Tim Goldsmith

Buffet breakfast is definitely the best way to start a day.

Moderation was shelved in favour of a breakxcess (breakfast excess) of Bacon eggs, sausages, mushrooms, smoked salmon, smoked haddock, seasonal fruit, croissants and whatever else I could get my hands on!

Having let that digest a little, we decided that we ought to take a ride on a ferry. Since we had our Zoo Passes we decided that this might be our destination!

I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

The Giraffes were a bit of a highlight for us. Both lovely and unlikely in shape…

This is the view that the Giraffes get to look at every day. I could think of worse ways to spend my time.

This was as close as the Pumpkin got to having a birthday cake over her holiday.

It’s fun to see the people staring out of the scenic flyer as their ferried to the top of the zoo & over all the animals.

I have to say that the shows they put on are very professional. Well worth the wait & lots of fun.

I figure we need at least one Australian animal in the photos. Like any true Aussie he appears to be lazing on the job…

An obligatory picture of Mr. Shuffles is also to be expected.

So that was our time at the Zoo. We caught another ferry back before heading up for a little R&R

Views on the harbour really are magic. I ought to head out there more often.

A lovely wife & gorgeous daughter makes a pretty good view too.

That night Shona & the Bub were both a bit crook, so they decided to rest up in the hotel (Possibly a ruse on Shona’s part to enjoy room service & cable TV) while I went out to enjoy some night photography. I was out there for ages & took a fair few shots, but since my posts are getting longer & longer, I will leave it with just a few.

The cruise ship parked in the harbour was huge! Of course this photo makes it look a little bigger than it really was… It wasn’t quite Harbour Bridge height.

It’s not easy to take an original picture of the Opera House. This is my take…

So, having skimpped on dinner (Thank you Mr. Mcdonald) I decided that I could let loose a little with dessert. We’d noticed in our travells the night before, a Guylian cafe in the rocks. I noticed that night, that I could save 30% of the price by getting take away instead of eating there. Why, when we have one of the prettiest harbours in the world, would you want to sit on a crowded street & pay top dollar for the privilege?

Guylian’s “100% pleasure,” made of Panna Cotta, surrounded by chocolate mousse, enrobed in a rich chocolate glaze with gold flecks, and finally finished with some shards of rich chocolate and a chocolate orange square on top!

The lion’s share of photos had been taken for the weekend. The vast majority of food had been eaten. All we had left was a swim or two to enjoy in the pool & then a mornign at church in the city to come on Sunday….

It’s great to start the day hanging out with the inlaws (I am a lucky man to be able to say that!).

It takes your morning up that extra notch when you then get to have a full hot breakfast!

And another notch when said breakfast costs you the princely sum of $2.95!!!!

Oh the joys of Ikea!

We sauntered around in the store for a little bit, then we showed the depths of our restraint by only buying the mini table & chairs for the bub that we had come for.

At this point we were at a bit of a loss. It was still fairly early in the morning & the room we’d booked at the Intercontinental (a little present to the wife) wasn’t supposed to be ready till 2pm.

A call to the hotel, an assurance that they could look after our bags in the mean time, and off we went! When we got there we even got the lovely news that we could head straight up to our room!

The good news: We had a view of the Harbour Bridge.

The bad news: We were in a room set up for disability. It was the only room with a King sized bed left, and at first it was really attractive, because we knew we’d have a wide door, perfect for prams. Of course, we hadn’t considered that we would also have one of those showers that has no lip at the bottom, so any shower puts water on the whole bathroom floor! A problem when you intend to let your kid sleep in there!

Still, if that is the worst problem you have, you’re doing well! I dealt with it by having showers in the well appointed change rooms near the rooftop pool & gym!

So, back to our day.

We headed off to a local food court where I got to have an all time favourite lunch, Beef Bibimbap

Lerle, Shona’s mum, had headed into town to go to the Art Gallery of NSW with a friend, so we met up with her after they were done & spent a lovely hour or two getting a free tour (Lerle’s an art teacher) and having a coffee.

Our afternoon was punctuated by a nice walk through the city to drop Lerle at the train station, and when we passed a cupcake shop on the way home, we were duty-bound to sample their wears (A birthday cupcake for the bub… but of course she needed help eating it!).

We needed a little while after that to unwind. We did that with a bit of relaxation in the room, but it was completed by going down & enjoying a complimentary cocktail down at “The Cortile,” in the hotel’s foyer.

A walk around the harbour afterwards was a lovely way to go, followed by a beer & dinner at the Belgian Beer Cafe

By this time it was all we could do to stare in the windows of potential dessert places. Not another morsel was going to pass our mouths, but that was just fine. We’d certainly had a full & entertaining day, and to think we had two more to enjoy!!!

You should have seen the size of the post I wrote last night.

You should have seen the effort I put into well crafted words.

You should have seen the disappointment when we had a blackout, literally a minute before finshing! I still have lots of photos & I still have several words to say, so you still get to see how the Pumpkin’s Birthday Long Weekend played itself out. We’ll start with birthday day, Thursday…

Bub got heaps of lovely presents, all of which she appreciates, but I’ll show you two here. The first (above) is some books. Pumpkin loves books. Pumpkin even pretends to read books! Occasionally Pumpkin even eats books!

This present is one that is not a great deal of use at the moment, given that 1 year olds don’t understand how to pedal! She’ll grow into it though, it will last a long time & most importantly, I couldn’t not buy it! So retro, so solidly made, so red!!!

The big part of the day for the bub, however, was heading to the Zoo! We gave her a “Zoo Friends” pass for her birthday, so I expect she’ll spend a lot more time there over the next little while!

Here we are waiting for the bird show. The view was fantastic, the weather was exceptional & Pumpkin was well behaved. If only she cared about the birds. Feet, cameras & people were far more interesting, at least until the Andean Condor with it’s 3 meter wing span turned up…

He kind of demanded attention!

I’m committed to spending more time with the penguins & seals when I go next. So cheeky, so friendly & so cool!

Pumpkin is more committed to spending time with Calippos in the future. It was a minor tactical error to give her a suck to begin with. We awakened an animal who LOVES to eat ice blocks & HATES to share anything!

Taronga is on a fairly steep hill, so we were happy to take the sky ride back up. Pumpkin was certainly happy with the view & the chance to stand up & shout!

But our day didn’t end there! That night we spent time at Nanny & Grandad’s house. I didn’t get pictures of that.

More importantly, I got to spend time at my new favourite chocolate store (tied with Adora) Coco Chocolate!

There are lovely block chocolates with flavours such as “Organic Coconut, Lime & Dark Chocolate,” “Caramel, Pinenut & Sea Salt,” “Orange, Lemon & Geranium” & “Cardamom & Cinnamon Dark.” This place if flavour central!

The “Organic Rose & Black Peppercorn” hot chocolate was awesome (as is the bar chocolate of the same name) & you can rest assured I took home a bunch of chocolates to trial & savour over the coming weeks!

SO that was day 1. Good food. Good times. Can you believe that there are 3 days to go!

The Bub loved her first Easter & her first chocolate.

There is much more to tell (as Amy has requested) but it will have to wait till after pumpkin’s Birthday 4-day weekend! We’ll fit in a zoo, a trip to Ikea, visit with grandparents, some art galleries, a ferry ride & a bunch of other fun bits & pieces! Back soon!