Carousel

Not far from our hotel is Darling Harbour, and next to the harbour is a kiddie park and playground including a carousel and tea cups. I do have to plan some of our outings very carefully to avoid going near this park so it doesn't delay other activites by at least 30 minutes. As far as she is concerned, the beach and the playground is all she needs. I did let her go on the carousel (which now appears to be permanently closed since schools have gone back) and she was very happy.

Hot tourist spots

I took Olivia to all the typical tourist spots around central Sydney and took her photo there to send back to her school near Apple (she told her teachers that she went to see a 'new chinese school' which is true and I wanted to prove that we weren't switching schools but actually were in Australia). Also I promised the head teacher that I would send photos so they could put them in their geography album and talk about them on Australia Day which is Jan 26th. Here she is at Darling Harbour, The Rocks, and in front of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. I am also hoping that she might actually remember some of this trip rather than need the photos to prove it!

Bondi babes

Day three deserved a trip to the beach. Olivia and I took to bus to Bondi beach to check out the surf. It was HUGE and apparently bigger than it has been for months. The waves weren't as big as back in Half Moon Bay but they were much closer to shore which means that you can sit peacefully on the beach while watching the surfers right infront of you (in HMB, the biggies are way out offshore and you need binoculars to get a good view). They had jetskis towing surfers out into the surf and were also filming "Bondi Rescue" which is apparently an Aussie surfing version of Bay Watch. I'm delighted to report that you won't see either Olivia or myself appearing (or at least I hope that you won't) as we stayed out of the surf. Olivia did manage to get me to buy her an ice cream with sprinkles that is still being talked about; the fact that the ice cream truck had a mermaid painted on it probably helped. I could get used to this.

Water fun

Day two in Sydney and we're already having much more fun than Carl. He doesn't like the fact that he has to go to work while Olivia and I plan what kind of adventure we're going to have for the day. I think that he is going to have a harder time with me not working than I am!
Olivia and I paid a trip to the Australian Maritime Museum which had an exhibition on Dragons, Mermaids and Unicorns - not sure that there could be a more perfect event for her! After making paper mermaids, we went to their water play area where she played with water toys (although would NOT go to the water gun firing zone which was filled with noisy, older, fighting boys). Sadly this whole area closes next week as Aussie school holidays finish. Never mind, much more in this city to keep us busy.

Outdoor pools

One of the popular things in Sydney is, unsurprisingly, outdoor swimming pools. One is in the Botanical Gardens right around the corner from our apartment. First day in Sydney without Carl (he has to go to work - ha), Olivia and I went to the pool. Stunning views since it is right ON the harbour and happens to have a very nice cafe attached to it. I can see me becoming a mummy-who-lunches-and swims!

Beating jetlag

Yet another flight for Olivia. I counted, and estimate that San Francisco to Sydney was her 44th flight! She did pretty well on the flight even though Daddy was in business class and she and I got downgraded from Premium Economy to regular Economy since the flight was full and no-one in premium economy would switch seats so that Olivia and I could sit next to each other.
Never mind, Carl did let me go and sit in Business for 3 hours with their super lie-flat beds but that was almost worse since he then came and woke me up to say that it was his turn again. Annoying but I guess only fair since he has to work in Sydney while I'll just be enjoying myself.
Anyway, once arriving in Sydney at 9am, we had to stay awake for as long as possible to avoid the jetlag. We started with a hot-tub in our hotel pool and followed by a walk round the city. We're perfectly situated about a 1 minute walk from Carl's office and less than 5 minutes to the harbour. Things are looking good. Olivia took a ride (she insisted that it was by herself) in the tea-cups at a nearby amusement park. I can tell that we'll be regulars on the rides there!

Olivia is 3

Olivia has been inundated with presents due to the proximity of Christmas, all grandparents, birthday etc. Never mind, she seems to be handling it pretty well by asking all new guests "what you have for me?"
On her birthday, I went to school for the morning. I purchased lunch (pizza, apple juice, grapes and brownies) for all her class followed by very popular goodie bags (bouncy balls, bubble mixture, slinkies etc). It's amazing how cheaply you can entertain 3-5 year olds, although when you multiply it by 24, it does add up!
School marks each birthday by a ceremony where the child holds a globe, and walks around a small circle which has the months of the year written and a candle in the middle. Schoolfriends sit in a larger circle and sing. The birthday child circles the candle as many times as they are years old and, at each circuit, talk about what they could do at each stage. I was watching and videoing this and was a little taken aback. It's somewhat cult-like but the kids seem to like it and Olivia kept asking me if her birthday was going to have a candle at school (not having seen the ceremony before, i of course, told her that there would be no candles - after all, candles and 24 3-5 year olds don't really mix). Anyway, Olivia got to wear a princess dress and a crown, and as far as she is concerned, that is all that matters. The only altercation was Olivia telling a school friend during the middle of her ceremony "You're not 3, only I am 3!" so there.