Saturday, July 27, 2013
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| Good thing they don't sell Tim Tam's at home. Good. Thing. |
Since we were on a California schedule, the kids woke up around 5am on our second day. Unfortunately, not much is open that early on the weekends, including breakfast places or cafe's (weekdays are a different story). Convenience stores, however, are open, and so we went to a 7-11 to buy some water for the day, some milk for the kids, and we had heard about Tim Tam's, so we bought a few packs for later. We walked around searching for breakfast food, but all the places we tried were closed. Well, let's just say Tim Tam's became breakfast that morning, and boy are they GOOD. Another reason we travel well with Ann Ming and Kevin. They love to eat junk food like we do =)
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| Good (very early) morning! Poor Zaydee still looking very tired... |
After our failed breakfast attempts, we decided to walk to Darling Harbour, where the Sydney Convention Center, National Maritime Museum, and Sydney Aquarium and Zoo are located. It was early enough that the only other people there were 3 Chinese people doing Tai-Chi. Yeah, it was THAT early.
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| Zaydee totally intrigued... is this a new dance? |
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| Ann Ming couldn't resist either. |
The kids had a great time running around the harbour, playing on the bridges, and seeing the birds. Water and boats aren't common things we see!
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| Ro Ro's contagious smile! |
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| Time to wake up Sydney! |
Finally, we discovered a restaurant called Toki Hotel that opened around 7:30am and we were able to eat an Aussie Brekkie (breakfast), which is pretty similar to American breakfasts with sausage, eggs, toast, potatoes, etc. Muesli was a new term that we learned when we ordered it with yogurt, thinking it was granola, but it was more grain-like with dried fruits and nuts. Muesli became another regular food item on our trip, in addition to our flat whites and Tim Tams.
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| Brekkie Dance Party at the Restaurant while we waited for our food. |
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| "Dance Daddy Dance," says Ro! |
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| The stage is too irresistible for a natural performer like Zaydee! |
After breakfast, we discovered an incredible playground called Tumbalong Park. In fact, all the playgrounds we went to in Australia during our trip were incredible. They just all had great designs that incorporate unique climbing structures, and also separate areas for sand and water play too. James had just as much fun as Zaydee!
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| Best park ever! It even had a zipline! |
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| James using the rope climb to get to the top of the slide. |
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| Down the slide that lands into the sand pit. |
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| "I wanna climb that!" says James. |
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| The water play section of the park is huge! |
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| It's freezing Zaydee!!! |
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| Love how playing can be educational too - this one simulates a floodgate. |
After an eventful morning at Darling Harbour and the Tumbalong Park, it was naptime. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Central Baking Depot which was highly rated on Yelp. We bought some almond croissants, choco croissants, banana bread, and carrot cake to snack on. Yummy!
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| On our walk to the Central Baking Depot, we saw a bird standing on one leg... so Zaydee had to imitate it! Silly girl! |
We had a big afternoon planned after naptime to visit the Taronga Zoo, which is one of the attractions that was highlighted in every guidebook and website we had researched before the trip. To get to the Taronga Zoo, we walked to Circular Quay and took a 15-minute ferry ride to the entrance of Taronga Zoo. Of course, this was super exciting for the kids since it was Zaydee's first ferry ride, and the views along the way were of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, so the adults enjoyed it too!
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| Ready for our first ferry ride! |
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| Leaving Circular Quay and seeing the right side of the Opera House. |
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| In front of the Opera House - a very different view than what we are used to! |
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| Passing the Opera House and on our way to Taronga Zoo! |
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| Bye Bye Opera House and Harbour Bridge - what a beautiful harbour! |
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| Excited munchkins just staring at the water and waves! |
After disembarking the ferry, you have to take a gondola up to the entrance of Taronga Zoo. No wonder all the guidebooks say that the kids love going to the zoo - first ferry, and now gondola? Fun!
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| First Gondola ride for the kiddos! |
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| Chao family going up the hill backwards! |
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| Yu family with the views of Sydney behind us! |
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| At the entrance of Taronga Park, ready to see all the animals! |
Who doesn't love zoos? In addition to seeing kangaroos and koalas, we learned a few new or uncommon animal names on this trip, including my favorite, the Echidna, which looks like a mix of a porcupine and hedgehog. There was also the Emu, which looks like an ostrich, the Cassowary, who is commonly known as the "Roadrunner" - Beep Beep! - the Wombat, which is a cute-looking enormous hamster, the Wallaby, who is similar to the Kangaroo but smaller and has a softer nose, the Tasmanian Devil, which looks nothing like the cartoon character, and many other animals I can't remember the names of...
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| Welcome to the Taronga Zoo! |
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| The best zoos are the ones that are designed smart so that kids can have a great view! |
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| Sitting on daddy's shoulders was the new favorite mode of transportation for Zaydee! |
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| Zaydee's Halloween Costume from last year! |
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| One of Zaydee's most favorite animals. |
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| They had a section of the zoo where you can walk among the Kangaroos and Wallabies. No fence or separation! |
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| Uh oh... don't know the name of this one... |
One of the main recommendations at the Taronga Zoo is to watch the Bird Show. First of all, it has amazing views of Sydney. Secondly, these birds are very well-trained and the show is indeed impressive! Third, get ready to have your hats grazed by bird wings... DUCK!
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| The amazing view of Sydney at the Bird Show. |
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| Our daughter has no loyalty to us, and prefers other people... often. Is that strange??? |
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| Fine! Daddy and Mommy will sit by ourselves! |
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| Ro Ro, will you sit with us??? 5 seconds, but a great 5 seconds! |
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| Well-trained, big, and exotic birds. Fantastic show! |
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| Clap Clap Clap!!! Yay!!! |
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| The end of the show... flocks of birds flying overhead on cue like Fantasmic in Disneyland. How do they do that? |
Unfortunately, since we only did a half-day at the zoo, we weren't able to see everything. The zoo closed at 5pm and it was time for us to go back on the ferry. Ferry? Yay!!!
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| The ferry ride home with exhausted kiddos and parents. They were ok not hanging over the rails this time. |
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| Perfect timing to see the sunset from the ferry ride! |
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| Sunset on the skyline... |
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| Pirate ship? |
Searching for open restaurants that were child-friendly was a bit difficult since it was a Saturday night. After walking to multiple restaurants including a Malaysian noodle place and then a pizzeria, we settled with one of the fast food chains called Pie Face. They are known for their different types of meat pies. Too bad by the time we got our food to-go and rushed back to the hotel, it was way past bedtime and poor Zaydee had a MAJOR meltdown.
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| Not thrilled about meat pies, but at least we tried an authentic Australian fast food place! |
Overall, a great day exploring Darling Harbour and the Taronga Zoo, despite the failed food attempts for both breakfast and dinner! Note to future travelers: Yelp is not that reliable in Australia - places that say they are open are NOT, especially on weekends.
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| Another good night Sydney! |
PS. The first package of Tim Tams were gone by the end of the day, and the second one had been opened. Uh oh...
