Sydney Day 1

We knew we only had time for one more big trip before leaving this part of the world, and I wanted to cross another continent off my list, so I planned a trip to Australia for us.  Australia was a great choice, not only for bucket list priorities, but also because the weather is cool in April, everything is in English, and there was a cruise leaving from Sydney during Vivian's April break.

I took a gamble on the overnight flight that got to Sydney around 7am.  I had found an Airbnb for us in the touristy area, but I knew we wouldn't be able to check in that early, so I also researched breakfast places with play areas along the way.  It worked out :-)

It was a week day, so it wasn't crowded.  There was plenty of space for our bags, and a park across the street for the girls to run around in once they'd eaten.

We spent a good chunk of our morning there.  Vivian fueled up on hot chocolate, which came in a bottle.

She was ready for Australian fun.  The day before we left, she got her nails done.

We kept up with the kids by drinking plenty of excellent Australian coffee.  They also offered Elena something called a babycino, which is like a kiddie "cappuccino" made with steamed milk and sugary goodies.

Apparently, it's a big thing in Australia, but my little Thai baby completely rejected it.  We eventually made our way to the apartment, dropped off our bags, and then started exploring.  

One of the reasons for picking that apartment was that it was within walking distance of lots of different things we wanted to do.  We started with the closest one, the Australia National Maritime Museum.  

The big draw for that one was that they have real ships docked in the harbor that you can climb on and explore.  We started with the HMAS Vampire.

Elena was not in the best of moods, so after a little bit I took her back inside the main part of the museum and let Jeff and Vivian continue their exploration.

Inside the museum, Elena and I discovered a kiddie play area with a maritime theme.  She had a great time playing there.

Meanwhile, Jeff and Vivian moved from the destroyer to the submarine.

They also explored the Endeavor, Captain Cook's original vessel.

Eventually, we all met back up again inside the museum to see their special exhibition on the naval rescue at Pompeii.  I hadn't realized how long it took for the volcano to actually erupt, and apparently, some people were rescued by naval ships from the mainland.  They also had exhibits on things like pearls, which I enjoyed.

After a couple hours, we walked back towards our apartment and stopped at a restaurant for some excellent burgers.  We went to bed pretty early, and everyone slept well.  It was a good start to our vacation.