The Wilsons of Oz

Today has been a real treat! We met up with some friends of friends, and had adults to talk to!!! Ok, this sounds nuts, but we have been on our own with no friends for waaaaaaay too long! Family time is lovely and all that, but the time has come when I just want to sit with a friend, have a coffee and talk about something other than whose turn it is to wipe Montys bottom (not that I ever get out of it!) or what a tragedy it is that Zane left One Direction (Poppy not Tim) ! Today was the day! We had about two hours in the Lego exhibition at The museum of Sydney, followed by a good hour of adult conversation while the four children played together! (http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/museum-of-Sydney)

 I think the children were just as relieved to have children to play with rather than us! I’m usually “too slow” or I always have to be “it”, which is so dull when the children never let me catch them! 

   
    
We ended our day at circular quay, where we treated the children to fish and chips! The sun was setting and the view across the water of the Opera House was beautiful! Gosh we are so, so lucky to be here! 

  
I did however spend a good ten minutes shooing away the seagulls with Poppy’s raincoat, while the “locals” watched on!! One lady even warned us how mean the birds were and that we really needed to be careful! Oh god I hate birds at the best of times! Pecky little things!! 

  
Then suddenly Monty announced that he needed a wee, “NOWWWWW”! Ha, Tim drew the short straw! A mad dash to the public loos! So Poppy and I were left alone with two portions of yummy stodge and ketchup! Aaaaah peace and tranquility. 

 Until Poppy screeched “muuuuummmmmmy” and I turned round to find myself face to face with 50 seagulls and a bloody great big Ibis! These birds are vile! I think I pictured one in a previous post, but just in case…

They are grubby, and beaky, and witchy looking! It was looking at me, coming towards me, staring at me, as if to say “hand over the fish and chips or I’m gonna stab you in the face with my huge poisonous beak”! So I did what any sane foreigner would do, I grabbed the chips and Poppy (chips first) and ran! I honestly ran with all my might to the furthest bench! As we plonked down, there was no Ibis to be seen! Phew….. 

 There was however, a 300 year old Romanian accordion player sat next to us who had just started tuning up and a crowd was gathering around our bench! (How had I not noticed him?) I am sure people thought we were related to him and we were going to whip out our instruments! They soon realised we weren’t about to start jointing in with Romanian folk music, when the seagulls started dive bombing us in their hundreds and we had to make another quick exit! This time past Tim and Monty who were wondering where on earth we had gone, and to the safety of the train, and home to Green Square, where we know the local birdies aren’t viscous and there are definitely no accordion players! 

  
  

Two weeks into our Australian adventure and we have managed to have our application for a house approved! I didn’t realise what a huge relief this would be, and what a weight would be lifted from my shoulders! We have dragged the children through about 30 houses, some awesome, some pretty skanky! In fact, one of the houses yesterday, we walked into and it was a total mess! The builders had been in fixing the decking apparently! It looked like they had been in and trashed the joint. The agent turned the lights on, and yes it was grim! He then went upstairs, ran back down white as a ghost, and hurried us into the basement car park! We made our excuses and left. Both Lisa (relocation agent) and I were gutted to not have found out what was so frightening upstairs! We guessed it was a dead builder! We’ll never know!!!

  

 
House hunting here is so bizarre! You can arrange a private viewing of a property, but the agent generally thinks “well, if I’m there, I’ll make it an open house”, so they stick a board outside advertising an open viewing! This means there are 30 people elbowing each other out of the way into the bathroom ( usually with terrifying gold taps and Pepto-Bismol pink tiles) then shoving you out of the kitchen ( the most 70’s kitchen you have ever seen with mini net curtains to boot) all because “if you like it you need to sign NOW!!!!!” Apparently the rentals in Sydney run on 1% availability or something!! It was stressful to say the least. I found myself sweating, and shaking, running around the house shouting “Tim, I like it, I like it, get a form quiiiiiiick get a bloody form!!, Poppy get daddy, get a bloody form!”  Even if I didn’t really like it, I had to beat the other stressed out British family with screaming kids!! 

  
Poor Monty gave up about 9 houses in! I was flaking a bit too! We started viewings at 10:00 and got home at 17:30! 

Hey, it wasnt all bad! We got a McDonald’s take out coffee mid morning (mainly for a loo break), then a delicious Mexican box of delight for lunch, and even met this little fella in the last house we viewed… 

 

Who cares how stressful the house hunting is, when you break for lunch at Cronella beach and the kids get to chase the cockatiels! Life is good!!  

  

   

Here’s to our next adventure! Making our house a home, getting our darling girl into school, and meeting the locals!! Wish us luck!! I hope Sylvania is ready for The Wilson gang and all our enthusiasm to make this work! (I must get a t shirt with “Who wants to be my friend?” on the front!)

