Sydney

We've had a little holiday! I took Climber and Cherub with me to Sydney, to stay with my Mum.  She was a wonderful hostess, feeding us, taking us on expeditions and generally spoiling us. Cherub, in particular, enjoyed her house, being blessed as it is with an enormous big bathtub and an inclinator for getting up and down the stairs.  Big fun for a small boy.

Day 1: We had a lovely flight up; no need at all for the sickbag held ready on the lap by Cherub who had been traumatised by his last flying experience.



We walked to the park, and the boys were very excited by proximity to Sydney's famous Harbour.  Water, boats, little crabs in the rocks! Very exciting.



We also explored the nearby market and tasted the local coffee and gelati.



Day 2: Beach Day!  We caught the bus to Coogee Beach, where the water temperature was lovely. (Our beaches down south are too cold for a snake like me.) I decided to try body-surfing the big waves there, but gave it up after 2 attempts; and indeed, minutes after I said to Mum that the waves were too short for body-surfing - as soon as they broke they dumped straight down, hard - the announcement came over the tannoy advising people not to even try.  However, I saw lots of people trying while we were there.  Nobody caught a single wave, everyone got dumped. Impossible waves.



The boys didn't care though, and spent their time trying to run away or jump through the evil waves.  They were both dumped regularly anyway, and found it great fun.





Day 3:  The Harry Potter Exhibition at The Powerhouse.  Apart from all the queuing, we really enjoyed it.  You can pull mandrakes out of a pot, check out the different wands of various characters, admire the figures of Dobby & Kreacher the House-Elves and Fawkes the Phoenix (my favourite non-human characters), see the Deathly Hallows and lots more besides.  Really worth it if you are a Harry Potter fan.  Cherub was very chuffed to have been picked for the Sorting Hat; my Mum had briefed him on what went on so he was very good with getting his hand up quickly! (The boys also really enjoyed playing with Stellarc, the interactive AI robot in the permanent collection at the Powerhouse.)



Day 4:  Ferry Day.  I think this was my favourite activity.  I think you can't go to Sydney as a tourist and NOT do this.  Chugging through that picturesque harbour with sunshine and the spray of seawater on your face is just a wonderful thing to do. We were blessed with a beautiful day; sunny but not too hot, the Harbour was sparkling and the view was superb.  So nice was it that we abandoned our initial plan for just a short trip to Circular Quay and back so that we could have a second beach visit.  Instead, despite having no snacks packed, and no swimmers either, we hopped aboard a ferry bound for Manly. Impromptu, spontaneous fun, and well worth it.




In Manly, we stayed at the shallow beach, had some sushi for lunch and a little paddle in the water...



...before heading for home.



I had a bit of fun using the panorama feature on Climber's camera, his Christmas present from my Dad, which he let me use for the holiday.

 




Day 5: Another walk to the coffee/gelati shop and the park, and then time to fly home. We said goodbye and thank you to our kind hostess, and boarded the plane.



(Unfortunately, the flight home was bad.  We landed in a southerly gale which bumped the plane like anything as we descended and made Cherub and me sick and miserable.  Also, Melbourne was absolutely freezing on our return and is only just starting to warm up again, days later!  Still, it was lovely to get back to Mister Fixit and Basil-kitty.  Mister Fixit was pleased to see us but had enjoyed his peaceful stay at home, but Basil had obviously missed me very much and was my shadow for the rest of that day and night.)

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to live in Sydney, but it was a great holiday destination.  Thanks again Mum!