Category: Travel

After a relaxed morning we checked out of the hotel around 9am and headed across the road to have breakfast at Gloria’s. Yum.

Christy had spotted these water balls yesterday and was keen to have a go. Kevin joined her.

They had lots of fun but as you can tell it was very hard to run on the water :-).

We then caught the monorail (possibly for the last time as it is being pulled down mid-year 🙁 ) into the city center.

First stop was Myer to the Illamasqua stand so I could get a new foundation (the one I got in Sephora was WAY too light for me).

Half done – it looked good in the shop!

 

We then went through the Strand – love this building so much.

 

Lots of lovely Valentine’s decorations.

And of course a visit to Haigh’s. I was very good and only got 4 mandarin creams.

Then across the road to Kevin’s fav shop – the Apple store.

While there I discovered there is a Wagamama’s not far away.

so we headed their for lunch as it’s one of the Birthday boy’s fav. places.

We again shared some dishes. Amy wasn’t too impressed but Kevin and I loved it all.

And of course Kevin was esp. pleased to see bananas on the dessert menu.

 

 

 

I was too full for any but Amy said this sundae was yummy.

After lunch we caught the monorail back to Darling Harbour, collected our car and headed home. We had a really fabulous family weekend which was great because with a teenager and tween you never quite know what you’re going to get :-).

I’m still hoping to upload the video I took (as quite a bit was missed in the photos).

Last weekend we had a weekend away in Sydney to celebrate Kevin’s birthday. We took the girls this time and it was a really great little getaway.

On Saturday morning we packed up the car.

and headed up to a VERY chilly and wet Sydney. Crazy weather for the hottest month of the year!!

We parked our car at Darling Harbour and headed into the shopping center.

This was BEFORE the sugar challenge began so we picked out one treat each.

So many yummy choices.

We had an early lunch at Pancakes on the Rocks. I had mushroom crepes which were just okay.

We wondered around the shops – most of which are tourist traps. But we always love to visit this Barbushka shop.

We stayed longer than planned trying to avoid the rain. When it looked like it had stopped we went in search of a water taxi to take us around to Circular Quay.

Sydney Harbour is always lovely, even on a yucky day.

Loved this big dish out the Modern Art Museum which reflects the sky. Look a brief moment of blue sky.

We had a bit of a wait for our High Tea Harbour Cruise (which was a gift for Kevin for Christmas) but eventually our boat arrived.

 

We were seated at a window side table and offered a variety of teas.

Then came our food…. everything was so yummy.

Not the greatest family photo but the only one of the 4 of us.

 

After the cruise (which lasted 90mins) we walked into the Rocks to check out the Discovery Museum.

It was  very small museum but it was free and both the girls had activities to do which they enjoyed.

Afterwards we watched the making of rock candy at a nearby shop. Oh, and bought some to enjoy :-).

It was after 5pm by now so we got a land taxi back around to our hotel, collected our luggage from the car and got checked in to the Novotel Darling Harbour (where we’ve stayed many times before).

A nice hotel room with a great view of the harbour.

We had a bit of a relax then headed back to the shopping center (which you can see in the above photo) to have dinner at the Hard Rock Hotel (at Amy’s request).

It was as noisy as the one in Orlando but they didn’t have my salad on the menu :-(.

Kevin, Amy and I shared some potato skins…

and nachos….

While Christy had mac n cheese with a side of mashed potatoes and garlic bread.

 

After dinner it was back to the hotel room where we all played on various electrical devices before watching the fireworks from our room. A pretty good end to the day.