Swan Valley

Our last day in Perth.  We borrowed Grandpa John’s car and headed for the Swan Valley.  The Swan Valley is just half an hour from Perth CBD and known for its food and wine trails.  Stopping at the Guilford Information Centre for a map Mum created our very own Swan Valley fun trail, up West Swan Road and back down the Great Northern Highway, tailored especially to us kids.

Stop 1: The Margaret River Chocolate Company

Check out our big smiles at our first stop!

We peered through the window at chocolatiers making delicious treats.  We even got to sample a few.

It’s a great spot for a coffee break.

and a leg stretch.

Stop 2: Cuddly Animal Farm

They gave us buckets of food so we could feed all the animals.

The guinea pigs were shy at first.

But we got a few cuddles in the end.

The chicks also were reasonably friendly. But I really, really, really didn’t like the goats. Mum had to rescue me from their house.

We got a sweat up on the bikes, bounce house and play ground.

And had a good time on the train. But by the end of all of that we were getting hungry!

Stop 3: The Cheese Barrel

The Cheese Barrel is the cafe on site at Olive Farm Wines which was the first winery in WA, planting vines in 1829. The lunch and wine (according to Mum and Papi) was delicious.

Fortunately Mum and Papi were content to sit and wait whilst Rafa and I had a leisurely play in the sandpit.

Stop 4: Whistler’s Chocolate Company

Mum said we could have a fourth stop at another chocolate place if we were good at lunch.  I’m sure that’s called bribery but we were cool with that.

Clearly we were VERY good at lunch because we even scored another babycino.

And even some extra time to run around and build more sandcastles.

Stops 5, 6 and 7.  Looking for Lucy.

Found her!  Actually she was at Whistler’s but I thought she was still buried in the sandpit at the Cheese Barrel so there was a bit of a back tracking trying to find her.

The day was as long as this post but a really happy one.  After being reunited with Lucy all of us in the back seat slept soundly on the drive back to Perth.

 

 

 

 

Fremantle

Fremantle (called Freo locally) is known for its well preserved 19th century architectural heritage.

Many of the limestone buildings and ornate facades were built by convicts sent from Britain in 1850 to support the local population.

The original Fremantle jail, The Round House (up on the hill) was built in 1830 but wasn’t big enough to house the migrating convicts who had to build a new jail for themselves in the mid 1800s.  Both can be toured today (although we just looked from the outside).

Many of the oranate buildings house a budding artist scene although we didn’t go to any galleries either.

We did however, stop in on one of the many great coffee shops which was my idea as I’ve become particularly fond of Babycinos on this trip.

By Ana.



 

Cottesloe Beach

We’re now back home in Houston but since we had a few internet access challenges whilst in Australia we’ve still got a few days of holiday snaps to share with you such as the above pictures taken from our lazy afternoon on Cottesloe Beach, complete with Aussie cuisine for lunch, fish and chips!

(mostly) Kings Park

We’ve managed to squeeze in a little bit of park time every day we’ve been here so far.  Mostly in one of the parks within Kings Park which is an over 4km square park in Perth CBD.  With Botanic Gardens, trails, several awesome kids’ playgrounds, cafes, a sky walk and amazing views it’s an absolute must see for anyone going to Perth.

Flying away with my co-pilot Rafa.

The giant croc was a favourite. Snap snap.

These guys were pretty cool too. Quack quack.

I learnt a new trick.

We did lots and lots of walking.

Of course.

Bubbles! (this was at Market park in Subiaco)

The view from the Malcolm street side is gorgeous.

Read about my last trip to King’s Park here.

The great Sydney rhinoceros hunt

We found our first rhinoceros on the corner of Pitt St and Market.

Carlos rode one at Hyde Park.

Bright and colourful at Cockle Bay.

Another Cockle Bay rhino looked a little bit like Rainbow Dash.

We found this guy outside the Chinese Gardens.

Another one hanging out in Pitt Street.

Pitt St clearly a popular rhino hangout.

Macquarie St.

Circular Quay at the Ferry Terminal.

Abuela wanted to take this tiled mosaic home from Botanic Gardens.

And this guy at the Botanic Gardens was covered in lids!

At the Opera House.

Darling Harbour was the hangout for this darling.

And this one.

Rhino or Zebra? We thought he counted as our 15th rhino.

We spotted our last one just as we were getting into the train station on our way to the airport.

The rhinos are part of the Taronga Zoo’s Wild Rhinos to raise awareness of the plight facing rhinos through poaching and habitat loss and to raise funds for the zoo’s rhino conservation program.  The herd is 125 strong and spread around streets, parks and public spaces in Sydney.  They will be auctioned on May 14th.

Another wonderful day in Sydney

We love the Darling Harbour / Cockle Bay area so much we went to hang out there a few times.

We checked out the heritage ships. I was sure a pirate once owned this one.

The carousel is definitely my favourite activity of everything we’ve done in Sydney and I managed to get more than one ride on that.

Tumbalong park comes in at a very close second of favourite things to do.

Rafa needed a little convincing to put his feet in the sand.

But later when he saw me on the digger…

That was all the motivation he needed.

And if you wonder why he was almost naked on the digger you just need to know that the park has an amazing canal system with dam gates and waterwheels.

And a splash pad.

Where we both got delightfully soaked.

By Ana.

 

Harbour and gardens walkabout

A perfect day for a Sydney walkabout.

The Opera House.

The Harbour Bridge.

Play time on pieces of an old building facade at the Opera House entrance to the Botanic Gardens.

Runabout.

Time for a climb.

And a family shot.

Coffee and a chat.

Three times around then three times back makingour wishes at the wishing tree.

Hyde Park

 

IAH > LAX > SYD

Our trip got off to a bad start with me vomiting, Papi feeling sick and a momentary hiccup with Rafa’s Australian visa.

We had everything back on track by the time we departed Houston and had dug out things to do from our activity pack.

Flight one down, followed by 5 hours to hang at LAX.  We thought the new terminal was gorgeous with its new shops and restaurants and giant digital art screens.

The kids area was super cool too. We surfed a little then played tag with some bigger kids on our flight (who Rafa had no problems tackling to the ground). We ran until our cheeks were red.

We slept for about 3/4 the 14 and a half hour flight with our new travelling blankets and pillows (Dusty and Sofia the First themed).

And for the first time I signed my own Incoming Passenger Card. A-N-A.

About 30 hours after we left home in Houston we were getting off the train in the Sydney CBD.

And happily reading books with Abuela in a Pitt St Cafe.

Mum and Papi were happy to be there too.

By Ana.

 

Photos from Mum

Auckland

Catching up with Family.

And the view from the harbour bridge.

Tasmania

On campus.

A walk around Hobart waterfront.

And out to dinner.

Sydney

Sydney harbour. Waterfront walks never grow old. Especially when it’s sunny!

The iconic Opera House.

Brisbane

An urban gymnastics class at Gym Cartel in Newstead.

A not-so-sunny river walk.

A catch up with the book club crew.

and a Calypso mango.