Greetings from Australia

We arrived in Sydney yesterday morning after a 10 hour flight from Shanghai on Quantas. We took an overnight flight so it didn't take very long for Sydney to go from this

to this

Although she did wake up every couple of hours because she likes to roll around when she sleeps and wasn't able to do so on the plane. She did scream like a banshee for about 15 minutes....the worse that she has ever screamed on a plane and I have to admit I was so stressed out that she was waking the entire plane. I profusely apologized to the people around me when we landed but they were all very kind about it. Unfortunately, Sydney needed most of my seat to be comfortable so I didn't get much sleep on the plane.

I had reserved a rental car with a car seat because Australian law requires Sydney to be in a car seat. Actually, I've been getting conflicting info about this here. Some people said that the car seat law applies only to babies under 12 months. Once they hit the 12 month mark, they can be in a seat belt. I cancelled the car at the last minute because Australians drive on the left side and it was too much of an adventure for me. I wanted a more relaxing vacation. Luckily, there was a taxi at the airport with a car seat so we didn't have to wait for one to be called. It is very convenient to call the taxi company and have them send over a taxi with a car seat.

We stayed at the Marriott hotel in the center of town. It is pretty dated but clean and is conveniently located to most of the places that we wanted to visit. It also has a small kitchen in the room, which is nice because eating out 3 meals a day for 6 days would tiring. I caught my second wind when we checked in so we went across the street to Hyde Park to get some fresh air and exercise. Luckily, there were enough pigeons, dogs and ducks to keep Sydney occupied so I could just sit back and enjoy watching my sweet baby play.

The weather has been amazing so far --- sunny and warm yesterday, and and sunny and cool today. Because of the pollution in Shanghai, I can count on one hand the days that I saw sunshine and I wouldn't need all of my fingers. We walked everywhere here, which is easy to do. Sydney has about 4 million people, and there are about 20 million people in all of Australia. There's about 20 million people in Shanghai alone. With only 4 million people, it is very easy to get around on foot. We've also taken taxis and the bus ---- all very affordable and easily accessible. Everyone is so friendly here. No one has given me unsolicited advice on how Sydney should be dressed for the day.

After a nap for Sydney, we grabbed a burger at a place called Burgerlicious. With a name like that, how could we NOT stop in?? It was burgerlicious. I had forgotten how good beef tasted. Then we spent the afternoon shopping, and shopping and shopping. Luckily, I only had 2 hands and had to head back to the hotel before I could do anymore damage on my credit card. I bought Sydney some toys for the flight back to Shanghai since it will be an afternoon flight. But Sydney couldn't wait that long.....

One of the things that I enjoy about traveling is seeing how the new environment affects Sydney. When we were in Phuket, she was very peaceful and friendly. Here, she is definitely much more laid back and goofy. When we are in Shanghai, she would tolerate the seat belt for a couple of seconds before the banshee screeching commenced. But she has handled both the car seat and the seat belt here like she was going to receive chocolates when we reached our destination. She's not as short tempered and obstinate here as she is in Shanghai. If she can't do something, she just moved on. I can't tell if I'm more relaxed on vacations and she is just reflecting the change in my demeanor and attitude or if this is about her adapting to her environment. Either way, I'm glad that she's enjoying herself here.

We went to a Vietnamese restauarant called Phamish for dinner that was recommended by our concierge -- yes, I'm still on a quest for good pho. The restaurant was opened at 6pm and we arrived at 6:20pm and it was already packed. We had to wait 20 minutes for a table. I was disappointed that they didn't serve pho but the food was great and the owner was a very sweet lady who took good care of us.

We made a run to Target this morning. I won't embarrassed myself by describing how happy I was at Target. It is inside a mall and only 1/2 the size of a Target in Dallas. We were still able to get most of what we needed -- cheap play clothes for Sydney and toiletries for me. As a bonus, they had a sale on all of their Disney books and I bought every one for AUD$2 each (USD$1.60 each). Now I just need to hide them from Sydney until we get on the plane for Shanghai.

After a long nap for the both of us, we walked down to Darling Harbour. It is so much fun there -- there were music, a fun crowd, food, playgrounds, sprinkler park, paddling boats, souvenir stores, pigeons and kids. We had a great lunch at I Thai in Darling Harbour and walked around a bit.

We came across a beautiful carousel, which Sydney loved. One of the great things about having a kid is that you get to see the world through their eyes, and you get to have a 2nd childhood. After walking around for a bit, touching and checking out each horse, Sydney made her pick and the fun began.

We went to the aquarium, which was also in Darling Harbour. Sydney has been to about 5 aquariums now, and it is great to see how she responds to the sea animals as she gets older. I think this is the first time that she really enjoyed seeing the animals. The penguins and the seals were a big hit, and so was the shark tank. She wanted to climb into some of the tanks because touching the glass screen just wasn't enough for her. Or she would chat with the fishes. The aquarium was big enough that we spent over an hour there and didn't see it all.

We probably did more than we should have this afternoon because we returned to the hotel and Sydney took a long nap. I ended up waking her up for dinner. We walked to a Spanish restaurant near the hotel and had fantastic tapas for dinner. The restaurant didn't have a high chair so Sydney had to sit in a regular chair. She handled it like a pro.

We are having such a great time here. I have no idea what we are doing tomorrow yet, which isn't like me (as you know). I guess Sydney isn't the only person that is affected by the laid back Aussie attitude.