And then it was done....

Thank you for hanging out and being a part of Wish You Were Here. 

For those who shared their stories - thanks! It was such a fun exhibition to work on because of your wonderful words and memories. Thanks also to my gypsy friend and the best person I know from Dubbo who helped put it up (and my late night helper in taking it down). And also to my bike gang member for designing the wonderful poster.  

It was also lovely to see so many faces at the event, Canberra friends thank you for coming and for your ongoing support. Out of towners supported a lot from afar too, care of the internets and phones and things.  To summarise - everyone is awesome.

Until next time....

Thanks to Daniel for letting me share some of his photos!

Wish You Were Here - China

My Dad was an engineer with BHP for his whole career and spent some time in China working on projects. When my parents came to visit my Dad would tell us stories about his time in China and one day Adele suggested that we all take a holiday to China together. The idea was brilliant: My Dad got to see places that held special memories for him; my Mum got to see the places she had missed out on while she looked after us kids; for Adele and I it was our first major overseas holiday; but most importantly was that my wife, my parents and I got to live an experience together that we had only ever heard about.

Dwaine

Wish You Were Here - Jerusalem

One cold January morning our little family wandered around the quiet streets of Jerusalem's old city on Shabbat. The first time we visited our daughter was 3 months and we were still too much in the blur of the feed, sleep, cry cycle to appreciate its complicated beauty. This time we found ourselves stumbling upon the same streets much more relaxed. Our daughter ran up and down the narrow, cobbled streets giggling. You can't escape the fact that Jerusalem is contested and bloodied and tired. Yet for a visitor, what is remarkable is that life continues. That morning, people were doing what they do most days - buying bread, praying, greeting friends.

Living in the Levant now when war is brutal and too common, it's easy to dismiss the remarkable fact that these communities continue to survive and thrive. Despite the violence, their incompetent governments, weak economies, poor health and education. There is much joy in this region and all of its people have been incredibly kind and generous to us. Spending a carefree morning in Old City once again reminded me that we are very lucky to live here.

Lavinia

Wish You Were Here - Mystery Bay, NSW South Coast

My favourite holiday place is the Fig Tree Cottage (Mystery Bay, NSW South Coast). I like it because we can bring our dog Buddy and because I turned 6 there. I also saw an echidna there.

Max (6 years)

Wish You Were Here - Boulders Beach, Cape Town, South Africa

We drove towards the most southern point of Africa passing lush mountain ranges and old seaside towns. The steep green cliffs parted ways just enough to provide a glimpse of the soft blue hues ahead. I'm standing on warm ginger sand, feeling the waves grace my feet and soothing my almost bruleed skin, watching hundreds of penguins sunbathing in all their glory on large rigid white boulders without a care in world. And at this moment, I don't have any either.

Kerusha

Wish You Were Here - Nambucca Heads

Among my most memorable holidays are beach holidays with Charlie and Shep. I don't know what made me first think of renting a cottage at the beach. Actually I do. I loved going to my mum's cottage at MacMasters, but I wanted a new beach to explore.

We went to a few places over the years. But wherever we went, we took a floatie toy for Shep. He was obsessed. Obsessed.

Summer or mid-winter, as soon as the floatie toy appeared he was fixated on it. It required planning and coordination to distract Shep, then hide the toy from sight, so we could leave the beach and go home with out a yelping and jumping-up tantrum. We also had a protocol for when to stop: "If you are too tired to shake yourself, you are too tired to chase that floatie toy out into the surf again.". Sometimes we would wait a bit longer and he would give a weary shake. Fling the floatie toy and Shep would burst into action again.

Fiona

Wish You Were Here - Beirut

Because you can have an entire conversation using only three or four words of Arabic, and there is a word which can be described as a kind of after the fact Bon Appetit for having your hair cut. Because everyone famous is Lebanese, and everything was invented in Lebanon, unless proven otherwise. Because of the somewhat organised chaos of the traffic, where red lights or one way streets are merely a suggestion, and service taxis appear to be trying to mow you down when all they really want to do is offer you a ride. These are merely a few of the many reasons why I'll always consider Beirut my second home. Perhaps I viewed my time there through rose coloured glasses to some extent, but I always enjoyed the view. 

Mark

Wish You Were Here - Iceland

Not sure why we chose the furthest place possible across the world to travel to with Felix. But Iceland is the baby among countries - the newest formed, beautiful and left alone to be wild and natural. Snuggling close to keep warm, we saw black volcanic beaches covered in ice, blue glacial lakes and tremendous waterfalls that reminded Felix of his nightly showers.

