They had many sharks at the aquarium. Ben loved it.

I love this picture of Ben and Rachel looking into the Great Barrier Reef Exhibit.

While walking through the tubes at the Aquarium, Jake laid down on the floor to take this picture of a Manta Ray.

A Saltie at the Sydney Aquarium

From the cruise boat.

Sydney Harbour from the bridge.

The Opera House from the Harbour Bridge.

A view of the city. The Botanical Gradens are behind the kids.

Drinking German beer at a bavarian restaurant. Never thought I would be at a German restaurant in Australia.

This was taken from the Botanical Gardens.

Finally a picture of both Jake and I!!!!

Rachel and Ben standing in front of the Opera House. Its huge!

Sydney

Sorry again that its been awhile but we have been very busy. The last couple of weekends we did some travelling so now I have alot to cover!

Two weekends ago we went to Sydney which was truly spectacular. It was a 10 hour drive from Melbourne and we had a three day weekend so we decided to go for it. It was great. It reminded me quite a bit of Seattle (without the rain) because of all the harbors and bays. There were ferries and boats all over the place.

So, when we got there, we went into an area called the Rocks which is where the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are. This was a fun area. Lots of pubs and shopping. There was also a nice park area by the bay. What's neat about this area is that it was literally cut out of the limestone that was there. So, there are all kinds of little alleyways with restaurants and shops. In this area there is also what they call Circular Quay which is basically a series of piers that the ferries and boat cruises leave out of.

We had so much fun in this area its hard to describe. You just need to be there!

We also went into another area called Cockle Bay. This part of town had the Sydney Aquarium, IMAX theatre and lots of restaurants. We went to the Aquarium which was great. They had the shark exhibits, which Ben thought was totally cool. They also had a wonderful exhibit on the Great Barrier Reef. It was amazing and definitely fun for kids. They played off the Nemo theme (surprise, surprise) and had games where the kids would search for the characters in the movies. So needless to say we saw Nemo, Dory, Bubbles and the whole crew. It was really fun.

Of course we also went to the Opera House and walked across the Harbour Bridge. I really wanted to do the Bridge Climb but the kids were too young. So ... I'll have to go another time when they are not with us. Now at this point I am sure many of you are laughing at the fact I would want to do this since I could barely run across the St John's Bridge in the Marathon. But...hey no time like the present to face your fears. So I am definitely going for it the next time I am there.

What amazed me the most about the whole trip was how excited Ben and Rachel were. They had learned about Sydney in school in the states so they went nuts when we got to the Opera House. They kept running all over the place.

We also went on an afternoon tea cruise of the Harbor. It was beautiful and fun. We had such a great weekend that I can't wait to go again. There are other parts of the city we still need to see. We also need to get to the beaches, which are supposed to be great. I really want to take surf lessons, which Jake is completely opposed to. He is afraid I am going to get eaten by a shark. I'll admit that there have been two people killed by sharks since we moved here but really... what are the odds?

Anyways, there is also all the wineries, mountains, Olympic Park etc. So, we have alot more to cover on our next visit. Needless to say it was so much fun and we can't wait to get back. Next time, though, we'll probably take the train. It goes right into the middle of the city and you can virtually walk everywhere ot take a train.

Enjoy the pictures!

Sorry!!!!

Okay, its been awhile!!! We have been so busy with getting the kids back to school and all the related activities that this blog has had to take a back seat.

Anyways..... this week has been a big one. Ben met Prince Charles with his class this week! His class was on a field trip in downtown Melbourne and the Prince was visiting. Ben got to shake his hand and talk to him. He was so excited!! Then after meeting him, he was interviewed by the local radio station and others in his class were interviewed by the local newspapers, TV, etc. Very exciting!!!

Next weekend we are going to Sydney for a long weekend and we are all excited. We are definitely going to Sydney Harbor and the Opera House. I would also love to do the bridge climb while there. Anyways, as Jake says, we are on a reconassaince mission. Since its a 3 day weekend and Sydney is a10 hour drive, we are just going in and scoping it out. Then, we'll plan a real vacation there!

Okay... so I'll write more tommorow. It's saturday night and I need to get back to my movie!
Jen:)