Bella Come un Tramonto; The Blue Mountains and Homeward Bound
Bella come un Tramonto
The Blue Mountains and Homeward Bound
“Bella come un tramonto”—Italian for “beautiful like the sunset.”
When I first began working on La Bohème in 2023, this line struck me, and it still does. In Mimi’s final moments, Rodolfo calls her “bella come un’aurora”—beautiful like the dawn. She replies softly, “bella come un tramonto.”
For me, that reply carries something profound: Mimi is reminding us that beauty isn’t only in beginnings. Sunsets, like life, are beautiful precisely because they end.
And just like that, our Australian adventure had to end too—but not before one last, unforgettable week.
Back to Sydney
We landed from Darwin at a brutal 6 a.m., but Sydney makes up for rude wakeups with infrastructure Torontonians can only dream about. In under an hour we were back in our favourite suburb, Parramatta.
After a nap and some laundry, we had dinner with Dom’s aunty and uncle. I cooked pico de gallo with pork tacos and finished with my mom’s apple crisp recipe. It was a hit. Of course I was busy cooking so no pictures were taken, but Dom's aunty made these beautiful almond croissants.
Father’s Day and Rugby
The next day happened to be Father’s Day in Australia, giving us the perfect chance to reconnect with family. That afternoon, we headed to see the Parramatta Eels play the Newcastle Knights in a rugby league match.
In the nosebleeds.
I’m not usually one for sports, but this was pure fun—and our team won by a landslide! Dom’s cousin and her fiancé came with us, and we all celebrated after the game with wings and pints.
The bar had a cheeky timer game: stop the clock at exactly 5.000 seconds and you win free wings. None of us managed it, but we came close enough to laugh about it.
The winner was Jake!
Into the Blue Mountains
The following day we drove out to the Blue Mountains, named for the misty blue haze released by eucalyptus trees. The cliffs—mostly sandstone—tower over valleys where the wind howls and echoes.
We started with a morning of walks: Echo Point and the Three Sisters, Mermaid Caves, and Hargraves Lookout. After so much exploring, we stopped at a little café where I had the most delicious pumpkin soup. (In Australia, nearly all squash are called “pumpkin”—fun fact!) It was so good, I needed a nap afterwards.
The Three Sisters at Echo Point
Lincoln Rock and a Surprise
That evening, Dom was set on watching the sunset from Lincoln Rock. Usually it’s a peaceful spot, but when we arrived an entire tour bus had spilled onto the cliff, selfie sticks everywhere.
I didn’t mind too much—tourists are part of the deal—but Dom wasn’t impressed. We scrambled down to a quieter ledge, away from the crowd. The view from there was breathtaking, the sky painted in glowing orange and pink.
And then Dom revealed his real reason for bringing me there…
No description needed:)
The Journey Home
The trip back was smooth, thanks to Qantas. Comfortable seats, surprisingly good food, and the biggest airplane bathroom I’ve ever seen. Even better, the man sitting next to us moved to an empty row, so we stretched out across three seats during the 14-hour flight. Bliss.
We landed in Vancouver to breakfast—at 8 p.m. (Jet lag logic.) Then came the inevitable downgrade: crammed into WestJet for the final hop to Toronto, where we landed just as the sun was rising.
Waiting to board in Sydney. Homeward Bound.
A Sunset, A Sunrise
We saw countless sunsets on this trip, but only one sunrise: the one that greeted us as we arrived home. Exhausted, yes—but also deeply moved.
Our trip was bella come un tramonto—beautiful like the sunset. But our life together is bella come un’aurora—beautiful like a new dawn.
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