Vivid Sydney

Last Sunday we headed into the city to check out Vivid Sydney.  Vivid Sydney is an annual festival of light, music and ideas.  At 6:00 pm the lights came on around the Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay, and The Rocks.  It is so nice that we can catch a ferry from our suburb directly into Circular Quay.  The kids enjoyed catching the ferry at dusk as much as seeing all the lights in the city.  

Leaving on the ferry

Coming into the city via ferry

Carter standing inside one of the light displays

Light fixture of little trees close up with chandelier and Sydney Opera House in distance

What a beautiful tunnel!

The sails of the Sydney Opera House are made to look like real sails.

We did not really get this part of the show.  It just showed people laying around on Sydney Opera House.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia

We saw this image as we were leaving on the ferry.  It looked as though the Sydney Opera House was crumbling to the ground.  

Vivid Sydney from afar

The Blue Mountains

This past weekend was the first time that the Thoe family left the immediate Sydney vicinity.  A trip to the Blue Mountains can be done in a day from Sydney, but we decided to pack a bag and see where we ended up.  The weather had a nice autumn chill to it and there were blue skies overhead.  Everyone was excited for the getaway.

It took about an hour and half to get to one of the main tourist areas of the Blue Mountains, a village called Katoomba.  This has a cute downtown area and is home of Echo Point, which overlooks the Three Sisters. This is basically an unusual rock formation with 3 stones standing over 900 meters tall each.  There is an Aboriginal legend about three sisters being turned into stone by a witch doctor.  It was a very beautiful outlook.  But, as warned by others, it was a very touristy area.  We were going to have to get a little further out leave the traffic and overall "busyness" of the city. 

Purple pin is Mosman (where we live). Red pin is Katoomba.

Aubrey and Carter posing at the Echo Point sign

This is the overlook at Echo Point.  They are called the Blue Mountains because of the blue haze created by the vapors of the eucalypus trees. 

Overlook including the Three Sisters

Closeup of the Three Sisters

We didn't give up on our quest to "get away from it all."  So, we went ahead and tried to book a hotel room.  Unfortunately for us, there was an ultra marathon going on in the Blue Mountains this weekend.  (A 100 km race through the mountains.)  So, there were slim pickings left for hotel rooms by Saturday afternoon.  We ended up booking a cottage in Mount Victoria.  We drove around the Katoomba/Leura area some more, and then headed up to Mount Victoria.  

Purple pin is Mosman.  Red pin is Mount Victoria.

We checked into Cedar Lodge Cabins later in the afternoon.  It was pretty pricey considering what we got in return.  But, beggars cannot be choosers.  It was actually fine and was a very warm, cozy cabin on a frosty night in the mountains.  It just freaked us out a little when we got there and the owner said they had kept the door open during the day to keep it cool.  So, when we pulled the car up to a cabin (that had not been redecorated since the 1980's) sitting in the middle of the bush with a wide open door.  Our imaginations went wild thinking of all the creepy crawlies that had made their way in to prey on us in our sleep.  We have not forgotten all the stories we have heard of Australia's NUMEROUS poisonous creatures.  Luckily, I can happily report, we survived the night with no creepy crawly sightings.  And, we got to watch some Telefunken TV.  

Outside of our cabin

The bed with the nice flourescent light overhead.  It is kind of messy since I forgot to take pictures until the next morning. 

The couch and outside door of the cabin

The gourmet kitchen with the television right next to it 

Love the brand name of the television!

Sunday, we awoke to a chilly morning by Australian standards (around 3 degrees Celsius or 37 degrees Fahrenheit).  But, it was still pretty cozy in our cabin.  Well, as long as you didn't have to go into the bathroom, which was freezing, but I won't go into that.  Since the kids had us awake by 6:30, and no one really wanted to take a shower there, we got a pretty early start.  We grabbed a coffee and headed towards Sydney on a more northern route through the mountains along Hwy 40 (refer to previous map).  This route was less busy and provided some fantastic views of the mountains.  

We had to pull over to the side of the road to take a picture of this cliff catching the few rays of sunlight cutting through the morning clouds.  It was stunning in person.

We happened upon the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden on Mount Tomah.  We debated turning in, but thank goodness we did.  It was the highlight of our weekend.  We walked around for a couple of hours and tried to absorb all the beauty.  I love Botanic Gardens and I love the view from mountain tops.  Combine the two, and it really is like a piece of heaven here on Earth.  We all walked around with big smiles on our faces the entire time.

Views from Mount Tomah

Sean and the kids posing in the rainforest section of the gardens.

