I had the ultimate deja vu experience last night when I caught a train to Lewisham, in Sydney’s inner west.
My dear friend Sam lives a few blocks from the station and had invited me over for prosecco on her balcony.
As I stepped onto the platform I got all tight in the chest. In my 20s I walked down those train steps every night, then traversed the few blocks up onto New Canterbury Road. And, in the darkness, everything looked EXACTLY THE SAME.
Once on the main road, even the old shops remained – Young Murat’s Rug Warehouse, the discount paint store where we got the cheap supplies to paint our first house …
My friend also lives across the road from the best Turkish pizza joint in the world. It’s been more than a decade since I had my last pide there, but I remember it like it was yesterday. In fact, we sent her husband across to get my two old favourites – Turkish sausage with egg, spinach and cheese, and eggplant, onion and tomato.
Still freaking excellent.
Despite the fact our first home had a bikie gang over the back fence and a petrol station over the front fence, I have such lovely memories of those years. Well, apart from the time we got the bathroom renovated while I had a gastro bug, that wasn’t much fun.
But the parties, they were awesome. Ah the ’90s … how I loved you …
My friend did the hard sell for us to move back, assuring me my arty eldest would LOVE Dulwich Hill High. But I think we’ve staked our claim in another neck of the Sydney woods for the foreseeable future.
Although that Turkish sausage pizza could almost sway me … especially if you threw in a Portuguese custard tart for dessert from Sweet Belem …
Where was your first home? Do you miss it?
housegoeshome 
I love Lewisham. Our first place in Sydney was in Hurlstone Park so we drove along New Canterbury Rd quite a lot. Alas I can no longer venture too close to Lewisham as there is someone there who wants me dead and I would hate to bump into her!
Oooh, that sounds scary!
Yes, think of Kathy Bates from Misery and you will understand my fear.
Ha, I used to live on Wardell, so know most of these places. Hurlstone Park is great (the best bowls club in the world, tell no-one) but I just can’t believe the asking prices for houses (smaller than ours, mind) have gone up HALF A MILLION DOLLARS in the last eight months!
I can’t believe the prices ’round here.
Voted at Dulwich Hill PS the other week and was cheered by how much of a sense of community there was there. Bit different from other places…
How bizarre – we lived at 4 Wardell.