Sydney Royal Easter Show

Today we ventured out to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. I'm not sure why it is called an Easter Show. It's the Aussie version of the county fair, with a few key differences.




Showlink Tickets
The purchase of your ticket includes public transportation to and from the show. Brilliant! It was so easy to buy tickets online, print them at home and then use that ticket to board the bus, ferry and 2 trains that took us to Sydney Olympic Park. My kids think public transportation is almost as good as a carnival ride so this was a real bonus for us.

Showbags
As far as I know, Showbags have no equivalent in the US. They seem to be overpriced bags filled with food or toys or whatever that are sold at the show. I'm not sure why people feel compelled to spend $25 on a goodie bag of cheap Dora the Explorer toys or a chiller bag filled with milk products. It seems to be an integral part of the Easter Show experience- but one we missed out on since my kids had no idea what the showbags were and therefore did not spend the day begging me for one. Instead they picked a stuffed wombat and a stuffed bilby for souvenirs.

Extreme Sports
There are lots of extreme sports featured at the show. We were lucky enough to catch some motocross stunt riders and some stunt truck drivers. The little buddy was literally jumping up and down cheering them on.

Animals
Just like the American county fair you'll see plenty of cows, sheep, goats and horses at the show. But you'll also have a chance to see diving pigs and wild bilbies. They also had a farmyard nursery exhibit with all variety of baby animals for the kids to see and touch. This was a highlight of the show for us. We also got a picture taken with a little lamb. I figured it's a good stand in for the Easter Bunny shot we never got this year. (The Easter Bunny doesn't hang out at Aussie malls).




Another highlight: the John Deere tractors on display that the kids could try out.



And, just like back home we knew the day was complete when we all walked through a giant pile of manure in the cow exhibit. Gotta bring a little bit of the farm back home!

Heaven on Earth with an Onion Slice

We found it- right here in Sydney. At The Counter- our new favorite burger joint. And I'm not just saying that because it's an American chain restaurant. The food was mouth watering.



The Counter is a fun take on a classic American burger place. They hand you a little clipboard and a golf pencil and you tick off exactly what you want on your burger. They do it your way. The burgers are huge and yummy and just what you'd expect. They have French Fries on the menu. We had ours with cheddar cheese (not that mysterious tasty cheese typically found in Australia). They serve soft drinks in big glasses with- I almost couldn't believe it- plenty of ice! They didn't offer free refills, but I'm going to ask about that next time. If they have free refills this place will be absolutely perfect.

The Counter is totally kid friendly. It's noisy so no one really noticed our two year old melting down in the booth. He was distracted for a bit when the waitress brought him some RANCH DRESSING to dip his fries in. Are you getting a feel for how awesome this place is?

And if all of that didn't make me feel totally at home, check this out:



See those cool aluminum barstools? They are the same ones I have in my kitchen in California. Miss you, Crate & Barrel.

I just checked out their webpage- and guess what? They have one in Westlake Village! I hope the American version is as satisfying as the Aussie one. We'll definitely be going back to The Counter.

Busses, Ferries, and Train Rides

Last Sunday we had our own little travel adventure right here in Sydney. It was a beautiful afternoon and we ventured out to the city with the kids. Because parking in the city is a nightmare and because getting there is half the fun, we decided to take public transportation.

Lucky for us there is a bus stop right in front of our apartment. And, a double dose of good luck, the 2:45 bus was running late so we were actually able to get on it! When the driver saw me digging through my hastily packed bag for the fare he just waved us on.

Here's the thing about Sydney buses: They are clean, reliable and everyone uses them. Our kids love riding on the bus!

The bus took us straight to the Taronga Zoo Warf where we walked right onto a ferry headed for Circular Quay. Perfect timing. You'd have thought we planned it!



The kids were thrilled to ride the ferry. So much fun!

Once in Circular Quay we headed for the Opera House and the Botanic Gardens. There we boarded this cute little red train for a guided tour of the gardens.


We were all amazed to learn that 100s of bats live in the gardens (and are actually becoming a nuisance). The huge bats were easily visible hanging upside down from the trees!




