Sitting in my short term AirBnb apartment in Darlinghust, a village of Sydney Australia, I listen to the rain patter and stream down the windows, drenching the poor souls below including my boyfriend Chris on his walk back home from work. As I revel in the sounds of nature in the midst of this bustling international city, I am struck by the beauty of this place. Our apartment view is of nothing in particular (no harbor bridges or opera houses in sight) but don’t let that make you think it is not absolutely, stunningly lovely and eye catching. The sky stretches for miles outside the window. It displays all manners of clouds; from the dark and bluish grey variety with rain falling from their bellies to the light and wispy white ones leaving their mark against the sky’s baby blue color. Our window has delivered a stream of delights since our arrival; some of note are of the Australian variety. This morning for instance, I turned toward a light banging on the window to find a yellow crested Cockatoo sitting on the sill, taking a peek inside our apartment. What a surprise and a welcomed change to the standard site of the New York pigeon I had become accustomed.

Later that afternoon, upon returning from the grocery store and enjoying another look out the window, I found two half arches of rainbows! Australia never fails to amaze.