 

Safe to say, I think we are loving Australia!! 

I guess when you live in a city like Sydney, the shopping is going to be great! There are all kinds of delicious delights, shiny magpie enticing stores, and plenty of caffeine fuel stops!! 

  
While we were child free at the weekend, Tim and I had a good wander and came across some awesome little places! One of which was Saint Honore cake shop. They sold all sorts of terrifying looking Asian cakes and rolls but we managed to hunt out these flaky, curry filled pies that were just too delicious to leave in the bag! 

  
(I also loved that the owner was called Larry Leung! Sounded like the name of a body part in a kids first aid activity sheet).

We stumbled across Market City, which sold all kinds of tat! Fake handbags, ‘I love Australia’ t shirts of any colour, koala toys, fishnet stockings, sexy underwear, boomerangs! You name it, they had it! After I had dragged myself away from the sparkly leather hot pant stall, we turned the corner to find Paddys market, a huge fruit and veg market with a wonderful looking fish and meat market alongside!  

     

They also had some awesome spice stalls, just like something out of a Middle Eastern souk! The smell was divine!  

Shopping in the supermarket here isn’t as expensive as I thought, although I was amazed to see just how much cheaper and what seemed to be fresher the produce was here!  

 Mmmmm the dried fruit and nut stalls were so reasonable! They sold Honey and seed bars which were far too delicious to be good for you!

After we had munched our way to the exit we headed for Westfield shopping centre which is the main mall they have here! They seem to have them all over the place! Like any shopping mall there are all kinds of shops ranging from stationary to high end designer clothes and jewellery! A mall is a mall where ever you are! I didn’t recognise too many of the brands but there were the usual suspects! Pandora, Vodafone etc. We got the elevator up to level 4 and grabbed some lunch (obviously). Being the adventurous type we went for Sababba again (Sababba.com.au) as we love those middle Eastern flavours and the falafel are amazing! Cooked to order so piping hot! 

While walking back to the harbour we stumbled across  this beauty! And I mean beauty! The floor was tiled with those beautiful terracotta Victorian tiles, and all the shop windows promised delight inside! 

There were hats, cosmetics, spices, a wonderful chocolatier!  

   
    

This was more like it! I must be able to find something to buy in here! 

Ah, yes here we go!  

  

I thought this shop was selling Grown Alchemist products (http://www.grownalchemist.com), but no! This was Aesop! Almost as awesome but not organic! They sell beauty products in delightfully simple packaging, row after row of brown glass bottles with sweet smelling potions. Check them out at Aesop.com their website is stylish and makes me want to shop. 

 

Managed to find a super stocking filler too!  

 

All this shopping was a great excuse to head to Circular Quay and have a well deserved glass of prosecco in the sunshine at Opera Bar! (Operabar.com.au) If you ever find yourself in Sydney and fancy a glass of something, this is the place to come! It’s stylish, the bistro style food looks delish and the scenery is breathtaking (I don’t think anyone could get bored of the view).  

   

Time to jump on the ferry and meet the kids! Back to reality after a grown up day! Lush! 

Since our arrival, we have been staying in a beautiful Meriton serviced apartment. We all have our own bedrooms, king size beds….. clean linen every day!! Pretty luxurious. (Don’t get too used to it folks)

It can’t last forever, so we went house hunting!

The company that the Mr is working for, have arranged for a relocation company to help us find somewhere to live and show us the suburbs we may like to live in!  We filled in numerous questionnaires about what we’d like in an area, what we need in a house etc etc and now the house hunting day has arrived!

Lisa (our lovely Aussie guide) arrived to collect us at 0930. I felt a little sick! Two children, very few snacks, and an entire day in Lisa’s car! We were handed the itinerary!

Four houses to view! Joy of joys! I’m bursting with excitement! I was picturing the gardens, the verandas, the huge open plan kitchens with patio doors to the outdoor dining area.. THUMP! That was me coming back to planet earth!

This is Sydney, and if we want to live within a short commuting distance for Tim we have to sacrifice.. a lot.

House number one looks nice right!! WRONG! Apart from the tiny “I couldn’t swing a cockroach let alone a cat” living space, there was a door leading underneath the house through which you could get all the way under to the other side! It was creepy! The sort of hole you see 30 year old women coming out of after 25 years of torture at the hands of a fat Mexican! I could not live there!

“Drive on Lisa!”

House number 2, the agent didn’t turn up! We’d been in the car over 2 hours and the kids were screechy! We crept round the back to see the garden! It was awesome, huge space split over three levels, sun trap…. and full of dog poo! Where is the man with the black bag and twiggy chop sticks when you need him!!?