We walked around The Rocks area and picked up a few souvenirs for my niece back in the U.S. Then we stopped at a great pizza place for a quick dinner. After Copenhagen ice-cream we were all pretty tired and ready to make the trek back home. We strolled back to Circular Quay only to find that we had missed the last ferry back to Taronga Zoo.

No worries, there are two other ferry stops in our suburb so we hopped on the 6 pm ferry. When we got off we thought we'd easily find a bus to bring us back to our door. That's where we went wrong! No buses run on Sunday evenings, apparently! So we started walking. And walking. And walking.

As we approached each bus stop my daughter would eagerly race ahead to check the schedule. But each time she was met with disappointment. And we walked on.

When we were only a couple kilometers from home she burst into tears declaring that she could go no further. Her high heeled light up sandals had rubbed a giant blister on her toe.

Our luck, it seems, had run out. It was now dark. The little buddy was restless and cranky in the stroller, and the little princess was plopped on the footpath in tears.

Daddy to the rescue. He ran all the way back to our apartment and came back with the car to pick us up. Our hero!

All in all it was a fun day. We'll get the hang of this public transportation thing- eventually.

There's a First Time for Everything

Today was a day of firsts.

1. First time dropping the buddy off at the occasional childcare center. He LOVED it and can't wait to go back. I think this is such a great service. Every town should have one. You can leave your child there for a few hours so you can actually get something done! Hooray! Already have a booking for him for next week.

2. I made my first friend. She's another American mom from the primary school. She is very sweet and has a son just a bit older than mine. Now that we've been friends for 12 hours, do you think it's okay if I ask her to be the emergency contact on all that school paperwork?

3. First trip to the amazing Taronga Zoo. The above mentioned friend invited me. It was wonderful. Our boys ran around like, well, little boys- shrieking at the Goliath Walking Stick and staring intently at the huge Komodo Dragon.



We meandered down the hill marveling at the beautiful animals and stunning views. Then we took the free "Sky Safari" tram back up to the top of the zoo. And in true friendly Aussie fashion, the tram operator even loaded our prams into the cars for us. So nice!

I loved this zoo so much we went back later after school. That's when my daughter made a new friend. This kangaroo.



That's three new things to love about Australia today!

Unpacking

Hooray! Our shipment has arrived! 18 days door to door (including one completely lost day due to the time change). Everything made it through customs and quarantine- no worries.

It's a little hard to get motivated to deal with this:




When I am staring out at this:



Luckily my cool reclining backpack beach chair and nifty polka dot umbrella arrived in perfect condition. I'll be putting them to good use this afternoon.

Off to School

My darling daughter started school here yesterday. She was so excited to get in a routine and make new friends. Doesn't she look precious in her school uniform?



For lots of reasons we decided to send her to our local public school. She is in Year 1 (first grade) with 19 other charming boys and girls, one of whom is also a newly arrived American. Hooray for expats!

She came home thrilled after the first day. She loves her teacher and has already made lots of new friends. I am amazed at how quickly she is assimilating to the Aussie culture. She told me that they go to the "toilet" with a partner and then asked if she could get something from my "wardrobe". She now loves to use words like "carpark" and "lift" and corrects me when I say "garage" instead of "gar-age" (emphasis on gar). I think she'll fit right in.

I hope she doesn't forget how to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Physically getting from here to there is not as easy as one might think. Here's what we're taking:

2 kids
2 car seats
1 stroller
9 giant suitcases to be checked
5 carry-on bags

How will we ever get this stuff through customs Down Under? Wish us luck!



UPDATE #1:
The huge van picked up us and all our stuff and we made it to LAX in record time.




UPDATE #2:
We survived the flight.




UPDATE #3:
We arrived in Sydney Tuesday, March 10th. Here's a photo of the kiddos with all our luggage (minus the car seats which were yet to be retrieved from oversize baggage). The customs officials almost confiscated my camera because I snapped this photo in the baggage claim area. Shame on me!



We're here- This is just the beginning!