test from computer

I had some problems with blogging from my tablet, so trying some stuff with the computer.

At Christmas time we had matching jammies with pink hedgehogs:

Even Yoshi had matching pj's.  He wasn't very fond of them, but was willing to pose for one picture.

4/6 The End

Went to Canopy around the corner for our last dinner.  Calder had his favorite Hawaiian pizza and I had salmon on Asian vegetables.

We are packed except for the morning items.  The only cute thing about leaving tomorrow morning early is that Australia does its time change tonight.  The woman at the desk offered a wake up call and when I said that would be good especially with the change, she said OOH, IS THAT TONIGHT?  Really makes me feel secure.  It is “fall back” so we get an extra hour.

This has been a wonderful trip.

4/6 Last day Cockatoo Island

Since this is our last day and the weather is glorious, we decided on Cockatoo Island.  This is our sop to Australian history in Sydney.  It is the largest island in Sydney harbor and was a prison in the 1800's.  It then became the most important ship building and repairing point in the Southern Hemisphere until after WW II.

The first blip in our plan was that our metro station was closed.  Calder suggested that we just walk to Circular Quay since we wanted to be walking and outside anyway.  Stopped at Starbucks for a little brekkie on the way.  I am enjoying the ferry rides.  It is a neat way of getting around.  I’m not so sure how it would be in really stormy times.

We got the ear phones for the self guided tour and set off on a stroll through another not very nice time in Australia's history.  The Sculptures are really beam benders for the shipyard.  It is possible to camp overnight and a school group was arriving to do that as we were leaving.  The views were stupendous.  Second blip in our day - the first return boat that came was too crowded so we sat on the dock to wait for the next.

4/5 #4 dinner

We really liked our kangaroo dinner in Melbourne, so when we saw a branch of the Meat & Wine company here we both were in favor of doing it again!  For a small change, I ordered oysters.

Calder tried one and I ate the other two.  We skipped dessert and Ubered home.

Calder watched both Crocodile Dundee movies on the way here.  Whenever he is given a good sized steak knife, he does his best Australian accent  “That’s a knife”!

4/5 #3 Madame Tussauds

I have only been to the Madame Tussauds in Paris.  I did it then because Paris was having a major heat wave and I knew that a place with wax people would be aircondioned.  Each country’s has some things that are just for them and then some international people that every one will recognize.  We wandered and took photos.

4/5 #2 Wild Life Sydney

We were pleasantly surprised by the indoor zoo.  I had visions of cramped and smelly.  The visitors were in covered pathways, but the animal enclosures were open to the sky with netting and sometimes canopies.  Doing animal stuff with Calder is really great.  He spots the critters wherever they are hiding and knows what they all are.  He was pleased with this trip because he saw a lot of animals in person that he hadn’t seen before.  (He really does have a “life list” of zoos.)

He got a great picture of a Quakka.  Because of its mouth shape, it looks like it is smiling.  I took the butterfly to show Calder the difference between it and the Painted Lady that had migrated through our neighborhood.

4/5 Indoor 3 pass - SeaLife

Since it was a drizzly day, we opted for a 3 attraction pass that was all indoors: SeaLife, Wild Life Sydney Zoo and Madame Tussauds.

We started with the aquarium.  It was a lot like Melbourne's, but more cramped and a lot more crowded.  We were not the only people who decided to do indoor stuff.  One difference was a boat ride through the penguins.  They had both Little and King penguins.

4/4 shopping and dinner

We shopped our way back to the hotel.  It was raining a bit, so we just moved from one mall to the next.  (Westfield has a mall here, too.)

We went a little upscale to Mazzaro. It had tablecloths.

Calder had steak and I had lamb shoulder.  We looked at the desserts, but were stuffed and none of them looked irresistible.

#2

We had brunch at the Opera House cafe.  Calder had the breakfast sandwich and I had a strange but tasty croque monsieur.  The cages around our food was to protect it from the gulls.  We cut off small portions, because they tried to steal it from your hand if you weren’t careful.

4/4 The Opera House and shopping

A trip to Sydney must include the tour of the Opera House.  It didn’t disappoint.  We saw one of the small theaters, both of the big concert halls, a short video about the design and work, and lots and lots of stairs.  The architect was treated badly and never saw it finished.  The cost overrun was paid for in 18 months by a lottery!  Thank you gamblers.

 The sails are self cleaning beige and white.  Some are matte and some are shiny.

 To the eye it is tan.  But in pictures a shiny white.
You can see the structure well on the inside.

4/3 zoo #2

The weather and the views were spectacular after the fog cleared.  We got a fabulous view of the Opera house on our way back.

We ate at a casual place very near our hotel since neither one of us wanted to walk more than we had to.  Calder is working his way through Hawaiian pizza and I had prawn fettuccine.

