Springtime fun

Sean and I had a great time celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary last Saturday night.  Many people would have done something more spectacular to celebrate a big milestone anniversary, but we are already in Sydney, which is already a big deal.  Plus, we don't often get a babysitter.  So, we took advantage of a kid-free evening and knocked something off of our Sydney bucket list....a walking ghost tour.

We did start the evening with a lovely meal at Darling Harbour.  Then, we headed to The Rocks for the ghost tour.  I've mentioned The Rocks in passing in previous posts, but I have not went into much detail about this section of the city.  The Rocks is the site of the original English settlement in Sydney in 1788.  It is currently a touristy area with many restaurants and shops.  It has an "old world" kind of feel with many original buildings and cobblestone streets.  It contains a wealth of history, and not all of it is good.  It essentially became a slum soon after Sydney was established and was controlled by a gang called "Rocks Push".  The gang would roam the streets to rob and kill sailors and anyone that got in their way until the 1870's.  Then, the Bubonic plague hit the area in 1900.  Needless to say, there were an ample number of tragic stories for a ghost tour.  Sean and I didn't get very scared, but we loved hearing the stories.

The red pin is on The Rocks.  All of the dotted lines in the water shows the ferry routes.  The hub of the ferries is Circular Quay, which is located right next to The Rocks.  The main road you see crossing the harbour is where the Sydney Harbour Bridge is located.  

Sean just before the ghost tour.  Sydney CBD (Central Business District) is in the background.

Everyone circled around the guide as he tells of a gruesome murder.

Sunday was set to be an absolutely gorgeous day outside.  And, wouldn't you know, it just happened to be the day of "Hunter Valley Uncorked" at Balmoral Beach.  Hunter Valley is the wine region located just a couple of hours outside of Sydney.  On this day, they were having an event to sample wines from the region at our local beach.  It could not have been a more perfect day to enjoy time with friends while drinking wine by the beach.  Carter and Aubrey were with us, but quickly got bored sitting around at a wine festival. Luckily, we were in a win-win situation.  They got to escape the wine fest to go play in the water at the beach with our friends' teenage daughters.  Everyone was happy!

A picture of me (and the top of Aubrey's head) at the wine event.  I'm trying to get used to wearing hats here since the sun is a little much for my fair skin.  Sunscreen alone just isn't going to cut it.

A picture of the kids on "The Rotunda" at Balmoral Beach.  Neither kid looks happy because Aubrey tried to hug Carter for the picture, but he was having none of that.  

This picture is included to show the backdrop of the wine festival.  There were 21 different wineries present.  It was a sunny day with just enough of a breeze that there were tons of sailboats in the harbour.

Today was a big day in our household.  It was the second day of Aubrey's Kindy orientation (i.e. Kindergarten orientation).  I bought her uniform earlier this week, so she really wanted to wear it to school today.  She was so excited and proud to have her uniform on.  Carter was actually pretty excited too.

Here they are running to school.

I am thoroughly enjoying the fact that it is Spring here.  In Missouri, I would associate the smell of lilacs with springtime.  I have not seen or smelt any lilacs since we have been in Australia.  However, there is star jasmine all over the place. That is the scent that now represents Australian springtime for me.  Another beautiful flowering tree here in Sydney is the Jacaranda tree.  Of course, there are tons of flowering plants here, but these are two of my favorites.  

This is right around the corner from our apartment.  All of the ground cover with small white flowers are star jasmine.  I wish I could make this a "scratch and sniff" section of the blog.

              Looking down a local street.  All the pops of purple are jacaranda trees.

A closer look at a local park with the jacaranda trees.

I will end the post with a picture I took while walking down the street today.  I looked over at a tree and right there in front of me was a rainbow lorikeet.  It still surprises me when I see birds like this out in the wild.  My first thought is "Did it escape from someone's house?".  Then I remember that this is the bird's natural habitat.  I'm the one out of place.

The rainbow lorikeet is in the tree on the left.