We ate a picnic lunch and then hit the road again.  Driving through the countryside here is a little different than in the Midwest.  We saw a few cows, but we mainly saw horses, sheep, and goats.  We then decided to go a little more off the beaten path and check out our first Aussie winery.  We went to Tizzana Winery in Ebenezer on the banks of the Hawkesbury River.  It was a delightful little family winery.  The owner of the winery then recommended we go just 4 km down the road and see the oldest standing church in Australia.  It was a very lovely, peaceful place.  After finally having a chance to enjoy some quiet time outside of the city, the weekend was ending, and it was time to make our final descent back down to Sydney.

Purple pin is Mosman.  Red pin is Tizzana winery.

This is kind of hard to read, but it states the winery was established in 1887.

Inside the Ebenezer Uniting Church

As we were driving through the outskirts of Sydney, we were discussing dinner options.  Honestly, we have not had much luck in Australian restaurants.  I love the Asian food here, but I am not so enamored with the other restaurants.  Pizza is hit or miss.  Really good service is hard to come by since tipping is not the norm in Australia.  Most restaurants don't have many options, are rather pricey, and then the portions are not very big.  Since they are expensive, Sean and I often try to get meals to share with the kids.  What usually happens when we go to a restaurant is that we leave spending a lot of money, and Sean and I are still hungry.    

On this particular evening, we were discussing how we were tired and hungry and just wanted a good meal.  Unfortunately, we did not think the chances were high to find that filling, heartwarming meal.  This is when we saw a sign along the side of the road and the promise land beckoned us.  It was almost too good to be true.

Yes, we ate at Outback Steakhouse here in Australia.  We didn't even know the restaurant chain was actually in Australia (it is based out of Tampa, Florida).  It tasted soooo good.  And the service was even American-like.  We were so giddy with excitement that the hostess and waitress probably thought we were mentally off-balance.  But, sometimes when you are not in your home country, there are little things you miss.  Even though they are little things, they keep adding up over a period of time.  On Sunday night, The Outback filled some of that void.  We left with full tummies and a warm glow.  Then, we drove back to the city and returned to our home away from home.  

The Wait is Over

We have constantly been waiting for things to happen since the end of November.  We had to wait to see if Sean was chosen to work in Australia.  Then, there were lots of little details with the move that we were waiting for.  Everything was set, and then we were waiting for the actual departure date.  We made it to Australia, then we were waiting to move into our permanent apartment.  We finally made to our more permanent residence and THEN we were waiting for our shipment from the States.  Finally, FINALLY, it is here!!!  We are unpacked and settled!  Our new life in Australia is officially up and running.  And, I have to say, life is good.

I will give you a little tour of our apartment.....

Our bedroom.  The picture in the corner is a portrait Carter made me for Mother's Day.

View out from our bedroom.  There is a door to the balcony, but we kind of blocked it by the tv.  What can I say, laying in bed while watching tv is guilty pleasure.

View of our bedroom looking towards the master bath

The kids' bedroom looking in the door at Aubrey's bed

Carter's bed and desk in the kids' room

The view out the kids' bedroom window

The kitchen

The dining "room"

The view from the living room toward the dining room and kitchen

The living room looking out at the balcony

View of the living room from the dining room

So, that's it for our apartment.  There is another bedroom that we are using for the computer room with a couple of desks and dressers in it.  This room is really not up to having its picture taken yet as it has also turned into our "miscellaneous room" until we find a place for everything.  The apartment isn't spacious, but it is clean and modern and has a great location.  We are pretty happy with where we have settled.

I'll add a couple of pictures of the kids playing on the playground at Balmoral Beach here in Mosman on Sunday.  I had to take a picture of Aubrey in this dress as I love it and she refuses to wear it.  She agreed to wear it Sunday since it was Mother's Day.  It may be the only time this dress sees the light of day while on my child, so I have to enjoy it while I can.

Also, I wanted to show some of the odd chip flavorings here.  I don't have a picture, but Aubrey's favorite chips are Honey, Soy, and Chicken flavored.  That is not multiple bags; it is just one kind of chip.   Okay, I admit it, they are actually really good and they are also my favorite kind of chips.  We try not to buy them very often because they can be a little addicting.  

Sean and I were very excited in the grocery store last Sunday when we found these KC BBQ flavored almonds.  They taste very similar to Lays BBQ chips.  We decided we would take the BBQ almonds over the Lamb and Rosemary chips (those are disgusting).  

All right, so there is ONE thing we are waiting on now that our apartment is in order; to begin our Australian adventures outside of Sydney!  There is an entire country here to explore.  We are hoping to make our first little trek out of the city this weekend to the Blue Mountains.  We are very excited!  Hopefully, I will have more on that subject next time.  Have a great weekend!