More Easter Weekend and Sydney!

More Easter Weekend and Sydney! July 3, 2009

Filed under: Sydney,Travel — coliely @ 4:36 am
Tags: Blue Mountains, Bonai, Captain Cook, Chinese Garden of Friendship, Easter, Maritime museum, museum, Powerhouse, Star Wars, Steep, Sydney, Sydney Opera House, Three Sisters

The Powerhouse Museum is a HUGE musuem in the heart of Sydney with lots of exhibits on transportation, gadgets, food and all sorts of things. We happened to come when a Star Wars exhibit was coming through town, so most of our photos are of that in the gallery. Ethan found a play area that was construction-themed and very cool. There were blocks that you could pick up with the little train or put them on a conveyer belt (which was kid-powered), drop them or make forts with them. He probably spent over 2 hours in there moving the blocks around. We were rushed through the Star Wars exhibit, unfortunately, because the kids were getting cranky and tired. We probably spent over 10 hours a day walking around with the strollers and both of us lost a few pounds. Back to the museum, there was interactive robot automated workshops going on in the Star Wars area as well and clips of the movies with behind the scene editorals for the different pieces being displayed. I wish we could have spent more time in there, nonetheless it was fun to see the iconic pieces.

The Maritime Museum’s best features were the ships outside of the museum in the harbor. When we were there, we both toured the exact replica of Captain Cook’s ship to Australia. I have more pics of the tour on Facebook as well, if you were interested. We had to go on separately because the kids were too small to go onto the ships. The things that struck me on the Captain Cook ship was how small the living quarters were height and space wise for the number of people on the ship, the toliet off the end of the ship, and the complexity of the sails (at least walking around with all of the ropes). Gus also toured the submarine and he said it was extremely tight and crammed full of gauges.

We also did the Syndey Opera House tour and tried to listen to the history of the Opera House (there were headphones and Andy wanted to wear them more than I did). I was surprised at how small the different performing theatres are in the House. Also, that the Opera House is not pure white, otherwise it would be too bright too look at in the sun. It is actually a whitish and ivory tile mix, which gives the Opera House it’s white apperance without causing glare. Gus was fascinated with the sink – where is the drain?

The Chinese Garden of Friendship was more interesting and beautiful than I expected. Throughout the garden, there was sign posts explaining the different elements that were part of the garden and the significance of water, mountains, waterfalls, etc. Andy loved the Bonsai trees and I loved the ground used in the Bonsai tree area.

We also spent one day and a 2.5 hour train ride one way to go up to the Blue Mountains. We spent most of the time in Scenic World, where there are some rainforests, views of the 3 Sisters and an old mine. We took the cable car down to the walking circuit, which was gorgeous views. The scary part was taking the rollercoaster back up. I had both kids with me and there was no border with the outside – just a little chain. I grabbed them tighter and tighter as we made the very steep ascent. I think both the rollercoaster and sky rail are the steepest in the Southern Hemisphere.