Kelly and Ben

Wish You Were Here - Seaforth

In 1985 we came back to visit Australia, to show off the new baby. There was a pilot strike, and my Dad broke his toe in a hotel room and I think it is the first time that my sister Sophie and I got to run around free.

My Dad was at a conference so my Mum, Sophie, myself and baby Imogen went to stay in the tiny town outside Mackay where my Grandma lived. Seaforth was a punctuation mark at that point. Established as a holiday town 80 years before, it was out of fashion.
Weatherboard houses on stilts, a church that met once every two weeks, empty caravan park and miles and miles of beach gently touched by sea that the coral reef takes the waves out of.

We stayed in a house opposite the beach, about a metre and a half of bitumen road and then a run over the grassy dunes. Mum could see us from the balcony, where she sat feeding the baby. Sophie and I were allowed to run down to the beach on our own as often as we liked. We collected coconuts, I saw a cuttlefish for the first time and the washed up bodies of stingrays. We drew ‘houses’ in the sand and invited each other over for dinner. The path down to the beach had a bush growing beside it where the green ants were making a nest, folding leaves over each other. We were petrified of the green ants, they only hastened our run to the sand.

My Mum would come down in the cool of the afternoon and we'd all walk up to the local shop to buy heart shaped ice creams.

Verity

Wish You Were Here - Benalla

Benalla isn't the place most people would send a postcard from but its my favourite holiday destination. Every trip there makes me feel centred. I love walking along the river with the dog, brushing horses, bird watching and counting calves. In the summer we swim all day and in the winter we spend hours in front of the fire.

Gina

Wish You Were Here - Portugal

Is it a lack of sensory awareness or overwhelming greed that centres travel memories around food? Why is the meal shared in a foreign land at the forefront of a memory rather than the experience had? The baguette shared at the base of the Eifell Tower is as memorable as the climb, as is the early morning trip to the bakers for our breakfast each day. The hearty bowl of soup and cuppa offered at a tea room on an island off Scotland after a brisk ride around it’s circumference is the first thing that springs to mind when thinking of that trip, so are the pig’s ears that barely stayed in our stomachs in Barcelona when so much more was seen and done. Is it the sign of a greedy person?

The meals that could be afforded by hungry backpackers are still remembered over 20 years later; the pizza in Rome, bread in Nice, salami in Venice enjoyed in the sun. Olives stuffed with anchovies eaten on a rooftop in Seville, blood orange gelato, hot pot complete with chicken claws. A pork chop presented on a white plate at a worker’s café in Tuscany. Our niece crawled from table to table to be scooped up by burly men, cuddled, kissed and placed back on the ground while we enjoyed the offerings of the day. This happened so many years ago, but still I see that chop! The fresh porcini made into risotto, zucchini flowers fried for a starter; Italy's finest cities have been visited, but all I remember are the meals shared. The whole barbequed fish fed in pieces to our 12 month old son, and the sweetest juiciest, fresh peaches enjoyed on the lawn followed by a hose down in Portugal. Haggis shared with midgies in Scotland, dumplings in Hong Kong; I could go on and on.

We have been so fortunate to be able to have wonderful people to share the table with us in so many different places.

The Falshaws

Wish You Were Here - Drive Towards Mullumbimby

Finding Inspiration

When I crest the hill I see the curve of the land cupping the bay and holding it up to the horizon. As I drive towards Mullumbimby, hugged in the palm of the land, the thumb of the lighthouse is at one end of the bay and the skyscraper fingers of the Gold Coast are at the other.

Each time I see this I feel the same kind of wonder that I experienced the day Dad had opened his hands to show me the surprise nestled inside; a blue diamond butterfly that had flicked its wings before flying into the sky.

Chris

Wish You Were here - Kyoto

Kyoto is my favourite place in the world to holiday, we went about 22 times in our three years in Japan. This photo captures what I most love about the city – an uncomfortable but captivating mix of the old world and the new.

Kyoto is an ugly city that is full of the most wonderful secrets , the best of all these of course being the mysterious world of the Geisha. This photo is taken at the annual Maiko dance which is held in Spring. Before the dance those who have paid for a premium ticket can mix with the Maiko in a garden of Cherry Blossoms in full bloom. Gorgeously decorated Maiko politely accept the gaze of suited middle aged men and gawking tourists alike before performing beautiful traditional dances.

Fiona

Wish You Were Here - Cook Islands

Kia Orana! Sitting on our dear friends’ veranda in Rarotonga, we are mesmerised by the lagoon that rims the island and its ever-changing hues of blue. Our kids jump for hours on the trampoline or swing in the hammock, while we reminisce about old times, chat about our kids and politics, and laugh.

