Postcard From Sydney

DawnOverHarborBridge
Dawn Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

Having left Seattle on a cold, wet, November day we felt our spirits lift as we walked out of Sydney Airport into the bright sunshine. My boys, nine and 13, were brimming with excitement from having flown on Qantas’ new A380 – especially since the cabin crew had given them a cockpit tour. It was an auspicious start to what would be a fun-filled ten days in Sydney.

Sydney is a fantastic vacation destination spot for families. There is so much to see and do in the city and then, when you’ve had enough of sightseeing and you feel like relaxing there’s an abundance of great beaches to choose from, all easily accessible from the downtown core – known as the Central Business District. But the high points of our visit were two activities arranged for us by Virtuoso’s partner Tourism New South Wales.

lets-go-surfing-bondi
Learn To Surf With Let’s Go Surfing

I contacted the folks at the Tourism NSW office in Los Angeles before our trip and explained to them that I during my visit to Sydney I would be a solo-traveling parent with two tween boys. I asked for suggestions for activites for children in that age group who might, realistically, be too old for checking out the koalas at the zoo. From the long list of great ideas they provided, I selected two things: a surfing lesson with Let’s Go Surfing on Bondi Beach and a photography tour of The Rocks with Sydney Photography Tours. Both activities were a resounding success particularly because I’m not sure I would have even considered doing either if Tourism NSW hadn’t brought them to my attention.

If it had been possible, I think my younger son would have abandoned all other activities and just spent the rest of our vacation perfecting his surfing skills with the friendly and professional instructors at Let’s Go Surfing. It will take a while for my older son to work through all the digital photography tips, tricks and techniques shown to us by photographer Alfonso Calero on the photography tour.

Thanks to Tourism NSW for suggesting and organizing these fun experiences for me and my children.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

March 2018 Travel and Blogging Recap

Image
The beginning of 2018 was a bit quiet travel-wise, but that all changed in March, when I spent half the month in my favorite country in the world: New Zealand! Elliot and I had an amazing time – the only bad part was having to come back home, where winter refuses to give up its grip on Ohio. March: The month in travel I had one big trip in March, but it was a good one! Elliot and I finally went on our proper honeymoon in New Zealand, where we spent two weeks driving around both islands and hitting up all the highlights. (Look out for new New Zealand content in the next couple of weeks!) Countries visited:  2 – USA, New Zealand Cities visited:  6 – Los Angeles, Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown, Christchurch, Wellington Flights taken:  7 Distance driven: 3098 kilometers in New Zealand The best thing I ate:  We had plenty of delicious fish and chips in New Zealand, but I was more excited about being in close proximity to some of my favorite goodies: things like Jaffas and Pineapple
Read more

Ski trips threatened by poor snowfall in Alps

Image
(Please) let it snow, let it snow… If you have a ski trip to the French Alps booked for this December you may want to keep a keen eye on the weather forecast, as many of the area’s biggest resorts remained closed over the weekend due to poor snowfall. The second week of December is usually when enthusiastic skiers begin making their pilgrimages to Alpine slopes for some welcome powder therapy, but over the weekend many popular resorts like Chamonix Mont-Blanc and Val d’Isere were closed to skiers as barely any snow had fallen there. Other resorts were only able to open a fraction of their slopes. Some locals are calling it the worst conditions at the start of a ski season since the 1970s (when presumably bell-bottom jeans made skiing rather difficult anyway). The Alpine Skiing World Cup was supposed to be held in the resort of Courchevel, but lack of snow made that a little tricky, and the event has instead been moved to Are in Sweden. While the limited skiing space didn’t prove
Read more

Eger and the Valley of the Beautiful Women

Image
Just two hours north of Budapest lies a small city that feels worlds away from the hustle and bustle of the Hungarian capital. A short train ride, and you can trade in the clash of nighttime traffic for a serenade of nighttime insects; the sprawling city for just a few major streets. And instead of Budapest's ruin bars, here you can explore dozens of wine cellars. This is Eger. A city of about 60,000, Eger still manages to possess that Hungarian charm that I fell in love with in Budapest, despite its miniature size. Cobbled streets empty into broad squares with towering cathedrals. Colorful cafes spill out onto sidewalks littered with umbrella-shaded tables. And an ancient castle provides sweeping views out over the whole city. Eger from above In fact, Eger Castle is one of the region's main attractions, with the structure dating back centuries. Even on a rainy Sunday when all the museums and exhibitions were closed, the fortress was well worth a visit. But nobody comes
Read more