“NEXT!!”

5 hours in and we were faced with this beauty, which ended up being as dark as a bat cave, with no parking. The agent also told us the 3000 cars lined up outside would pretty much always be there as they were hospital visitors and had two hours free parking. Bloody hospitals!!

“NEXT!!”

We drove past the beautiful beaches, with the kids tearing their hair out and licking the windows, tortured by the play parks and pools we were whizzing by! “Oh God set me free!”

We got home exhausted!  The children were desperate to go to the park after being strapped in all day, and me, desperate to go to the airport! If I have to live in a cupboard with a balcony I’d rather go home! “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home” was ringing in my head as the tears were streaming down my face!

Ok, that’s a bit dramatic!! The truth is I welled up, depressed and tired, then kicked myself up the backside and got on the monkey bars with Poppy!! Get a grip woman!!! We’re in Sydney, the adventure is amazing, and we are going to be so happy, once we find MY perfect house!!

 

What will tomorrow bring!?

I did it!! It took 32 attempts but I mastered the uppy downy buggy function!! I am a legend! I was ready for our adventure into the city and whatever the day had in store for me! 

I took the munchkins out, hopped on a train and we had the best day ever!! Someone told me before I got here that the Sydney Opera House is a real let down close up! Well folks I can assure you that is total b@&&”$s! It is awesome. I must have taken 200 photos! (Which were promptly deleted when I realised they were all the same). Even the children were dumbstruck! And that doesn’t happen very often! 

  
We visited the Royal Botanic Gardens which again were beautiful and serene; until Monty picked up a huge stick and ran around trying to stick it up an Ibis’s backside! I was then in a sweat trying to catch him while he was trying to catch the bird!! Again, I could feel people pointing and laughing, some tourists even taking photos! How am I ever going to make friends in this town? 

Oh but on the plus side, we found a fan of the buggy!! 

  
Thank god for The Choo Choo express. It’s a cute little train that takes you on an awesome tour of the Royal Botanical Gardens. The tour guide was really good! It was 25 minutes of sitting, listening and looking at the lovely view! The children loved it more than me I think!! (Choochoo.com.au)

  
Having said that, this photo blatantly shows me in my element and the children looking slightly embarrassed! Well, I always loved a Diddy train ride! 

  
On the way home we spotted the Rugby World Cup glistening on a stand surrounded by beautiful Emirates air stewardesses! I had to get a photo for grandad! (The cup not the girls) I had no idea the guy in the middle was a famous Aussie scrum half! 

  
Who cares anyway, I wasn’t allowed to touch the cup or the player!! Thank god I wasn’t stood next to him, I was about a foot taller than him and broader too, honestly would have looked like I was in drag! As we walked away I noticed hoards of people trying to get their photos with this huge celebrity (not in stature). I nearly went back to apologise for not having the foggiest who he was! 

We chilled for a while listening to a local busker, who was a mixture of Jamie Cullum and Jack Johnson, and I really felt incredibly happy! The sun was shining, the children were happy and I had proved to myself that I am an intrepid explorer who is capable of anything!! 

Tomorrows adventure awaits! House hunting with the children! Oh goodness can you imagine!?!? 

So, Tim has started work! I am on day three of being “super entertaining mum” in a strange land!! We have been to the parks more than enough times, they have splashed in the fountains until they looked like little pale prunes, and I have drunk so much coffee I don’t think I’ll ever sleep again! 

  

I even got a grunt when I excitedly mentioned “who fancies lunch on the balconyyyyy!?” Ungrateful wretches! 

  
Today, super mum is going all out! I have raided the fridge, made an awesome picnic, got the maps at the ready and we’re heading to…. Wait for it… Circular Quay and The Opera House to see if we can get some tickets for the Babies Proms -Country kids!! Check it out, looks super entertaining!! (Sydneyoperahouse.com)

I know, I know, I am awesome!! 

Please cross your fingers for a smooth journey! No buggy incidents or tantrums allowed. 

  
What’s the worst that could happen? (In fact, don’t answer that!) 

  

If you can’t quite see what this gentleman is doing, I will tell you! He is picking up Dog Poo with twig chopsticks! Yup! He found two twigs, grabbed a Doo Doo bag from the dispenser (yes, all bins have them) and went on to collect up the mess! Maybe not so wierd if he had a dog with him! Amazing the things people do, to keep the parks nice for everyone! 

  
This was one of the two pretty cute parks really close to us! One of them had fountains for the kids to run in and out of! Which of course they did! While all the locals are wearing duffle coats, all huddled under their brollies, my two are stripping off and jumping right in! Spot the newbies!!! 

 
Two parks later, two tired children, hungry tummies and an empty kitchen can only mean one thing! We had to hit the supermarket! 

