Before we moved here, the thought of a 4 hour plane ride would cause me to devote too much time to making sure I had enough for the kids to do. Any longer than that and I was calculating how much battery time I would be able to squeeze out of each electronic device - and if it appeared I might come up short I would go buy a battery backup. My my how things have changed! The trip to Sydney was 7 1/2 hours and the flight home from Auckland was 9 1/2 hours...and I didn't stress a minute about it! The girls have become quite the experienced fliers ...and we flew Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines rocks!
Sydney is a BEAUTIFUL city! There is water everywhere - and the water is stunning! Ferries zipping people everywhere, beautiful green trees and flowers everywhere and all kinds of quaint little neighborhoods. Old Town is so charming - I wish I had had more time to just explore that little section.
Below are notes from the journal I keep:
December 20, 2010:
We are staying in Darling Harbour which is a very pretty harbor completely lined with cafes and restaurants.
For our first morning, we set out on the ferry to the Taronga Zoo. The ferry was quite nice and had fantastic views of the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. I was initially a little shocked at how small the opera seemed, but it seemed to grow each time we passed it.
The zoo was very nice, although the winds were so high that they closed the gondola. Thankfully we brought sweaters because it was downright cold! Truthfully...anything below 80 degrees now feels awfully cool, however we felt better because even the locals were chilled.
First thing we went to the koala exhibit. The very first time we have ever seen a koala in person! They were all mostly sleeping - but adorable nonetheless.
We saw just a few more exhibits before the storm clouds started rolling in. We were very cold at this point so decided to head back, particularly since we did not pack umbrellas. However, the next ferry was not for another 1.5 hours. So we walked back up and had some lunch. Now, we have been in Asia for 5 months. We finally leave Asia and what do we have for lunch? Stir fry noodles, vegetables and steamed white rice!
December 21, 2010:
We eagerly anticipated my mom & dad’s arrival and had a very joyful reunion after not seeing them for 5 months!
Today’s weather was clear and warm - just an absolutely beautiful day. However, this is forecasted to be our only nice day so I decided it needed to be our day at the beach. We ferried to Circular Quay and then hopped on the Manley Beach ferry. It was a beautiful day to be out on the harbor.
We stopped for a quick bite as soon as we landed. Nice scenery...but since when does a salad with pork mean lettuce with a ton of cubed pork belly?? Yuck!
From there walked onwards to the beach. It is a beautiful, albeit crowded, beach. The water is simply a breathtaking tourqoise which I could not believe existed in such a heavily populated city. It was, however, quite cold! Elle loved collecting shells, but we were not prepared for a long afternoon at the beach and promptly got an ice cream and headed back to the ferry home.
December 22, 2010:
We had reservations to meet our friends from Singapore, the Cione family, for a private breakfast with the koalas at the Wildlife World. We got ourselves up at 6:30 and made it there on time....only to find that there was a problem with the reservation. They had no knowledge of our breakfast. Fortunately we were able to reschedule to the following day and the 9 of us went for breakfast at Pancakes on the Rocks. Pancakes on the Rocks should be renamed “Ice Cream and Pancakes” because nearly every dish they served with breakfast came with 1-3 scoops of ice cream!
We got back to the room and proceeded to get awfully lazy. The kids played video games and Mom & I decided it was a good time to wrap presents. It took us nearly 5 hours! During that time Mike took the girls to the Aquarium where they had a great time.
December 23, 2010:
Today we set out, once again, after waking at 6:30 for our breakfast with the koalas. What a fantastic morning! It is such an unassuming building and I really could not believe that any type of great exhibit could rest behind the walls...but I was proven quite wrong. We received exceptional service and were able to see these adorable creatures up close and personal. We could touch them and wander amongst them. When it came time to pictures, they made sure the leaves and bears were situated just so. Really, just a great experience.
From there, we met up with Mom & Dad and an old friend from Ventura. Tristan, Web-O, Jamie and Jessie. We had an absolutely wonderful day! We met at the Town Hall and then walked on to see the store fronts at one of their major department stores. Each window was a marionette scene set to a Christmas carol. Elle really was entranced and loved each one.
We walked over to a green in front of the cathedral and ran into a chess game being played in the park. The girls were very interested so we sat and watched for a good 25 minutes until the elder Greek man admitted defeat.
We walked from there down to the Botanical Gardens and had a beautiful picnic in the park. The greens were beautiful and the 4 kids ran around like crazy. There were also a whole colony of bats (the biggest bats I have ever seen!) hanging in the trees. It was perfect afternoon!
December 24, 2010:
The girls, Mike and I set off for a ferry ride to Luna Park which is a small boardwalk amusement part. We were pretty disappointed with the park- not to mention the price. But the weather turned out to be quite beautiful once all of the clouds blew away and we thoroughly enjoyed the warmth of the sun. We met Mom & Dad at the ferry and walked from there to Philip’s Foote for Christmas Eve dinner where we each grilled our own meat. It was a nice outdoor type picnic/dinner and was a nice way to end our time in Sydney.
Headed back to the hotel for some gift giving, fireworks and created our very own Christmas in Sydney.
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