Summer in Sydney: Day Five

Final Day in the city, kids strapped us to Queen Victoria Building and did the long walk along Pitt St. to Darling Harbour. We came home to pack, did as much laundry as possible and got ready to vacate for an early flight home the following day.

My poor health could be felt and I did not push for much. Just the slow and easy pace and ample self-reflection, tried my best to be grateful and quietly learnt ways to be friends with The Other Half again after a very difficult time. I was quiet, contemplating my course of treatment options. I told myself the fever and pain will go away soon. I made a new friend in Pauline Hor and it has been Godsent. Our children go to the same school so she understands my routine and struggles too well.

By the time we boarded the plane to head home, all my unresolved issues with Sydney came to a peaceful closure and acceptance too.

Goodbye, 2016. Thank you for the lessons but please let 2016 remain in 2016. Forever. Amin.

Summer in Sydney : Day Four

Paddington Market Day! 

Kids played at the church playground, The Other Half and I took turns to shop for handicrafts. Once it got boring for us adults we hitched another taxi back to Hyde Park to let the little ones run free. 

Hyde Park Barracks Museum provided the much needed afternoon shield from summer sun. Another long trek to Botanical Gardens. Kids thoroughly enjoyed the red choo-choo ride around the vast garden.

It got too hot, so Bean threw a major tantrum at Sydney Opera House as he wanted to order cold chocolate at one of the lounges that serves only alcohol (big oops and drama there!). We persuaded him to go to ice-cream stall at Circular Quay but have you ever met a toddler with tantrums? Yes, that was us. Spectacular!

I basically carried him all the way back to Circular Quay, he almost got his foot caught at the train gap and then fell asleep in my arms at Queen Victoria Building. Precious, right? The sweaty mop of hair, flushed cheeks and calm snoring that weighed just about 15 kg of dead weight. 

As soon as we got home, everything settled down for a much needed rest for everyone. Girl and The Other Half kept to their habit of buying Shopkins from Woolsworth before 10 pm nightly. Bless.

Summer In Sydney: Day Three

Taronga Zoo Day!

Here is the summary:

The Bare Bears on telly during breakfast - what a good routine of no homework/no shouty parents. Everyone was happy to do their own thing at their own pace.

The only time I said "chop chop time to go" was for the walk to QVB train station.

On with train ride to Circular Quay, disembarked for short walk to Wharf for Taronga Zoo. We got the ferry return tickets that comes with combo of Taronga Zoo family pass AND cable car passes. It saved us quite a hefty sum and precious time.

Girl and Bean had their own programme in mind. They played at every playground, lunched at The View (the view was indeed spectacular!), visited more playground, bumped into Girl's schoolmates and finally boarded the last ferry back to Circular Quay at 5 p.m.

We then bought ferry tickets to Pyrmont Bay, walked towards Darling Quarters for even more playground time. The same schoolmate's mummy had the same unsaid ideas for Darling Quarters so we spent a long evening getting to know one another properly and bonded.

When it was time for dinner, we opted for a nearby Japanese restaurant, while the kids continued to play till dusk at Darling Quarters. Bean refused to leave so he rewarded me with a major meltdown. I was tired and in pain so we hitched a taxi ride back to the flat because I was too tired to walk with a kicking 15 kg Bean in my grip.

By some miracle, we got everyone showered and tucked in by bed time. What a tiring day it really was.

We did not see much at the zoo but we sure did a whole lot of playing and eating of ice-creams there! Wonderful excuse to return next time, inshaAllah.

P/S: Will upload photos when I iCloud my files...hehehe. 

Summer in Sydney: Day Two

The hallmark of Girl's Sydney breakfast ritual is morning cartoons. This trip, she discovered a cartoon about 3 bears - polar bear, brown grizzly bear and panda bear who coexist in a home near a town. Her last trip was all Ben-10! Bean was obsessed with The Bare Bears every morning so I had often brought them their breakfast and allowed them to eat in front of the telly while they were still in their pyjamas!

Since this was going to be a short holiday, we literally had to turn off the telly and pry them out of the serviced apartment by 10 am. We walked to the ANZAC Memorial, had both lunch and tea at Australian Museum and dinner at Sydney Opera House.

They both spent many hours collecting twigs and leaves at ANZAC Memorial and Hyde Park. It was a taste of normal childhood as they played tag (ran and chased one another while laughing crazily and loudly) while The Other Half and I sipped our lattes and watched out for their safety. Inside the memorial, Girl was able to recognise the red poppy garland as a tribute to fallen soldiers who defended Australia during the war.

We went indoors at Australian Museum as soon as the sun got hotter and we left the kids to be fascinated by display about Spiders. They especially loved colouring their own spiders, scanned it at the kiosk and see their own spider animated. There was just so much for them to do we spent many hours and two meals there until closing time. The rooftop cafe offers a lovely view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Fresh air and sunshine were let in as they left the sliding doors wide open for natural ventilation. Fresh food and drinks were of fairly good quality too, a nice change from just cold sandwiches, pastries and coffee which you often find at museums.

After an overload of Spiders,  we let the kids loose again at Hyde Park and Botanical Gardens until the shower hit us at 5.30 pm as per weather forecast. We had ponchos and umbrellas ready. Dinner was at Sydney Opera House for the Harbour Bridge view. Japanese cuisine was fresh and tasty but we were too stuffed to order any dessert.

At around 7pm, the little ones started showing signs of having had too much fun (read as: tired, tantrums) so we boarded the train from Circular Quay back to Town Hall. A quick walk past Queen Victoria Building, and we were almost at doorstep of our home away from home. Bean threw a mini tantrum because he wanted to hold all 4 Opal cards, and insisted on being carried once he got tired of walking. I was his one and only MamaTaxi, and to be honest I enjoyed kissing his cheeks while he clung on tightly for dear life.

