Oh hi. Remember me?

So yes, i have been busy. What a fun time we've been having this week with Jo's mum Dawn visiting us! So fun that i haven't had any time at all to blog about it, which means I've been left with so much to talk about that I'll probably have to split everything into two or three blogs just to get through it.




Saturday morning we were up bright and early to collect Dawn from the airport - well, Jo was anyway. I had to wash my hair... And then here she was, in Sydney, in our apartment, which is funny because we are always used to seeing her in New Zealand! It was a strange but welcome sight. Our adventures began at the number one tourist destination of the eastern suburbs - Westfields Eastgardens.




Well! We had to do groceries! Yes, i admit, we left this until the last minute. And yes, i also admit that we made Dawn make up her own bed. And then, to truly make her feel welcome, we abandoned her on her first night in Sydney and went off to see a show...but apart from those teeny tiny details, we were off to a great start.




That afternoon i had a birthday party to attend - the delightful Yash turned the grand old age of ONE, and we had a lovely time at Sonali's place stuffing our faces with cake and blowing bubbles at Yash and Jack - they thought this was completely hilarious by the way. What is it with kids and bubbles? And yes, Sonali made each and every one of us wear party hats. I tried to discreetly abandon mine, but caught me every time.

Yash! Too cute :)

Sonali and I

While i was off breaking it down with the kiddies, Dawn was doing this...






...riding in the Porsche with the top down! Jo took her on a long drive along the coast and back through the city. How her hair survived, i'll never know.




That night, as i mentioned, we had to leave Dawn to her own devices because we had tickets booked to the hilarious musical Avenue Q, which is basically a send up of Sesame Street. If you have not seen this show (and aren't the kind of person who gets offended easily), get tickets now!! It is SO funny, i literally had tears of laughter streaming down my face for two hours. With numbers like "I'm not wearing underwear today", "It sucks to be me" and "Everyone's a little bit racist", what's not to love? Plus those puppets are so darn cute!





The next day we were off to Maria's for lunch, and a delicious one it was, as always. The girl can cook, I'll give her that. Special appearances were made by my aunt and Vicki with her new dog Cino, whom Jack just loves. It's very funny to see Jack with the dog - it's a rare occasion he has someone smaller than him to play with. He likes to put the leash on him and attempt to take him for a walk - attempt being the operative word, as Cino is usually the one stampeding ahead - Jack's little legs usually can't keep up, though he really does waddle as fast as he can. It's also amusing to hear him trying to talk to Cino. "Cin! Cin! On!" - which basically means "Cino I want to put the leash on you." Or "Cin! Si!" Which translates to "Sit Cino!" Yeah right.




After lunch, we headed over to the beach for a walk and ice cream, of course.

Jack on his trike - the kid loves this thing.

Jo and his mum!

Dawn and I

Me and the little monster

Jack enjoying his ice cream. Check that face out! He was hyperventilating for the stuff, let me tell you. He sucked his little cup dry.

Meet Cino, whose face (I'm sorry to say) looks similar to a bat's.

On Monday, Dawn and I headed into the city for what turned out to be a very full day! We walked through Hyde Park, where we met Romina, and then kept on walking right through the Botanical Gardens, until we made it to the Opera House (hello photo opportunity...) I think the question "Who's hungry" was asked - "starving!" said Rom, hand waving wildly in the air, so it was off the the Guylian Cafe for a quick bite, and the best damn hot chocolate in the city. Dawn had a yummy looking praline and vanilla shake, which she assures me was the best she's ever tasted, so everyone was happy!

Dawn by the fountain in Hyde Park - p.s, winter eat you're heart out - check out that sunshine!

Rom and I and our fine city resplendent in the sun! (did you like that? resplendent? that word isn's used enough, but i'm bringing it back baby)

We continued on around the harbour till we got to the rocks area, which is my favourite part of Sydney, and checked out some of the little stores and cute stone alleyways. One place we loved was the puppet store! Fabulous underground treasure trove of puppets and dolls and toys and other oddities...

One of the many life-sized puppets on display

Before we knew it, it was 2pm and nearly time for High Tea at the Observatory Hotel (the nicest High Tea in Sydney in my humble opinion), and as usual, it did not disappoint! Fine china, exotic teas, delicious little pastries and a glass of champagne for yours truly (ooh, ooh! that's me!) left us very full and very happy. Plus the bathroom in that place is totally awesome. A surprise appearance from Leah topped off the afternoon, and we gossiped the hours away until it was time to move on.

Romina and Dawn at High Tea

We said goodbye to Romina, and Leah, Dawn and I moved off to our next destination, Observatory Hill, which has really lovely views (hello photo opportunity numero two).

Dawn and I on Observatory Hill

Leah and I (and a really old tree. I'm sure it's been there since the convicts)

The great Sydney trek continued, as we made our way back through the rocks and down to the harbours edge again for even more photos.

What do they call this again? The Coat hanger?

Spanish ship docked in the harbour

Our last stop for the day was the Shangri-La Hotel - at the top of the hotel there is a beautiful bar, where we sat and sipped cocktails and ate olives and feta cheese and watched the sun set. A perfect end to a decadent day! We had stuffed ourselves to the gills with all manner of unhealthy and delicious treats, but I'm sure we walked a hundred miles that day, so really, who cares.

Part two coming soon!