Sydney Day 4 - Bondi Beach and Darling Quarter
We were quite excited to visit the famous Bondi Beach on Day 4. I missed it on my last trip to Sydney because it was winter so I was very determined to make it there this time.
It was Family Funday Sunday which meant as long as you travelled as a family unit, you just had to pay $2.50 per person (kids under 4 travel for free) for unlimited travel on modes of transportation within Sydney that day. What a great deal - wish we had that in Singapore :)
We took a long train and bus ride to get to Bondi.
We alighted at the beach and were immediately taken by the glorious sunny weather and vibrant stretch of golden sandy beach that stretched for miles. Everywhere we turned, there were people surfing, swimming, suntanning or playing in the sand.
We were probably the most overdressed people on the entire beach (the weather could get a bit unpredictable so I dressed the kids in warm layers everyday), haha. Sean stripped to his undies and made himself comfortable on the cool, soft sand. Ry was happy crawling around and trying to figure out the weird powdery stuff on the ground.
Oh, they could have sat there and played on the beach for ages!
Later, we grabbed some juice and fed the kids at one of the many cafes overlooking the beach. We also spent a bit of time checking out the surf shops and Foops was quite happy to snag a few good buys including matching 'Off-duty Lifeguard' tees for the kids. (I gave up trying to shop for myself with a needy Ry strapped to me!)
I really wanted to go to the Bondi weekend market - which was why we saved Bondi for a Sunday - but we kept walking around in circles and couldn't find it :(
By midday, the kids were quite tired so we grabbed a quick lunch (fresh oysters and pizza) at an Italian pizzeria and some chocolate churros from San Churros before heading back to the city.
With the kids napping, we made an impromptu decision to visit DFO Homebush (at Parramatta) for some outlet shopping. We hardly got a chance to take a look at the shops when the fire alarm went off. Everyone was hustled out of the building and we decided to leave when it did not look like they were going to let us back inside before the 5pm closing time. Just our luck :(
Considering the sad fact that we have been eating takeaway for dinner every night, we thought we would dine out some place nice for a change.
We explored our vicinity and stumbled across Darling Quarter, a lively new community precinct just a few streets away from our apartment.
There was a sprawling public playground filled with the most elaborate and impressive water play area, climbing ropes, giant swings, slides and a flying fox. WOAH, Australia really does have the best playgrounds!
Sean had the time of his life at the water play area controlling the dam and diverting water flow using water gates and switches, pumping water, figuring out how to work a water pulley system. He played to his heart's content till the sky grew dark.
Dinner was at a cozy little sushi restaurant called Umi Sushi along Darling Quarter. Ry screamed the whole place down because we couldn't feed him fast enough. He only stopped the ruckus when he was full. Sean finished a big bowl of spinach udon and we had our fill of fresh sushi, sashimi and oysters.
The sky looked ominously dark during dinner and by the time we were done, the wind was howling and it had started to pour!
We grabbed the kids, sheltered them as best as we could and ran like mad ducks all the way back to the apartment :p
One full day left in the city!
Read about our previous days here: Days 1, 2, 3.
It was Family Funday Sunday which meant as long as you travelled as a family unit, you just had to pay $2.50 per person (kids under 4 travel for free) for unlimited travel on modes of transportation within Sydney that day. What a great deal - wish we had that in Singapore :)
We took a long train and bus ride to get to Bondi.
We alighted at the beach and were immediately taken by the glorious sunny weather and vibrant stretch of golden sandy beach that stretched for miles. Everywhere we turned, there were people surfing, swimming, suntanning or playing in the sand.
We were probably the most overdressed people on the entire beach (the weather could get a bit unpredictable so I dressed the kids in warm layers everyday), haha. Sean stripped to his undies and made himself comfortable on the cool, soft sand. Ry was happy crawling around and trying to figure out the weird powdery stuff on the ground.
Oh, they could have sat there and played on the beach for ages!
Later, we grabbed some juice and fed the kids at one of the many cafes overlooking the beach. We also spent a bit of time checking out the surf shops and Foops was quite happy to snag a few good buys including matching 'Off-duty Lifeguard' tees for the kids. (I gave up trying to shop for myself with a needy Ry strapped to me!)
I really wanted to go to the Bondi weekend market - which was why we saved Bondi for a Sunday - but we kept walking around in circles and couldn't find it :(
By midday, the kids were quite tired so we grabbed a quick lunch (fresh oysters and pizza) at an Italian pizzeria and some chocolate churros from San Churros before heading back to the city.
With the kids napping, we made an impromptu decision to visit DFO Homebush (at Parramatta) for some outlet shopping. We hardly got a chance to take a look at the shops when the fire alarm went off. Everyone was hustled out of the building and we decided to leave when it did not look like they were going to let us back inside before the 5pm closing time. Just our luck :(
Considering the sad fact that we have been eating takeaway for dinner every night, we thought we would dine out some place nice for a change.
We explored our vicinity and stumbled across Darling Quarter, a lively new community precinct just a few streets away from our apartment.
There was a sprawling public playground filled with the most elaborate and impressive water play area, climbing ropes, giant swings, slides and a flying fox. WOAH, Australia really does have the best playgrounds!
Sean had the time of his life at the water play area controlling the dam and diverting water flow using water gates and switches, pumping water, figuring out how to work a water pulley system. He played to his heart's content till the sky grew dark.
Dinner was at a cozy little sushi restaurant called Umi Sushi along Darling Quarter. Ry screamed the whole place down because we couldn't feed him fast enough. He only stopped the ruckus when he was full. Sean finished a big bowl of spinach udon and we had our fill of fresh sushi, sashimi and oysters.
The sky looked ominously dark during dinner and by the time we were done, the wind was howling and it had started to pour!
We grabbed the kids, sheltered them as best as we could and ran like mad ducks all the way back to the apartment :p
One full day left in the city!
Read about our previous days here: Days 1, 2, 3.