On With The Show

I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled blogging about our awesome family holiday last week to tell you to rush out to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. It ends this week- don't miss it! More on our holiday to come soon . . .

Call it a blogging milestone. I received my first freebie through this blog. And let me say- it was a really good freebie: a family 4 pack of tickets to the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

We decided to head out in the afternoon to avoid the heat of the day and, as an added bonus, I think we also avoided the really big crowds. The Sydney Royal Easter Show is like an American County fair on steroids. It's huge! The Show (as it is affectionately called by Sydneysiders) is held at Sydney Olympic Park. There is a kiddie carnival area, a huge coca-cola carnival area, plenty of farm animals on exhibit, arts & crafts, a main arena and of course food, food, food.


The kids loved the kiddie carnival rides and the fairy floss (cotton candy). We walked through exhibits of pigs (some as big as 400 kgs!), goats and cows, skillfully dodging the stray piles of dung waiting to be removed. We were disappointed that we missed the world's tallest horse who had to leave The Show early for some undisclosed reason. The farmyard nursery was one of our favorite stops. Feeding the lambs and the goats, seeing little chicks just hatched from eggs, patting the puppies. So much fun!

On our hunt for the Showbags we stumbled upon an exhibit featuring the most amazing decorated cakes! There were cakes that looked like horse heads, babies, Alice in Wonderland, and even a bottle of pills for facebook addicts. Too funny!

We stopped for food and the kids were thrilled to discover Dagwood Dogs- the first corndog we've seen in Oz. I was equally thrilled to find a burger from one of my favorite restaurants- Ribs & Rumps. Yummm!


We finally found the Showbag hall and it was like walking into goodie bag heaven. There is no American equivalent to the Showbag. There are showbags filled with candy, toys, magazines, even dairy products and soft drinks. The Little Buddy picked a Go Diego Go Showbag filled with a backpack, lunchbox, vest, hat and stickers. This stuff is big with the preschool crowd! The Little Princess chose the Girl Power Showbag, stuffed with pre-teen magazines, lip balm and keychains. It was like Christmas all over again.


After securing the Showbags,we made our way to the main arena where we watched a bit of a polo match and saw the giant robotic dinosaur blow fire and eat cars. Who thinks of this stuff? The night ended with a fabulous fireworks display and laser show.

The Sydney Royal Easter Show is definitely an event not to be missed. But you'll have to hurry if you want to get there this year. The Show ends April 14th. And if you do miss it, there's always next year.

Melbourne Here We Come

As part of our ongoing quest to see as much of Australia as possible, we took off on Easter Sunday and flew to "Mel-bin" for the first leg of our week long family holiday.

There was a near disaster at the car hire counter when the frazzled attendant informed me that the full size car I had reserved was not available and I would have to take the equivalent of a 2-door Speck instead. As you can imagine, this didn't go over well with me. Fortunately, another car showed up just as things were about to go from bad to worse, and soon enough we were heading toward Melbourne and ready for adventure!

After checking into our hotel (isn't it funny how kids are ALWAYS excited about a new hotel room?) we decided to take a walk through the city and grab dinner in Chinatown. Let's just say it looked a lot closer on the map, and my big pregnant self was seriously struggling to keep up! We finally found the restaurant recommended in our guide book and decided to eat there even though it was way too quiet and fancy for our crabby, tired three year old. Predictably the dinner ended with a minor meltdown and a sleepy boy in the taxi back to the hotel. I vowed to seek out kid friendly restaurants for the rest of the trip!

Checking out Carlton Gardens near the Melbourne Museum

The following day was packed with sightseeing in Melbourne. Everyone enjoyed riding on the city's tram system. We visited the Old Melbourne Gaol (jail) which was seriously creepy, and the Melbourne Museum which was full of great exhibits. (Somehow we missed the stuffed race horse Phar Lap- bummer). We even took in a How to Train Your Dragon at the IMAX (which was the perfect place for the Little Buddy to get his afternoon nap).


We finished the day with a stroll around Federation Square and a trip to the Skydeck of the Eureka Tower for stunning night time views of the city.



The next morning we headed straight for the Royal Botanic Gardens. My kids love Botanic Gardens (they would be thrilled to spend every weekend at the one in Sydney) so we knew this would be a big hit with them. What we didn't know was that the Melbourne gardens have an amazing Children's Garden. It is filled with streams, pathways, bamboo hideouts, tree "caves" and water features. We couldn't drag them away. It was little piece of paradise right there in the city! Yes, we are those kind of parents who let our Little Buddy run around in his underpants when his jeans got soaked. But- hey, we weren't the only ones!


Unfortunately, we never got to see the rest of the Royal Botanic Gardens. We had to head out to Phillip Island to catch the Penguin Parade that night!

Thanks Easter Bunny

At 6:00 in the morning we were awakened by excited children announcing that the Easter Bunny came through again this year and left a clue about where to find their baskets. We rolled out of bed (even though it was only 6 am) and followed them around the house as they eagerly read the clues and finally discovered the big prize under the kitchen sink. Thanks Easter Bunny!


Easter is a huge 4 day weekend in Australia. Sadly, it is mostly secular. And sadly, the selection of Easter candy is basically limited to Cadbury chocolate eggs. No peeps, no (gasp) Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, no big bags full of Jelly Bellys or Hersheys candy coated eggs in pastel colors. I haven't even seen the Easter variety of M&Ms here. Luckily for us, our awesome rellies in the US sent care packages containing everything we needed to make it a "traditional" American Easter. Thanks Easter Bunny! Happy Aussie Easter- Oy Oy Oy!

