This morning once we got sorted we headed to the Melbourne Museum. First stop was the cafe for a bite to eat then we checked out the exhibits about the indigenous people, the special exhibition on the triceratops, insects and the local Melbourne section including seeing Phar Lap. Then it was time for The IMAX … More Museum, Eureka and Italian
This morning Sophia and I got up at 7:30am to join the queue for croissants at Lume (literally across the road from the hotel) ?. When we had arrived on Sunday the bellman at the hotel pointed out this queue across the road and said people often wait more than 2 hours for these croissants … More Croissants and shopping … again
Mark had organized to go to lunch with his partner Australian firm, [name], so the kids and I headed out late morning. First stop was Starbucks We then had a look around a few stops at Melbourne Central and fry kids all bought something (well more accurately I bought it for them! Greer’s new shoes … More Shopping … again …
We decided to eat breakfast in the hotel restaurant today and opted for menu vs buffet for half the price! Despite the lid on Mark’s coffee not being put on properly and as a result spilling it on himself, the meal was good. We headed to the zoo and spent the rest of the morning … More The Zoo, The Football and Cinderella
This morning we had a bit of a slowish start, Mark had a few work calls to make and by the time everyone was sorted we headed out around 9:30am. We headed out to Chadstone shopping center for a spot of shopping. First stop was brunch (no time for eating once we got going ???). … More Shopping, shopping, shopping
A very early start this morning. The alarms went off at 2:45m ?. We got to the airport about 4am and it was heaving. We always seem to have issues flying international with Air NZ and the hyphen in my name but we managed to skip the queue and find a lovely lady to help … More We’re off
We are down to only 2 sleeps (well, really only 1.5 given we’ll have to be up in the middle of the night in order to catch the flight) and the kids have made good progress on their homework (TJ, his geography contour sculpture and Sophia, her science fair project) and they have packed their … More 2 Sleeps and High Tea
Sophia has just returned from a “Growing Leaders” trip to Wellington with school. She left on Thursday morning and got back last night. She had a fabulous time and didn’t even get homesick, which for Sophia is a massive deal. No devices were allowed so she didn’t take any photos but attached are some the … More Sophia’s Wellington Trip
Miss Sophia has become our resident packing expert, making lists of what is needed and ticking them off. With her around, we shouldn’t forget anything, not even Mark’s driver licence!
13 Sleeps until our first trip away in some time. It really does seem like forever since we have used our passports, but they are all now current and ready to go! I would like to be able to say the excitement is building but everyone seems more focussed on our trip to America in … More 13 Sleeps
Today would be a long day. We finished getting everything packed up and the apartment tidied up before maneuvering our numerous bags (and yes we did have to buy another one or maybe two ?) into taxis and out to JFK. We had a quick stop in Los Angeles before heading home via Sydney. We … More Day 22 – Sydney and Home
Our last day in New York and we still hadn’t been to the Central Park Zoo so off we went. It is a fairly small zoo with small enclosures but the kids enjoyed it. We then went back to the playground for some frisbie, the carousel and then we managed to loose Greer. We were … More Day 21 – Central Park, zoo and losing Greer
This morning we headed to the Rockerfeller Centre and more specifically to the Top of the Rock, an observation deck on the 67th Floor with 360 degree views of Manhattan. The elevator ride up is a great experience and takes less than a minute to take you 260 meters above sea level. On the 70th … More Day 20 – Top of the Rock, MOMA and Times Square
This morning we headed the The American Museum of Natural History via Washington Square. At the Natural History our first stop was the Rose Centre for Earth and Space where we saw the 15.5-ton Willamette Meteorite and media displays that highlight topics in astronomy and astrophysics. The Hayden Big Bang Theatre was next. Here you … More Day 19 – Natural History, Central Park & Old Friends
Today was a big day. We started with some art and culture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka The Met). We went to the Greek and Roman Art, Egyptian Art, saw a mummy, the Temple of Dendur, Arms and Armour and then some paintings (Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Gauguin among others). Greer was particularly … More Day 18 – The Met, Serendipity, Bloomingdales, Candy & The Lion King
This morning I had a surprise in store for the girls. We headed to the subway and took the train to Brooklyn and to a little shop called Brooklyn Owl. They underwent a Unicorn Transformation Process where they tried on horns, had to find secret phrases on the store walls and then had to repeat … More Day 17 – The Girls do NYC Alone – Part II
This morning the boys were up early to head to JFK to catch their 8am flight to New Orleans. That afternoon they went to watch the New England Patriots play the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome which was an experience in itself. It was TJ’s first live NFL game and to see the … More Day 16 – The Boys do New Orleans
This morning, the boys left for their trip to New Orleans (but see the separate post about that …coming soon …). The girls and I saw it as the perfect opportunity to get some major shopping in. We went to Zara and Gap and then landed at the Rockefeller Centre for a photo opportunity, all … More Day 16 – The Girls do NYC Alone – Part I
Today we had a slow start before heading to Pret (one of our favourite lunch spots when we lived in London) for a bite to eat. So good!!! We then headed to Central Park. The kids went in the splash pad fountains, played on the playground and threw the frisbee, did some diary writing and … More Day 15 – Pret and Central Park
This morning we headed back down to the Financial District again, this time to go up to the observatory at One World Trade Centre. TJ was a bit freaked out by it but we eventually persuaded him to come up and got some amazing views from the top. We headed back to the subway (when … More Day 14 – One World Observatory and USS Intrepid