The Great Australian Adventure, Part 2!

After having a wonderful time in Cairns, we figured we'd love Sydney just as much. But just minutes after our arrival in good 'ole Sydney, we were beginning to change our mind. We couldn't find the shuttle bus that was supposed to take us to our hotel! We had asked the desk clerk from the company for directions and she made it sound really easy, but we later learned that giving directions was definitely not one of her strengths. Or listening wasn't one of ours.

We followed her directions and were obviously in the wrong spot, so we consulted an airport directory. We were able to figure out where we needed to go from the map -- walk the sidewalk to the north until it bends over east and the shuttles were right there. So we trekked with two suitcases, a stroller, a toddler, a car seat, a backpack, a tote bag and a purse between the two of us all the way to where the magic stop was supposed to be. Supposed to be. Only to find that the map was outdated or we just can't read maps. But since my husband is a naval aviator and really darn good with maps, I'm going to go with the map being outdated.

We realized we needed to head back to where we started, so back we went... two grouchy Americans, one grouchy toddler, two suitcases, a stroller, a car seat, a back pack, a tote bag and a purse. We found where we needed to be, mostly by accident, and definitely not where the map said. We had missed our scheduled transfer during our tour of the Sydney airport and had another half hour before the next one left. Sitting in the shuttle, with the AC turned off and our patience worn very thin, we looked at each other and there was a silent understanding between us. We hate Sydney.

Finally the bus took off and after 30 minutes of about the most dangerous driving I've experienced (second only to a taxi experience in Mexico that gave me several gray hairs and stomach cramps and third to an hour and a half ambulance ride over bumps with an intestinal obstruction in November of last year in Cairns), we made it to our hotel. Sweet Jesus, what a relief. Our friends, Mark and Kirsty, and their girls were staying in the same hotel and we couldn't wait to let them know we had arrived. And then we got an urgent message from the desk clerk; one of the girls was in the hospital.

Suddenly the drama of our journey was obsolete and we wanted Emmeline to have a quick recovery. She's only 5 months old, a gorgeous, sweet baby, but has some kidney issues. Mark and Kirsty hoped she'd recover quickly because for one, no one wants to see their child suffer. But second, I'm sure they wanted to enjoy introducing their girls to all that Australia had to offer and enjoy what was left of their holiday. And it wasn't fair to poor Emme to be stuck in the hospital! Kirsty told us to enjoy Sydney and when Emme was released, we'd catch up and go do some fun things. I figured we'd spend our first whole day exploring a bit and if Emme was still in the hospital the next day, I'd send Ben and Caroline off sightseeing and trek to the hospital to give Kirsty some company.

We settled into our room, began relaxing and then toddler tragedy struck. Caroline fell and hit her face on the sharp corner of our living room's coffee table! There were screams, blood and tears and I consoled her the way only a mother can. The injury was mostly superficial, but I could tell that it had really hurt. Caroline laid on my chest while I stroked her hair and before I knew it, both of us were sound asleep. Crisis averted!

We woke up the next morning, Caroline sporting a scab and a small bruise, determined to explore what Sydney had to offer within walking distance.

I had Benjamin and Caroline pose for a quick picture outside of our hotel. In case you're wondering what that red thing is that she's holding, it's her Aquadoodle, which allows her to color on the go. She insisted on bringing it along and who was I to deny her of her basic right to color?

Our hotel's location was fantastic! We were in the central business district in Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour is full of restaurants, shops and entertainment, so we could not have been more pleased. The weather was a little chilly (probably a whole 65 degrees F) to us Guamanian gals and recently-departed-from-Iraq guy, but it was enjoyable.

Caroline and I posed for a few pictures with some of the buildings of Sydney behind us:

Since the weather was a bit gloomy, we ducked in to the aquarium for the afternoon. Caroline loved all of the fish as well as the opportunity to run around and stretch out those toddler legs. The aquarium was very cool! There was a lot to see and do and they had an awesome crocodile display, so I was enthralled! (I have a weird thing about crocodiles. I think they are absolutely magnificent though totally terrifying and I'm 100% convinced that they are actually dinosaurs. Don't tell me any differently.) Here's my favorite picture (and sign!) from the aquarium:

The 3 meter (that's nearly 10 feet for us Americans) long crocodile will kill me should I fall in and not die of shear terror first. NOTED.

I'm sure this shark would eat me if I fell in that tank too. Come to think of it, the aquarium was full of lots of stuff that could potentially eat us... but we still had a blast.

Caroline did what was only natural and danced up a storm. Dancing + no flash = blurry pictures, but oh well. She was happy and so were we.

