Shah Road Trip - Sydney

Ahh Sydney....

Sydney...Yay! Taronga Zoo - What an amazing place! The seal show was a highlight, not to mention the bus, ferry and sky car to get there (Michael was quite disappointed we got a new, quick, white ferry instead of an old, slow green ferry). We got up close with a koala, patted an echidna and a wombat, saw the new baby elephant and only got sucked into spending $25 at the gift shop. The kids were agog at the animal displays and it was lovely to see them so engaged they forgot about the time.

Friends - Dinner with the Taits at Coogee Bay Hotel, and the Mullers at their house on the Shore, was awesome. The kids are all so big now, and it was lovely to chat like we hadn't been away (whereas it has actually been years!).

Holiday Inn Sydney Airport - What an excellent, professional and friendly hotel, and an awesome, top floor suite with a perfect view of such a busy airport. While Michael went running in the gym, Jen watched the sunrise and the planes landing every 2 minutes. And then the big airbus came in....who would have thought we were a family of plane spotters?

Seacliff Bridge - south of Sydney on the coast road, what a cool piece of road construction, and you can walk along it to have a look-see too. There were engraved padlocks on the railings of the bridge, some commemorating weddings (with little padlocks added as children came along), anniversaries and bereavements. It was quite cool.

Sydney...Nay! Traffic - horrific, horrible, intense, crowded...and that was a Sunday afternoon. Navigating Sydney roads and Sydney traffic is guaranteed to raise your blood pressure by massive amounts.

Medina Executive Coogee Bay - Wont say too much but an unnecessarily difficult check-in, with 3 kids who hadn't eaten at 8pm, after and hour of cross-city driving, having to pack them back into a car to search for internet access (because the hotel wouldn't give us access there) - thank goodness for McD's - and we made out stay there as short as humanly possible. Nuf said - not on the recommended list.

Tolls - We have no problem with paying tolls. Spending 20 minutes on the phone to try and pay a $4 toll (plus a $3 admin fee) is just quite ridiculous.

Ahh Sydney... glad to see that back of ya!