Our conversation and the kids’ playing is occasionally interrupted as we spot a whale gliding by just beyond the reef.

We hunt for hermit crabs and snorkel almost every day. Our kids squeal with delight through their snorkels as they spy on technicolour tropical fish, glistening trevally and vibrant blue starfish as big as dinner plates.

We explore Muri Lagoon on stand-up paddle boards and get quite a surprise when a stray, but friendly, dog decides to jump on board for a ride.

So many wonderful memories from our time in the Cook Islands – it will always be a special place for us.

Nicole 

Wish You Were Here - Poachers Pantry, Hall

Dear Tom and Esther

It's the 8th of March and a cracking Canberra day. Blue skies, hot sun and a chill in the air. We all gather by the big old tree, its leaves just starting to turn. 

And I think. Weddings are a great way of bringing friends together. Friends who end up being family, you know. And while we are mostly gathered around this big old tree, you can't help but tell there are people afar. But in the end, no matter how near or far - the people who are your people are always close to your heart. No matter where they are.

Happy wedding day.

Karin

Wish You Were Here - Mt Feathertop - Snowy Mountains, Victoria

I am in a green downy cocoon, my toes are toasty but my nose and cheeks feel the bite of snow in the air. I curl forward, still curled up in my sleeping bag and unzip the tent door. The tent clings to backbone of the ridge, buffetted by the relentless elements, even the granite boulders and the snow gums bend in submission.

Rolling below me is a turbulent gold and bronze sea, billowing across the valley, drifting over the soft grey green tree tops, soft long white tendrils straying up to a sky that reaches all the way to the stars.

Melissa

Wish You Were Here - Italy

My happy moment in Italy

It was unexpected and perhaps that is why it became my happiest moment in Italy. Or perhaps it was the Italian opera in the background that made me feel so happy. Could it have been the fact that we were alone, away from everyone sitting on the edge of the canal? Maybe it was the water that offered that sense of tranquillity with the sun light illuminating between the spaces of the walls and onto the water. It could have just been the gelato? It must have been that feeling of accomplishment. We did find that artwork after all. What were the odds? But it was the simplest, happiest moment I had with you. Sitting there, with the fresh breeze through my hair, watching Italian men and children rowing their boats, watching the reflection in the water and staring back at you and enjoying the moment. Thank you for sharing that moment with me. I wish we could relive that moment again.

Sammy

Wish You Were Here - Istanbul

After months of stressful work, a long weekend weekend in Istanbul seems the perfect break. 

It’s Eid and the city is shoulder-to-shoulder from Sultanahmet to Taksim Square. I spend the weekend walking through seaside suburbs, crossing the Bosporus from Europe to Asia and back again, weaving my way through the crowds. It feels blissful to fall into bed each night physically exhausted and leg-sore. 

On my last day, I tour the food markets, taking in the bright colours and pungent smells and eating everything. My highlight is a plateful of waterbuffalo clotted cream with fresh figs and wild honey. I love this city. The blend of ancient and new. The tourist junk and incredible street style, the Orient meets modern Europe. 

Next time we'll go together.

Jane

Wish You Were Here - Venice

On our last night in Venice my husband and I went out for one last dinner at a small and very old restaurant just off the piazza where we were staying. As we left we could hear music playing. We turned the corner and the piazza was filled with Venetian couples dancing the tango at 10pm on a Tuesday night. My mind was completely blown by the way in which these people lived their lives.

During the day the piazza was a place where people met, watch the world go by and exchange the days gossip. In the afternoon it was a playground for the children. Of a night, a dance hall! As we sat watching them dance and eating our gelato, I remember thinking how much happier we would all be if we lived like that. I fell completely in love with the city.

Lauren

Wish You Were Here - Kyoto

Since I was old enough to remember, the pictures in our family album of Kiyomizu-dera fascinated me – the graceful, yet strong beauty of the wooden supports, make the temple stage seemingly both float above the trees, yet be firmly grounded on the mountain. 

From my first visit at the age of five, it has drawn me back whenever I am in Kyoto – to see it appearing from a sea of blossoms, or in a green flush of leaves, embraced by autumn hued momiji, or surrounded by the bare branches of winter. 

Even the name Clear Water temple on Sound of Feathers Mountain gives it a mystique that inspires and delights me – feelings that capture my love of Japan – its natural beauty, art, architecture, language, food, culture, and of course, its people.

Sara