Canberra- The Capital City

In about 18 weeks my life is going to be completely taken over by a helpless, crying newborn (it's a boy!). For a few months at least, we'll be in no condition to travel, sight-see, or explore this amazing country. So we've decided to try to see and do as much as possible between now and then. First place on the list: Canberra, the capital of Australia.

It was a whirlwind weekend, trying to fit in everything, and I think we succeeded. Canberra is an easy 3 hour drive from Sydney through rolling country side speckled with lots of cows, horses and sheep.

After a quick stop at our hotel and a bite to eat we headed for the National Gallery to view the Masterpieces from Paris exhibit. This exhibit is hugely popular and at peak times people are queuing up for 3 hours to see it. Thankfully, my dear Aussie friend, Lou, gave me the best advice: head to the museum 1 hour before it closes. That's what we did and we did not have to wait AT ALL! So for any of you thinking of making the trip to see these amazing works of art before they head back to the Musee d'Orsay, plan to go late in the day- I am so glad we did! The Little Princess loved the kid's audio tour, and was quite captivated by the Van Goghs, Monets, and Gauguins on display.

Saturday morning we headed straight to Questacon, an awesome hands-on science museum. Some of our favorite exhibits included a cool shadow screen where you could "freeze" your shadow, a light harp, and an exhibit showing caged lightening.


Check out the picture perfect souvenir the Little Buddy found in the museum shop! (Notice the matching t-shirt he happens to be wearing).

Next we went to the Royal Australian Mint to see where all those Aussie coins are made. The kids each got to mint their own gold $1 coin and we enjoyed seeing the robots and machinery used to make the coins. They also had an extensive display of historical coins and medals (including the Olympic medals from the Sydney games).

Our last stop of the day was the Australian War Memorial.


This was the most architecturally beautifully building we saw in Canberra. It was a stark contrast to all the 1960s boring architecture seen throughout the city. The Memorial features an extensive museum, including a hands-on area for kids. It also has a beautiful reflecting pool and a wall of remembrance honoring those who have fought and died for Australia.

Inside a Vietnam era helicopter.

A cold-war era submarine replica.

Sunday we decided to check out the National Museum of Australia. Here we learned a bit about Australia's story. Our favorite exhibit featured the last Tasmanian Tiger. It was sad to realize that this animal became extinct when the last one died in the Hobart Zoo. There was also a large exhibit dedicated to aboriginal Australians and a kids area where we got to envision a future world and take part in the making of a 3-D movie.


Our final stop in Canberra was Cockington Green. Surprisingly it was the most crowded attraction we visited on our trip! Cockington Green is basically a garden filled with miniature houses that appears to have been inspired by Disneyland's Story Book Canal Boat ride. There is also a little steam train ride that circles the garden, a small kids playground and a patio featuring several doll houses to play with. The kids enjoyed it, but we were all ready to head for home after our stroll through the gardens.


On the way home we played our favorite road game; Spot the P-Plater & Ute. Even the Little Buddy is starting to get into the game although he is at a significant disadvantage since his view is rather limited. We also drove through the most intense (and short lived) rainstorm I've ever seen! Fortunately, we made it back safe and sound.

Crossing Canberra off our Aussie to-do list. Now to unpack, do the laundry, and re-pack for our trip next week . . . .

You- Yes, you!

You know who you are. I just wanted to tell you that you are not a stalker. I'm thrilled that you read my blog and I'm willing to overlook the fact that you have never left a comment or sent me an email. ;)
We need to have coffee again so I can learn as much about you as you already know about me.
Don't you just love it when world's collide?
Your new friend,
Jenny

Bicentennial Park

One of the things I love about Sydney is that there is no shortage of fun, family friendly activities. Last weekend we decided to check out Bicentennial Park, part of Sydney Olympic Park. It was the first time we had ventured out there- but definitely not the last.
We hired bikes, including one with a child carrier for the Little Buddy, and set off exploring the miles (I mean kms) of pathways. We rode through marshlands filled with mangroves, a bird refuge, and past Acer Arena.


After a couple hours we returned the bikes and headed to one of the many kid's playgrounds located in the park.
Looking forward to going back to Sydney Olympic Park to check out the aquatic centre soon!

Half Way There

When we signed up to come to Australia we agreed to stay for 2 years. It's hard to believe, but as of this week, we are half way there. March 9th will mark our one year Expat Anniversary!


One year ago we loaded our little kids into those comfy lay flat business class seats and prayed they'd sleep on the plane. We arrived in Sydney with all those suitcases and relied on the kindness of airline employees to help us get it all through customs. I remember the van driver giving the kids little koala keychains and the excitement of seeing for the first time our beautiful apartment all set up and waiting for us.


In the year that has passed between then and now we have changed so much. Our kids have made that long haul flight across the Pacific 5 times. I've done it with them by myself and we've done it in coach and we all survived! I feel confident I could travel anywhere with them, and I won't let fear of a long flight stop me from showing them the world.


When we arrived in Australia we knew no one. It seemed like such a grand adventure for the four of us. But it didn't take long to find friends- real friends. Other expats, coworkers, classmates and even a few true Aussies. I couldn't imagine this experience without them.


There has not been one day during the past year that I woke up and regretted coming to Australia. Sure, I miss "home", our American friends and family, and Boar's Head turkey from the Italia Deli. But I am so thankful to have this opportunity to live in another country, meet new people, immerse myself in another culture and see this amazing part of the world. This coming year we plan to TRAVEL! There is so much we want to see and do before we leave this beautiful country.

This week also marks another important half-way point for us. I am now half way through my third pregnancy. Our "tie-breaker" baby will be born right here in Australia in early August. The adventure continues!