Visiting Sydney for a Wedding!

It’s been a while since we’ve visited Sydney so when we got an invite for our friends Kate’s wedding we decided to make the most of it and have ourselves a little holiday and show the kids this beautiful city.

We spent the first couple of days just south of Sydney in Wollongong where we caught up with a few friends and family. Our little kids enjoyed the visit to the Early Start Discovery Space where they were able to play with a large range of different and exciting toys. My favorite stop however was the Five Barrel Brewery where I got to sample some great beers!

Once we left Wollongong we made a stop at the Symbio Wildlife Park prior to our arrival in Sydney. Xander had been here once when he was younger, however this was Eloise’s first visit. Both of them were very excited in seeing all the different animals and an early highlight were the small monkeys. However that all changed when they arrived at the open enclosure with the Kangaroos where they could walk freely and try to feed as many of them as possible. We eventually left the Wildlife park and arrived in Sydney a short time later.

While in Sydney we decided that instead of getting stuck in the lovely city traffic and then struggle with a parking spot which didn’t cost us half a mortgage, we just caught a train into the CBD and made our way to the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Darling Harbour.

As soon as we entered the aquarium Xander and Eloise were very excited and kept running from display to display, yelling out “fishies”! And it didn’t get any less exciting once they started seeing the large sharks, and even a Manatee, that were on display! A big surprise was the discovery of the Penguin boat ride which allowed us all to get up and close with some King Penguins. Well, once we felt like we’ve had enough of all the fishies we decided to get the kids into some water as it was a very hot day!

We ended our day in the city with a walk around the Circular Quay where our kids got to experience the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. After this Suz took Xander and Eloise back on the train as I stayed behind and caught up with some friends at the Harts Pub.

A day or so later we went to Coogee Beach for a pre-wedding afternoon BBQ where we got to meet all the wedding guests. The day in question was quite cool so we were never going to go swimming in the ocean, Xander and Eloise however loved running and playing around on the beach.

When it was time to attend the wedding Suz and I managed to get some help from family (thanks Karen and Shane) in order to look after Xander and Eloise so that we could have a full night to ourselves and enjoy the wedding. The wedding took place on the cliffside along Coogee beach and the reception was nearby. We enjoyed great company, great food and good drinks and partied until the early hours of the morning.

The next morning Suz and I returned to Xander and Eloise who had been great throughout the night without us (maybe we should try to leave them with others more often) and we started our long way home again! We’ve moved from Sydney about two years ago and whilst it’s great to visit again, we are happy to leave! Until the next time….