Ho! Ho! Ho!

I'm in the midst of packing for our long vacation in the city of beaches, Sydney. Our domestic goddess proactively suggested that she would iron a few outfits for us to pack as we land on Christmas Eve and will probably swing straight into party mode. I don't know about Guillermo, but I sometimes have to pinch myself - we are so lucky to have her!

Guillermo is already vowing to take advantage of our apartment's proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, my head is filled with trips to the Sydney Fish Market which is second only to the Tsuji of Tokyo – tiger prawns, lobsters, top grade maguro (fatty tuna), smoked trout, yum...all my favourites!!

While I am sure I'll bring back a suitcase full of food (my mother has even managed to procure a jar of osmanthus preserved in syrup for me, bless her!), I am actually ferrying no small amount of Argentine delicacies on my way over (the types that would go pass a vigilant Sydney Customs Officer).

My parents fell in love with Yerba Mate when they came here for our wedding in 2005 so I've packed a couple of kilos. We're also bringing a few bottles of Malbec (each person is allowed 2 bottles), boxes of organic mate cocido, jars of La Salamandra's dulce de leche and Cuyen's organic rosehip jam as gifts.

Come to think of it, international trade probably started centuries ago due to human's natural curiosity and desires for what they cannot easily lay their hands on...