Summer Down Under - Part II

The Beaches in and around Sydney are something to behold.  Bondi beach was a fun daytrip for us, complete with eating lunch at one of the fabulous outdoor cafes lining the promenade.  And that is one of the things I learned about Sydney - they have fabulous cafes!








The girls enjoyed just running around on the beach





and the Pipsqueak couldn't quite manage to walk on the uneven sand so she developed a fascination for climbing the stairs





















Some things we learned about Sydney in the first few days:

1.  The coffee is GREAT - and there is barely a Starbucks in sight!
2.  There are lots of interesting and colorful birds
3.  The animals are just plain odd - I mean have you LOOKED at a Platypus?
4.  The men here are very fashionable - and there are as many menswear stores as womens' boutiques
5.  The place is EXPENSIVE (it's the home of the $6 coffee - notice the many references to cafes and  coffee but generous doses of caffeine were required to get us parents through the trip ...)

Soooo, onwards to the next beach - Manly with its beautiful beachside promenade







Next stop:  Wildlife World in downtown Sydney - much like a zoo but more focused on just Australian creatures.  This was on the coldest day on record in 29 years, which registered at a high of 13 degrees (Celsius, that is, no idea what it would be in Farenheit but well above freezing and downright balmy by Canadian standards).  But fear not, these hardy Canadians still sat outside for lunch along beautiful Darling Harbour.

We took the ferry, of course:

Saw our first Kookaburra

Cute little guys, but I was kind of disillusioned to find out that they literally have pea-sized brains - therefore not much going on in the way of social interactions ...

Pipsqueak liked the butterfly display!

The winner of the girls' favourite Australian animal award, hands-down, was the Wombat

It was cold and rainy that day ....

Yep, that's yet another coffee cup

The Pipsquak was not amused ....