Mum and Dad have just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Graham and I spent the weekend in Sydney to help them celebrate.
We flew down to Sydney on Friday the 4th March,
after leaving our furry kids with
Grandma Vi so they could share their doggy love!
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| Graham at Darling Harbour |
We stayed at the Ibis, King street wharf - which is near Darling Harbour. I liked this hotel - and I've stayed in a lot of hotels in Sydney and elsewhere in the world. You usually know what your going to get with an Ibis, a small room, but clean modern, neat and at a cheaper price. This one was so close to everything . A few minutes walk to the restaurant strip and a 10 minute walk to Department stores like Myer and David Jones! (For those who know Sydney its not far from Wynyard Station) No view, but we could see the Maritime Museum through the gaps in the buildings. This Ibis also did a great Breakfast for the price - we will certainly stay there again if the opportunity arises.
Mum and Dad booked in there too so had a mini holiday in their own city!!
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| Ibis King Street Wharf |
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| Seagull and the Glebe Island Bridge |
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On the Friday afternoon and after meeting up with Mum and Dad, Graham and I went to the Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour -- I've never been there before. The Dugongs are soooo ... beautiful !!!
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| A beautiful Dugong |
As that night (4th March) was Mum and Dads anniversary we all went out to dinner at Nicks Bar and Grill -- I think we all were a little disappointed with the meal -- I've had better prawn cutlets at the local pub!! But it had a nice atmosphere and good company. We then walked off the meal with a circuit of the Darling Harbour precinct. It was very busy, lots of people throng to Darling Harbour on a Saturday night.
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| Darling Harbour at dusk |
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| Mum and Dad |
Saturday,, After breakfast - and the excitement of a car commercial being filmed in the street outside our Hotel--- (IT IS that sort of street, clean/modern/city) --- the four of us set off for the gallery to see the Terracotta Warriors exhibition.
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| Library |
It took less than 30 minutes to walk via Martin Place , past the State Library , through the Domain, and onto one of my favourite places the Art Gallery NSW ... This was the second to last weekend of this exhibition and we realised that we were lucky to get there early as the queues to buy tickets when we left were three hours long.
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| Art Gallery of NSW |
The Warriors are on loan from China -- Mum and Dad have seen them before, insitu --. I found it fascinating to see them so close up,,,, so much detail in their faces, clothing and hair. People must have spent a lifetime working on these figures -- although - it reminded me as a bit like the building of a large public building -- for example -- Canterbury Cathedral -- it kept people in employment (which means money) , gave them worth and a trade/skill which they could pass on to the next generation and they had the respect of working for their God or King.
Then it was shopping time!!! ....Off to Myers ladies fashion --- Graham had to amuse himself somehow....
Saturday night the family all met up for dinner at the Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ restaurant. This is one of those places that you choose your own ingredients and they cook it on a hot stone while you watch. I think everyone had a good time.
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| Step 1 - Choosing ingredients |
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| Step 2- Line up and wait for your turn |
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| Step 3 - food cooked quickly on the hot stone |
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| Graham and I |
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| My sister Cathy and my niece Rachel |
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| The cake with an edible photo was made by Rebecca and was yummy! |
What I forgot to mention was that this dinner took place on the same night in Sydney as the Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, So the city was really busy and there were hundreds of same sex couples out and about, often wearing feathers and sequins. This was an eye opener for the children and older people alike as Mum and Dad did have an adventure during their evening stroll after the dinner!
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