Playing in the city

Surprisingly we managed to sleep in till after 7am this morning. It was looking a bit wet and gloomy so we played on our laptops before Kevin finally decided to go in search of coffee and breakfast. He did well, supplying tea and raisen toast (from the same place we got dinner last night).

Finally we headed out on the first mission of the day, which involved catching the ferry over to Taronga Zoo.

It was rather drizzly and cold and we were definitely underdressed as the weather forecast had been for a warm day.

Our only reason for coming to the zoo was the activate some annual passes I had bought. This had to be done by the 31st March. I loved these cute posters for guessing animal noses/

Of course I spotted the Golden nose right away 🙂

This was in the Gondola waiting area (and would be a great way to pass the time with kids) but there were no lines for us.

We picked up some morning tea which was enjoyed on the ferry ride back to the city.

I might have grown up in Sydney, and we still visit often, but I still get a thrill seeing the Opera House (where we’re attending a concert tonight) and the Harbour Bridge…even on an overcast day 🙂

Our next mission was to give our 4 jetboat ride passes to some lucky people. We had planned to come up with the kids last weekend but the weather was really bad and Kevin’s back has been bad and we don’t want to risk causing him further pain. Anyway we were able to make 2 families very happy. It saved them $120 each (way more than what I’d paid).

We weren’t sure what to do next but came across the Justice and Police Museum so thought that might be worth a visit.

It was quite good – more reading than exhibits – so wouldn’t have been great for the girls. We did see Tess, the very first Australian police dog.

and the old court rooms.

I thought it funny seeing these old official documents from the 1950s. All handwritten in books. You don’t find official documents like that any more. It seemed so odd.

It was lunchtime and we were getting hungry. Not really sure where we were going I spotted Wagamama. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to eat at and was rather excited it.

Love the set up and how you can see the chefs in the kitchen.

This was our view while we ate.

I ordered my very first bento box, which started with miso soup (another first for me and I really enjoyed it).

The meal was lovely but the tofu/veg dish was a little too spicy and left me with tingling lips :-).

Loved this building. Not too sure where the palm trees fit in though.

We headed back to the hotel as Kevin’s back was sore and my heel spur was sore – good couple aren’t we? :-). Of course, we had to go via Adora handmade chocolates.

I bought this for myself because I loved the jar. Of course, I’m sure the chocolate easter eggs will be loved as well.

Kevin had a sleep, while I played on the laptop and sampled some of the eggs. While on facebook I was reminded that we were supposed to vote today (in the NSW election – ooops).

Around 4pm we headed back out. Since I was now dressed for the show tonight (and NOT wearing my crocs) we decided to get a taxi to the Sydney Town Hall. Such a beautiful, and iconic, building.

Obviously we had to do an absentee vote. One difference between voting here and at home was there were SOOO many people helping out that the line went really quickly.We probably waited around 5 mins, voting took about 1 min and we were out of there.

Since it was much quicker than we expected we now had almost 3 hours to kill before the show tonight. My feet were feeling okay so we walked to Kevin’s favourite store – the Apple Store, where he bought a few bits and pieces (including something that will allow me to listen to my i-pod in the car – good thing since I broke my car antenne off ages ago).

We thought we’d keep walking and happened to walk past this….

which of course meant buying these. I know I can make yummy cupcakes at home but they never look as cute as the ones you buy. These were mini ones in case you thought we were being really big piggies :-).

Now we had to go back via the hotel…which meant I could have worn my Crocs after all. After sampling one of the cupcakes and hanging out for a bit, we set off in search of Nandos.  BIG MISTAKE (said in a Julia Roberts/Pretty Woman tone of voice). We never found it (it was not where the i-phone map said it was) and this resulted in us walking much further. So by the time I hit the Harbour I had blisters from the straps on my shoes (becuase I was not walking on my heel). Not fun. I ended up putting the straps under my foot, but then they rubbed on the bottom. BTW, I was wearing my flattest, comfiest, more dressy shoes.

We reached the Opera House, without having found somewhere to eat as most of the resturants were too busy, too noisy or too expensive for us. But we did spot the man we had come to see – Tim Minchin. If you have ABC2 they are broadcasting Sunday nights concert at 8.30pm

I think my expression reflects the pain of my foot :-(…

Still in search of food we found somewhere inside the Opera House that sold sandwiches and wraps, which we took outside to enjoy with a million dollar view.

I also made a friend – well, he might not have been a friend since he tried to steal my dinner.

After we ate we went inside to wait as it was a bit cool out. While waiting my friend Kerrie managed to find us. We had been going to look out for each other and amazingly we going in the same door. And they were sitting in the row just in front of us – what are the odds? It was nice to have a little catch up. Once we went it we were seated next to a couple who had come all the way from Seattle, Washington, primarily to see the show, and we enjoyed chatting with them as well.

Then it was time to see Tim Minchin versus the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It was a great show. Funny, great music, and good entertainment.

The show finished around 11pm and we got out of there fast to get a taxi back to the hotel. No way I was going to manage to walk all the way. Just as our cab pulled up at the hotel it started to rain, so it was a good decision all round. The only problem with going to such great show is that even though we were physically tired, mentally we were wide awake. I ended up uploading my photos before going to sleep.