lazying weekends, after work swims at the beach, cold beer on a sunny veranda at your local and seafood... lots and lots of seafood.

Sculpt

I'm heading home for a visit in Jan, two months away and ever since I made the decision to make a trip home I can't help but spend time every day missing things from home. Sometimes its easy to forget that I now live in a country with a completely different climate and completely different set of rules. Other times, like when I'm stuck in traffic for three hours because a crane fell on the road cutting off five lanes of traffic... its easy to feel like Dorothy lost in Oz.

01_icecreamvan2

Anne's Miss List:

1. Bacon & Egg rolls (with real pork bacon and not dodgy, crappy beef bacon)

2. Shampoo formulated for people with blonde hair (seriously, this does not exist in the Middle East)

3. Breakfasts at beachside cafes, with seats outside

4. Shops and cafes that leave bowls of water outside for thirsty pooches

5. Dogs... its rare you see a dog in the UAE. There is a boxer who lives across the frond from me but we only see him if he swims over

6. Inexpensive, good Aussie wine

7. Books by Salman Rushdie - banned in the UAE for obvious reasons

8. Bondi and its massive Jewish population - also banned in the UAE

9. Good manchester... can't find a shop that sells good sheets, or good mattress covers or anything

10. On demand stock of beef stock cubes

Tamarama

11. My favourite restaurants - North Bondi Italian, Fish Face, La Locanda, Wet Paint.. the list goes on

12. While we're on food - home delivered mexican

13. Outside wine bars - namely Gazebo Wine Garden

14. Bunga Bar on a Sunday afternoon

15. Drive through bottle shops

16. Bottle shops full stop

17. Bondi to Bronte walk

18. Swimming at Clovelly

19. Live music

SculpturebytheSea

20. Walking through parks

21. Bernaise sauce (another item of food I just can't locate anywhere)

22. Good fresh bread - all the bread here is filled with sugar and burns quickly

23. The sound of the drinks trolley on a Friday afternoon at work

24.  Skype

25. Pork, Pork, Pork and more pig products

26. Oxford St and its dodgy sex shops

27. Gay bars

28. People actually being able to pronounce and spell my name

29. Wait staff who don't mess up your order and deliver it on time

30. Courtsey wave when driving - general driving manners that doesn't include flashing headlights at you to move out of the way, tail-gating people, speeding over 100KMs over the limit and using your hazard lights... when there is no freaking hazard

I could probably ramble off a few more... but I'll leave it at that. No doubt after two weeks in Aus I will follow this up with a 'These are a few of my favourite Dubai things..."

Please feel free to leave me with comments of things I should be missing... or even things that I def won't be missing..