melbourne, australia

we spent a few days in sydney, then hopped on a plane down to melbourne, where it was even colder. melbourne has a different vibe than sydney. it is definitely a happening place, with tons of modern architecture and a euro feel. but my absolute favorite thing about melbourne was...the brand new COSTCO right downtown. call me a cliché american, but there is something so nice about stepping into a familiar place. i needed that. plus, cheese is three times the normal price in singapore, so i stocked up and stashed a big container of parmesan in my suitcase.

nate worked everyday while sage and i roamed and walked tons. melbourne has a free tourist bus that we did about three rounds on. this city is known for its great shopping, so we hit that up too. i also went in the nicest "parent room" i've ever seen. australia + babies = amazing.

in melbourne, we saw:
- victoria market
- federation square
- the old melbourne gaol
- where the australian open is played
- botanic gardens
- chinatown and greek center

she has a serious love affair with this bird. staring contest...

we went to this super old jail that is one of the top things to see in the city. after the museum part, you get locked up in the jail by a real constable and treated like a criminal for about fifteen minutes. i asked if it was okay if i had my baby, and the ticket lady gave me a thumbs up. the constable made me take this picture in a cell with my baby because he thought it was so bogus that i brought sage along. but hey, she slept through it all.

out of focus, crooked bow, but check out the smiles we get from her.

i hope we get to go back to australia sometime. i loved it. hopefully we'll be tagging along on more business trips this year...

sydney, australia

nate had a business trip to sydney and melbourne, so sage and i tagged along for the ride.

I LOVE AUSTRALIA

it was like a mix of europe and america in one (in both lifestyle and architecture), the people were incredibly friendly and laid back, the spring weather was cool and damp, and everything felt a little more familiar than singapore. i told nate i could definitely live there. in fact, it was a bit hard to leave and come back to hot, humid asia. plus, room service and fresh linens and towels daily is pretty nice too :)

sydney is so iconic and beautiful. it's about an 8 hour flight from singapore. luckily, sage continued her good streak of mostly sleeping on planes. as far as having a car seat goes, singapore car safety is pretty lax. i could lay my baby on the seat next to me in a cab and no one would bat an eye. australians were extremely concerned that we had a "capsule" (car seat) for our baby wherever we went. it was amazing to them that our capsule snapped onto our pram -- apparently not a common thing with australian baby gear. sage owns a total of one sweater, so we ended up buying her a fuzzy coat because it was so cold on some days.

what we did in sydney:
- sydney aquarium
- wildlife world
- sightseeing bus
- ferry to bondi beach
- ferry to manly beach

- sydney opera house
- hyde park
- royal botanic gardens
- wandered the outdoor market at the rocks
- ate awesome seafood
- tasted kangaroo filet (p.s. i felt sad about this until i learned that kangaroos outnumber australians 3 to 1)
- ate treacle pudding! (harry potter anyone?)

oysters eaten...
nate: 20
jess: 1 (it was fried)