Boy Sees Sydney: The Opera House, the Botanic Gardens, the Sydney Bridge, and Mrs. Macquarie's Chair

The flight to Sydney was a blast for APL. Not only did he get to climb upstairs to his seat on a 747, but the captain invited him into the cockpit and demanded that APL sit in the captain’s seat. The captain's seat on a 747! Is there anything more fun for a boy turning four?

.

Upon arrival in Sydney, we grabbed a cab to the Park Hyatt. This was our first exposure to Australian prices; the ride cost us about $80.

We arrived at the Hyatt at about 8:00 AM. It was their official Grand Opening day so the hotel was packed with staff, was gleaming clean, and everyone was bending over backwards to make us feel welcome. We were immediately given a room.

I had assumed that we would be facing the Opera House - most of the hotel does. We could see it if we stood on the balcony and looked left. The view was still really cool – Sydney Harbor – with amazing boat traffic. Really beautiful.

We unpacked, cleaned ourselves up, and headed out for our first Sydney adventure.

The Park Hyatt Sydney is located directly opposite the Opera House, and just adjacent to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Since APL talks about those landmarks all the time, he was THRILLED! We headed first along the waterfront, past the harbour, to the Opera House.

We made our way inside the Opera House. APL immediately found the perfect place to practice jumping.

As you can see, when APL is having fun, he enjoys a good jump. He was doing a lot of jumping that day.

After spending some time in and around the ultra-iconic Opera House we walked into the Botanic Gardens and found proof of destiny: a RED TRAIN - just waiting for a child to climb aboard for a ride. APL was ecstatic. Here he is still unsure that this could be actually happening to him:

We had no Australian dollars and the driver said he was only accepting cash. For a moment I thought we might not be able to swing it... but ultimately they allowed us to pay with a combination of US and Canadian dollars.

APL decided that he should clear the park of birds before we left.

Then it was time to cruise.

This was a fun ride for APL.

The park was full of interesting creatures, including 3000 flying foxes (bats), countless cockatoos, and these as-yet unidentified-by-us birds:

 

Sticks feature very prominently in APL’s life right now. As everyone knows, a good stick can be used as a gun, a sword, a rocket, an airplane, a bus, a truck, a telescope, a fishing rod, a baton, a light saber, and countless other things. APL decided he had found a fishing rod, and went fishing.

You will never guess what he caught.

A little further on, the sticks were weaponized.

By the time we arrived at Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair, it was obvious who would be in charge of security.

It was then time to build an army:

Followed by rigorous training of the army.

Having completed APL's security project, we headed back to the Opera House.

APL proceeded to run up and down the stairs a few times.

And finally, after a day that began in San Diego and ended at Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, it was time to return to our Sydney base:

That first evening was the Grand Opening black-tie event at the Park Hyatt Sydney. Unfortunately, I took pictures with another camera and those pics are stuck on a proprietary Sony card. As soon as I get them off, I will post.

It was a fun fun evening. Hyatt brought in chefs from around the world. The food was incredible. The champagne was flowing. And it was a veritable who’s-who of Australia in attendance… Of course I don’t know who's who in Australia.

Alexander fell asleep around 8:00 PM. He slept in the stroller while Mama and Papa wined and dined (mostly dined). Of course, when he woke up at 4:00 AM the next morning, it was less than pleasant… but such is traveling with a 4-year-old.

All in all, a fantastic first day in Sydney. Sydney is Vancouver with an amazing climate. APL loved it.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Sydney report – and the Park Hyatt Grand Opening report once I get those pictures downloaded.