Well, despite wanting to give Sydney its due, I need to finish the last few days of our trip so I can move on to our life here in China again. So this blog will be another photo gallery and small descriptions of our days three through seven in Australia!
Tuesday we headed out to Manly Beach and the North Head - another part of the bay of Sydney. We took a ferry and got some terrific views of the Opera House from the boat! Both girls enjoyed the ferry rides to and from Manly.
There we let the kids jump on a jumping castle for a while, then walked around to the North Head armed with our snacks, until both kids passed out sleeping in the double stroller. Once they woke up, we got lunch and ate it while they played at a playground (have I mentioned how kid friendly Sydney is?). We then walked the bay until we got to another playground where we met a Chinese woman and her half Chinese daughter. Alex and I caught up a little on our Mandarin while the girls
all played for an hour or so before heading back to our hotel.
The beautiful Sydney Opera House:
Sydney really is a picturesque city!
And here we are on the ferry:
Here we are at the Harbor at Manly (someone saw us doing this and took another shot of us, but I like this one closer up better :-)
We walked to North Head while the girls took turns dozing in the double stroller.
Thank goodness for the double stroller!
Here is Lucia with her Chinese pengyou!
The return ferry ride:
And the other two of us:
Wednesday we went to Coogee beach upon the recommendation of a friend. It was a gorgeous beach with super-fine sand, and we had a fun time playing and trying not to ogle the top-less sunbathers!
Having fun!
Magdalena displayed no fear on the other side of the Pacific (from Hawaii) either!
On our walk in the park later that afternoon - I love how the sign to the Royal Botanic Gardens tells you to "Please Walk On the Grass"
The girls loved running up and down this slope - both of them! It was so fun (and a bit nerve-wracking) to watch Magdalena run down.
Next day was Museum Day. We went to the
Australian Museum first because I thought they had a story hour at 10:15. Turns out that was suspended for the summer holidays, but we still had a great time. Most exhibits have something for the kids to do, and then if you tire of that, there is a whole huge hands-on play room for kids under 5 years old. In the afternoon, we went to the
Powerhouse Museum - Alex's favorite! There was a large turbine and some old locomotives, and a big kids construction area for Lucia, as well as a baby mat area for Magdalena - another huge hit and fun for the whole family.
Okay, so I finally broke down and put the girls in completely matching outfits this day... I figured it would be easier to see them in the museums (plus, they were just so darn cute!):
In the park waiting for Daddy (we forgot the wallet first time out the door):
Reading in the Aboriginal History section of the Australian Museum:
Lucia playing with the tree house in the Kids Area of AM:
And Magdalena loved the stuffed animals, though kissing this frog didn't quite turn it into a prince!
Mama and the girls on the train at the Powerhouse Museum:
And Daddy with the girls!
Friday was our last full day in Sydney, and we decided to top the trip off with a visit to the world-famous
Taronga Zoo. We bought the tickets online the night before to save 20% (substantial when the admission price is upwards of $43 AUD per adult - though kids 4 and under are free). And despite the on-and-off rain that morning, we headed out on the ferry to the zoo. The girls loved it, as expected. They both got to pet a wallaby (small cousin to the kangaroo), and enjoyed the dog and sheep show. And we saw a platypus and a hippopotamus! Which got Lucia singing "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!" the remainder of the day. Though it did rain on and off that morning, we still had a great time and were able to stay relatively dry. The one thing we could have done better is bring more food - real lunch food, not just crackers, carrots, cucumbers, and grapes. The food there was expensive and kind of bland (fish and chips not nearly as good as the Sydney Fish Market!).
All in all, we had a great time! Next day was Saturday, despite the poor service at the airport Hertz rental (they had one person both checking in and out cars, and wouldn't let anyone else help us), we were bumped up to Economy Plus on China Southern at no charge, and met up with some friends during our layover in Guangzhou. We returned to the freezing cold (though bright and sunny) weather of Dalian, fortified with Vitamin D courtesy of the Sydney sun to (hopefully!) last us through the rest of the winter.
Watching the seals in the main lobby of the zoo while waiting out a particularly bad rainstorm:
I don't even remember the name of this animal - a th-something. Anyone? Anyone?
Kangaroos in the shade:
The best pic of this koala looking right at us!
Here's Lucia petting the wallaby:
And now both girls are in on the action (I got to pet it, too!):
Though this emu didn't take too kindly to the chase:
We even saw a platypus!
Hippo!
Snow Leopard!
Feeding the funny-looking birds in the park after the zoo:
We had a great time in Sydney!
Fun, fun Andrea. Your girls sure are world travellers!!
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