Again, everyone got washed and retired early while adults stayed up to pray, finish the laundry and enjoy a cup of tea - which soon became a good routine considering it was a holiday.

Summer in Sydney: Day One

Once we breezily cleared our immigration and collected our two luggages, we went out to search for Alex. He is our trusted, reliable and friendly limo driver, whenever we visit Sydney.

Remember how we declined our pre-booked in-flight meals as we were sleeping during meal time? We were so famished and thirsty we requested for a quick breakfast at the arrival hall. Alex Anani introduced us to a kiosk that serves halal pita bread, baked on the spot! Brews fresh ground coffee too. We bought apple juice for the kids but oh, fresh pita bread with latte for breakfast was simply divine! He was so kind he let us eat and drink in his luxury car (we promised not to leave crumbs or spills).

There has been an upgrade to his Mercedes-Benz since we last saw him and kids were thrilled with the sunroof. They kept saying it was just like their grandad's last car and how it works differently from the current Lexus sunroof, I distracted myself by looking out of the car window as we passed Zetland and headed into the city. I felt right at home. Home away from home. Only with cleaner air.

A short 20 minutes later, we arrived at Meriton Pitt St. Check-in time was brief as they had all our details. The bonus was that they had a unit of serviced apartment ready for us right away at noon. Check-in time is stated at 2 pm and we were not charged the extra couple of hours. Sweet!

The reception staff was also culturally-sensitive/aware and asked if I had any objections to the number 4404 fengshui-wise. We did not mind one bit and our only minor comment after being shown the unit was that the master bedroom was a bit of a squash and a squeeze.

The extra two hours allowed me to unpack, got everyone showered and we ventured out to Woolworth for supplies (laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, fruits, tea, cereals and bread). We went out again for a walk as soon as the groceries had been brought home. There was a construction site along Kent St. so luckily we did not select Meriton Kent St.!

We walked towards Pitt St Mall and since there were buskers everywhere, we did not have a chance to go shopping. Bean asked for a photo of Sydney Tower from Pitt St Mall before asking for an early dinner from the Japanese cafe near Meriton Pitt St. He got over-stimulated at an electrical and computer store, and only cooled down once we were outdoors.

After a quick dinner and wash up, we retired early to recharge for the adventures ahead. I did the laundry with eucalyptus laundry gel - and be the first woman in history who regrets not buying a dozen bottles of laundry gel to bring home. 

Oh, Sydney. You have changed so much and yet everything is the way it is. 

Summer in Sydney: Air Asia

I know I have not posted detailed account of our long, wet, summer in Ireland yet, oopsie-a-daisy.

We left for Sydney, Australia as soon as school holidays started. It was our first Air Asia flight as a family so you can imagine my nervousness coupled with streaks of anticipation. We were blessed with an awesome GrabCar driver with Nissan people mover. She provides wifi, water, snacks and and YouTube onboard from home to KLIA2.

As soon as we were dropped off at KLIA2 Departure Hall, we ate our dinner at the first cafe we stumbled upon, Secret Recipe. It was nothing special but kids were thrilled with the cold chocolate treat after dinner. We had to sugar them up to last until check-in and boarding time at 11.30 pm which is way past their bedtime.

As we had lots of time to kill before checking-in (we were first timers at KLIA2 and had no idea how to plan out timing), kids explored the few shops and Malaysian aviation milestone board. I hope they remember something about aviation history in this country, but I doubt it. I bet they only recall the mock palm trees and large screen LCDs.

When our check-in counter finally opened at 8.30 pm, we were nearly the first ones to check-in. We packed really light (thanks to reliable washer and dryer at Meriton Pitt St) and since Bean had just been potty trained, we had even more space in the luggage sans MamyPoko Pull-Up Pants.

Immigration clearance was uneventful, luckily. We then finished up all our water in our bottle just in time for toilet time before boarding. Theboredom stemming from long waiting time nearly killed us so fortunately the shopkeepers were not too fussed about having 2 noisy and active children jump into their rides, touch their early Christmas display and laugh the place down. Cold chocolate drink after dinner, remember?

The boredom of waiting without lounge and creative ways of inventing new games are all eye-opener for us 4. The 2 noisy and crazy travellers were a bit sleepy by 11 pm and started misbehaving from sugar crash. Instead of curling up to sleep, they noisily climbed on every seat at the waiting area. I think I have never glared and hissed that much before my entire life.

By the time we boarded, got our seat belts buckled and settled in, Girl mumbled that she wanted a flatbed (we got hot seats, not knowing earlier that we should have bought flat beds). Point to note if we ever travel with Air Asia again (mentally guesstimating the cost to be equivalent to MAS tickets).

Bean basically suckled to sleep. One other traveller was curious of his age and why he has not been weaned to a bottle of formula yet. Me, being the thick skinned nurse in public mum with lack of sleep just politely replied that I was tired and dozed off.

The sound of creaking trolley woke me up. We refused our pre-booked meals as we were sleeping. Luckily, we have packed travel blankets for the 2 of them but the upright seats with limited recline were not the best beds. Too tired to care, everyone slept and stirred.

In the end, the flight comfort (or rather lack of comfort) had not matter that much because we woke up to glorious Sydney! We were thankful the kids travelled well without incidents. We were just so thankful Bean has been officially potty trained and kept dry without accidents. He wore his Mothercare trainer pants just to be safe throughout the holiday, but his potty training had been relatively easy because he told us when he was ready. I learnt an important lesson from Bean: Often times, it is OK to be led by child.

The Sydney air did us 4 a whole lot of good. It was the change of scenery and circumstances we have been waiting for, for an entire year. Syukur alhamdulillah!