After visiting the aquarium, we decided to take some pictures next to Darling Harbour. Caroline was way past her nap time and not really in the mood for pictures, but we figured that would add to their charm.

Charming, huh?

She did perk up a little though!

And then the perk was gone! So we took one family shot and headed back to the hotel.

Our hotel bordered Sydney's amazing China town and we heard the food was to die for. Caroline was napping and we were starving, so Benjamin went to get some take-out for us. I had told him that the meal that would make my day was chicken fried rice and sesame chicken and he left with the promise to bring it back. Caroline woke up an entire five minutes later and we both began wondering where he was when an hour had passed. He finally came back and informed me, with regret, that apparently chicken fried rice and sesame chicken are not authentic Chinese food since not a single one of the authentic Chinese food serving restaurants made that. Oops! Another life lesson learned! He did a great job of getting something he thought I'd enjoy and I was impressed with both his substitution and his determination to search for an hour. What a guy!

Kirsty called that evening and said that Emme was supposed to be released the following day, so our plan was to meet up for dinner that night if all went well and they felt up to it. The gloomy weather from the day before had passed, so we decided to enjoy the sunshine! We walked back to Darling Harbour for a few more pictures and planned to stop in to Wildlife World, which is right on the water.

You can see the little scab towards the right side of Caroline's nose, but it didn't seem to be bothering her.

They had an awesome exhibit with koala bears that you could pet and pose with, so we decided we had to take advantage of that! We patiently waited our turn...

and waited...

and waited! But the park's professional camera had broken and they weren't able to take pictures for us. We were disappointed but they offered to take pictures with our camera -- for free -- and refunded us our $20! Sweet!

Ok, so maybe Caroline wasn't super impressed with the koalas. She did enjoy petting them though, but posing for pictures was lame to her. The staff felt so bad for the little American toddler who had travelled so far to get her picture taken with the koalas, only to have the camera break, so they insisted on giving her a stuffed koala toy for free. How nice was that?! We were more than okay with having pictures on our own camera -- heck, we preferred that! But Caroline was thrilled with her new toy and after showering them with thank yous, we went on our merry American way.

We saw kangaroos up close and personal. Turns out they're just as cool in person as you'd think they are.

Caroline thought her new baby koala bear was much cooler than the kangaroos.

And I think the kangaroos agreed with her!

We moved on to the butterfly exhibit they had. I was a butterfly magnet! They landed on my shoulders, my hair, my hands. It was my Snow White in the forest moment. Yes, I realize they were probably just attracted to my fruity perfume but let me hold on to my Disney fantasy, ok?

If you squint, you can see a butterfly on my sleeve!

Here's a better shot!

Snow White decided to get out the exhibit when her dwarf, err, toddler decided to try to stomp on some butterflies that had landed on the ground (she missed)... plus the humidity isn't kind to our hair.

The best exhibit was saved for last and it was so awesome that I stared in awe for easily thirty minutes. (Truth: I would have stared for so much longer if Caroline and Benjamin had let me!) They have one of the world's largest crocodiles, at 5 meters (that's 16 1/2 feet for us Americans), in captivity. Rex-the-croc is still growing but weighs in at roughly 1500lbs. He was taken into captivity because in the wild, he had a penchant for eating pet dogs and began venturing dangerously close to humans. He either needed to be killed or captured and they chose wisely because he's magnificent. You're hopefully as excited to see him as I was, so here you go:

16 1/2 feet people. 1500lbs. And no, it's not an illusion of your eyes, he is actually THAT big. Look at how small the crocodile keeper looks next to him! Well, not exactly next to him being that he doesn't have a deathwish, but close enough.

A face only his mother and Crystal Geib love. I don't care what you say, he is handsome. And he is a dinosaur.

Here's Caroline modeling on one of Rex's shrimpy stuffed animal cousins. She loved it! If we could have figured out how to get him home without buying him his own airline ticket, we would have!

Outside of the exhibits, we enjoyed more of the gorgeous weather and posed for pictures in front of the maritime museum. Surprisingly, Benjamin wasn't interested in the museum. Apparently he's had his fill of that sort of thing being in the navy himself, so we settled for pictures with the museum in the background. Plus they make you pay to tour the ships and stuff and Benjamin sees that sort of thing for free -- and like I said, he's had his fill.

Emme was released from the hospital that day as we all hoped and we were able to meet up with Mark, Kirsty and the girls for dinner. We had a great day and I have to say... Sydney was starting to become a lot of fun!

To be continued!