Sunday picnics

We had Monday off from work because it was Labour Day! Yay for three-day weekends! We got super lucky with the weather too because it was perfect outdoor weather the whole weekend.

Our Sunday morning was taken up with the usual skyping and such, but in the afternoon I made some pineapple salsa and egg salad and we went out for a picnic! I can't get egg salad to taste quite the same here (I guess because the mayo and the pickles are a little different), but it still feels like the food you should eat on a picnic. =)

Toby saddled up my birthday present from this year - a picnic backpack - and off we went.

Picnic Toby

We just walked down to the bridge where we could watch all the boats out in the harbor.

We found a good spot in the shade where a little bit of sun came in through the bridge. It was the perfect temperature for eating snacks and watching cool boats go in and out of the harbor.

It was a pretty perfect afternoon!

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More International Fleet Review

Saturday was the pinnacle of the International Fleet Review here in the city. I can't really over-emphasize what a big deal this was. Australians in general seem to have a lot of national pride in their military and their service men and women. That combined with the long weekend, school holidays, and amazing weather brought people out in droves to see all the festivities. A lot of the best vantage points were at Milsons Point so we had lots of activity in our area!

On our way back from Chatswood, we got off a couple stops early because 1) the train was packed with people heading in for festivities, and 2) we knew that some of the warships were docked at Waverton so we wanted to try and see them. We walked down to the water, and sure enough, we had a good view of some of the ships there!

Later that afternoon after we'd gotten back to the apartment, I went out to check on how things were going. This was the view of the park about 6 hours before the fireworks were supposed to start.

However, these people also got good views of the fighter jet and helicopter displays during the afternoon. We watched from our balcony and it was awesome!!

I had my good camera, so I was able to get some better shots of the boats out in the harbor.

We stayed in the nice cool, shaded apartment until that evening when it was time for fireworks. Then we jammed down into the park with everyone else to watch the laser/fireworks show. It was fantastic! Many of the boats that were part of the fleet review pulled into areas around the harbor and shot off fireworks, so it really felt like fireworks were all around you.

Of courses it's pretty much impossible to take good fireworks pictures with a phone, but in this one you can kind of see one of the ships that has pulled under the bridge to participate in the show.

But here's a pic from the website for the event that better captures the feel of the show:

In addition to all the ships, planes, helicopters, and fireworks, there was one other big deal on Saturday: Prince Harry came out to greet the crowd and inspect the fleet! We, of course, didn't see him, but apparently he was quite close to us.

I kind of get why Australians love their royalty! =) And after this weekend, I get why they're so proud of their navy as well.

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A morning in Chatswood

On Saturday we took the train up to Chatswood where I was going to get a haircut. There's a huge Asian population in that area, so we take the opportunity when we're there to go by the Asian food market and by Daiso, the Japanese store where everything is $2.80.

We found some real gems at Daiso. For example, this "Tomato Story" plate, which of course I bought to use under a potted plant.

I also needed some new earbuds, but I refused to pay $40 for them at the Best Buy-equivalent here. I'm sure these $2.80 earcanal phones will be just as good!

But the thing that made us laugh the most was this set of superhero masks (which we reluctantly did not buy).

If you can't read the package, this particular color is "Narcissistic Blue." Hee hee!
We also went to the actual mall, where we found a Toys R Us! This is one of Toby's favorite stores, and even though this Toys R Us was about 1/4 the size of the ones in the U.S., he was pretty happy.

And I found this Fart Blaster, which kept me fully entertained while Toby looked at whatever it is he finds to look at there.

We capped off the morning with breakfast where I decided the holiday weekend called for a drink in a fun glass!

All in all, a super fun morning!

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Ships!

This week was the beginning of the International Fleet Review in Sydney Harbour. Tall ships and Warships from a bunch of different countries sailed into the harbor as part of the display.

At lunchtime on Friday, my workmate and I went out for a walk to see if we could see the ships. Tall ships had sailed into Darling Harbour on Thursday so that was our first stop.

Unfortunately it was mainly tourists there and families out for school holidays.

The Australian Navy flag was flying tall and proud.

We saw a few tall ships that weren't usually there, but most of them appeared to be out sailing. And the ones that were there were on the other side of the harbor. So we decided to walk over to Observatory Hill and see if we could see anything. Sadly, there were no ships to be seen, just a lovely day in the harbor.

And signs that lots of people would be there this weekend.

So we headed back to the office. But not before snapping a pic of these super cute scooters!

No worries though, I still managed to see some ships on my walk home. They are anchored in various bays in the harbor but the biggest ones are still somewhat in the main channel, so you can see them - even if they're a bit far out.

Obviously I think this calls for a trip out with my real camera!

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