4/3 Taronga Zoo Sydney

Somehow the 17 hour time difference seems to be in our favor.  We are not having any problems getting up an going in the mornings.  We took the Metro to Circular Quay, bought our zoo tickets and were all set to go, when they announced that because of the very thick fog, all ferry traffic was halted.

 We had to admit that it was pretty bad.  This was our view of the Opera house.

Once we got going all went well.  The public ferry took us to the zoo's wharf, where we boarded the cable car to the zoo entrance at the top of the hill.  Calder once again planned out the best route.  The only problem with this zoo is that since it is on the hill, you walk downhill for one side and UPHILL for the other.  All in all, we walked 5.4 miles and climbed 12 floors!

We lucked out with the elephants.  They were having baths and we were able to watch how the keepers worked with them.  There were two adult females and an eighteen month old male.  At first they were separated, but when Mom finished they all ended up in the same pen.  The keepers gently got Mom and baby outside.  Auntie prefers a little privacy. Of course the koalas were great as usual.

4/2 On to Sydney g

So far traveling has been really easy.  We Ubered to the Melbourne airport, had an hour and a half flight and then Ubered to the Travelodge on Wentworth.  I chose this one for a fairly convenient location and also because it had twin beds available.  You would not believe how many places did not. 
                                                                                                                                                                   
After getting organized, we walked to the Circular Quay to check out the lay of the land.  We bought our Opal cards so that we can use the metros and ferries.  We had dinner overlooking the harbor at City Extra and then walked home through a shopping district trying to find a store that sold distilled water.  We were finally successful and Calder carried our heavy shopping home.  Dinner was a bacon cheeseburger for guess who and fish and chips for me.  Calder was horrified to discover that the burger not only had an unmentioned tomato slice, but ALSO A BEET SLICE!

4/1 SeaLife Melbourne

Our last day in Melbourne.  We took the free tram to the aquarium.  Australians are amazingly nice.  When I bought the tickets, I asked for 1 adult and one concession (old person).  The cashier said that since he was just a few years older than the child, she would just charge me for 2 concessions.

Once again we saw EVERYTHING!  We played a computer game that involved grabbing plastic bags and not jellies.  The computer was taking our pictures while we worked.  For $15 dollars we have 1 printed picture, all 5 that can be downloaded and a short video that can be downloaded.

They yarn bomb in Australia.

We went to The Meat &Wine Company for dinner and had Kangaroo skewers.  They were really yummy.  This kangaroo was medium rare, so much juicier.

3/31 Dinner

We were too footsore to go far, so we just went across the street to Jasper.  Calder had a Wagu beef burger and I had quail with onions and grapes.  Calder tried some quail and decided that it was pretty tasty- a little gamyer than chicken.

3/31 Melbourne Gaol

After the zoo we Ubered to the Old Melbourne Gaol.  We first did the tour where we were treated like felons and processed.  This gaol was built in the late 1800's and used until the 1990's.  The men and women were separated (since Calder was considered a child, he came with me). All of the women were put in one windowless cell and all of the men another.  The door was shut and locked with the lights turned off until “morning “.  Even though it was a pretty short time, it was a little intense.  There was a toilet in the cell.

 One of us was given a number so we could take his picture in the exercise yard.

The rest of the tour was in the original part and had cells with information about Australia's most famous criminals.

3/31 Melbourne Zoo

We like to get to zoos early.  It is a little cool, the animals tend to be active, the school trips aren't there yet.  So, we went for a take out breakfast and called an Uber.

It was cloudy and misty when we arrived, but Calder mapped out our best route and off we went.  

I think that this is the best tiger viewing I have ever had.  He came up to the window many times and looked at us as though he was planning lunch.

The lemur exhibit was fabulous.  We were in the enclosure with them.  If they wanted to they could have sat on our shoulders.  There was a keeper in with us to keep the fools from harassing them.

Day with Moshi #3

Mariam joined us for a visit to a near by retirement farm for famous race horses.  We had tea in the house which dated from 1880 and then took the tour.  This consisted of being driven from paddock to paddock to meet the horses and feeding them carrots.  

It was really cold and windy.  We did get to see wild kangaroos while doing this which pleased Moshi.  He had promised Calder wild ones, and was worried that he wouldn’t get to see any.

We went to Nando’s for dinner.  We knew about this from our trip to London and were pleased to find one a few blocks from the hotel. We both had chicken tenders and were happy with our supper.

Day with Moshi #2

Moshi picked us up soon after and took us to his house.

When Chuck and I were here in 2006, they were living in a smaller one story house.  This house is much larger with 3 en suite bedrooms, two offices, and several sitting rooms.  It is in a western suburb a little past the airport.  

They heat their pool by running it in pipes on the black roof tiles.  It can get really hot.

Next, he took us to the community center.  He says that when a new community is being built, this is the first thing that is added.  This one had a 

 Hotel,  a dining room with bar, a slots room with bar, and an off track betting room with bar!