Thursday, March 28, 2013

Easter Hat Parade


Today the girls participated in the Easter Hat Parade at their school. We got a beautiful day for it.






Here are Emily and Tess with Tess's buddy Annie.


The two Emilys of 1S.


The parade finished with an all school dance session on the black top and then everyone went in for class. The kids get Friday and Monday off for Easter weekend. We head out tomorrow morning for three days in Melbourne. It should be a lot of fun.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Sunday Funday - Zoo and Luna Park



We continue to make great use of the Sunday Funday discounted family transit passes. This time we totalled six ferry rides each. 

To Tessie's delight we ran into one of her Kindie friends at the ferry stop. I see photos like this and know we have done a good thing coming here. 


We decided Nina and Grampi could not leave the country without seeing some Australian wildlife at  the Taronga Zoo. The emu seemed particularly interested in us this time.


We admired the wallabies and learned how to tell them apart from kangaroos. Wallabies tend to be smaller with narrower faces and more flexible tails. 


We happened by the Tasmanian devil enclosure just before feeding time and so we got to see him alert and active.



Emily collected fallen flowers and Tess posed with the penguins.



We caught the seal show again and saw different tricks this time. 


We also saw this sleepy red panda. 


Here's the view looking out from the zoo.



Riding the ferry is always part of the fun.


The girls adore having their grandparents here. I just love seeing Tess and Grampi together.



Emily and Tess have been begging to return to Luna Park so we capped the day with a carousel ride, a trip on the ferris wheel and an ice cream cone. I'm still stunned we can enjoy summery days like this so late into March.





Our kids are still quite cautious. On the carrousel Tess chose to ride in the swan because it doesn't move. Emily chose the horse because the chicken moves too much. Still, both of them gamely hopped into the ferris wheel.





We got some amazing views from up high.





So we had an amazing weekend. Now Brian's back to work. The kids are back in school. Nina and Grampi are resting and reading. I'm puttering around updating the blog, doing laundry and paying bills. We are headed to Melbourne together for the long Easter weekend.  Then on Monday Brian heads home to the US for a week of work. A few days later Nina and Grampi return to their regularly scheduled life. 

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Beach Walk - Bronte to Bondi


We took advantage of another gorgeous Saturday by walking from Bronte Beach to Bondi Beach and back. Brian and I did a piece of this walk two years ago and kept meaning to go back to it with the girls. We were so happy to be able to do it with Nina and Grampi.

Bronte Beach works well for families because it includes an enclosed ocean pool area as well as a natural rock pool that protects one side from the full power of the waves. We managed to focus on the walk first and then ended our day by getting in our suits and playing in the sand and water.



The path hugs the water and takes you along a series of sandstone cliffs and rocky outcrops with amazing views all the way.





Bondi Beach is a classic Sydney surf beach and home to one of the oldest Surf Life Savers club is one of the oldest surf rescue groups in the world. "Surf Life Saving Australia has given different hazard ratings to Bondi Beach. While the northern end has been rated a gentle 4 (with 10 as the most hazardous), the southern side is rated as a 7 due to a famous rip current known as the "Backpackers' Express" because of its proximity to the bus stop, and the unwillingness of tourists to walk the length of the beach to safer swimming. The south end of the beach is generally reserved for surfboard riding. Yellow and red flags define safe swimming areas, and visitors are advised to swim between them." Source Volunteer lifesavers can be involved in as many as 200 rescues on a busy weekend. Source

Once at Bondi we stopped for lunch at the historic Bondi Iceberg Club. Brian and I shared a fabulous mixed seafood platter.



Emily took this picture of me and my decadent Australian iced coffee.


On the walk back we stopped for some portraits with the sandstone background. I love when we have a great day out and it's well documented!






Occasionally we would split up with some taking the high road and others scrambling on the rocks below.