Coles is one of the biggest supermarkets here! It has everything you could possibly want! Crisps called “jumpys” (kangaroo logo of course) and bags of  “women’s nuts” (nuts and seeds for female health I think… I hope)…  I always find it amazing how different food shopping is when you’re abroad! 

We made it all the way to the kanagaroo steaks before we realised we had left the buggy in the veg aisle! (That bloody buggy again). Luckily it was still sitting there, although I think Tim was praying it had been burnt by security!  The children were screeching, Monty was demanding pepperoni and poppy was stuck fast in the trolley! I started to sweat! I just knew how ridiculous we looked! Buggy, trolley, Monty shouting “pepperoni” in between sobs, and Poppy yelping that her legs were “buuuurning” as Tim was wrenching at her arms!! We managed to free her eventually but it was a close call and her trousers didn’t survive the ordeal! This is how a photograph does not show the reality of life!! 

  
So today’s lesson is, enjoy the outdoors as it’s far less hazardous no matter what anyone says about the spiders. 

We tried the buses!! Not sure we’ll be up to trying them anytime soon!! The number 303 turned up 20 minutes late with no room for our buggy, so we had to wake a sleeping Monty! That is like waking a sleeping bull! All hell broke loose on the 303! Tim was swearing and wrestling with the new buggy (we hadn’t practiced the uppy and downy bit), Monty was screeching and Poppy was asking in a very loud voice “why won’t ANYONE help and move their buggy a little bit?”.. Meanwhile the driver is stood over Tim watching him struggle, and making the 303 even later! So all my excitement of getting the bus to Taylor Square Organic market vanished! By the time the bus crawled in to the stop there were two stalls left open, one selling all the left over pumpkins and another selling chutneys (again, the leftover jars).

We looked at the trusty map and decided we could ditch the bus and walk!!

The map isn’t informative enough!!!!  We managed to get ourselves past all the sex shops without the children asking what a gimp outfit was!!! It was a little edgy as Monty was on the verge of questioning the very large lady in a red leather skirt and white platforms outside a strip club! 

Hey, no one can say the kids have lived a sheltered life! 

   

We ended our day with a walk past the Anzac memorial, and a play in the awesome park at Darling Harbour! The  sun shone for a good few hours, then the heavens opened! Thankfully “wreck it Ralph” (Monty) finally passed out at  3pm so our journey home was far less eventful than our morning disaster! 

  
  
A little tip for you guys, Hard Rock Cafe Sydney is a miss!!! 

First full day in Sydney! What an awesome place! We wasted no time, jumped on the train and went into town! Monty was impressed with the double decker trains, and Poppy was thrilled to be grown up enough to have her own Opal card! (Sydney’s version of an Oyster card). I can see poppy growing up to be a real city girl!

Ten minutes on the train and we had our first sighting of the Opera House, and the harbour bridge! Awesome! Think it’s sinking in now!!   
  

  
We must have walked miles and miles today! The sightseeing interspersed with a long visit to the bank and two hours setting up mobile phones in the Vodafone shop! (Who knew you could get your date of birth in your phone number???) It was totally worth it, and meant we could treat ourselves to a yummy lunch! Westfield shopping centre food court (sounds naff but actually pretty cool)  not a burger king in sight! The children went straight to ‘Snag Stand’ where they were serving up the most delicious looking ‘haute dogs’ in brioche buns!(Snagstand.com.au) Tim and I resisted the urge to carb overload and went for falafel salad! Oh boy ‘Sabbaba’ (sababba.com.au) took me back to my teens in Abu Dhabi.  Their tag line is “middle eastern food that is good for the heart, body and soul”. Well it made me feel good anyway!  

The weather is looking pretty shocking today but we’re going to borrow a brolly and brave the Taylor Square Market! I am super excited to get my hands on some Aussie organic produce and eat my own weight in tasters! (http://www.sydneysustainablemarkets.org) 

Right, better get myself on the cross trainer! 

We’ve made it to Heathrow! 6am this morning I thought we might not get here! The car was rammed, everyone was sad to be going, and Monty was vomiting! In typical Wilson fashion, we drove to the airport with far too much stuff and extra carrier bags incase Monty threw up again! Joy! 

Hey, we’re here, we’ve checked in, and we have found the childrens play area! Thank The Lord it has a coffee machine!! Only a few hours to kill before we board, and we’re off on the adventure of a lifetime! 

 
I know it’s going to be awesome, I know it’s the chance of a lifetime, but I just cant get rid of this lump in my throat and the incredible urge to bawl my eyes out! 

Here goes nothing!! Come on, it’s only the other side of the world!! Who’s coming to see us?? X