Today is our last full day in Sydney, tomorrow we will be on the road again, next stop Canberra. On Saturday we drove to Manly and took the ferry to Circular Quay. It was a picture perfect day which included trips to the Sydney Opera House and Botanical Gardens. The outing was topped off by the best ever hazelnut gelato from the Gellatino shop at Manly Wharf. The Gelato also helped me emotionally when I saw how much we had to pay for the 'secure car parking' we used at Manly Wharf. Sunday Day out at the Maritime Museum. Darling husband wanted to drive through the city to get there so we plotted our route on the Apple GPS and set off. Driving to Darling Harbour via the CBD was a hair raising experience for me.... and I was not the one driving, I was the designated GPS interpreter. I guess the issue was knowing where one is supposed to be positioned to 'bear right' and 'take the exit' and the serious implications of not taking that 'exit'. Also I must stress I interpreted the map exactly as we were instructed by the 'voice' so I refuse to take any responsibility for any miss, it's just that each time it says bear left there seemed to be hundreds of roads bearing left but leading to different directions, this made me dizzy. It was also sunday traffic, imagine doing this on a weekday. The rest of the family had various things to say about and during the drive: "Awesome" - child one "this is a nightmare" - me "did it say bear left into the M1 or left into Warringah Freeway?" - husband " keep quiet so your dad can hear the GPS" - Grandma " Are we going to the aquarium? " - child two "I am hungry" - child three However, after we emerged from the wrong exit, we managed to get to our destination without too much ado and had a good time at the maritime museum. A special Exhibition on Vikings was on and one of the kids was brave enough to kit himself out with their regalia. The Shield he is carrying in the photo is very heavy, he could only just lift it up for the photo, imagine having to fight while carrying that and a sword! We have all become such civilised wimps! One of the children threatened a super meltdown and refused to proceed any further without adequate refreshment so we ate a hastily packed picnic lunch while taking in views of the harbour. The sights and sounds of Harbourside Shopping Centre beckoned to me, I imagined all the shoes that will be available for sale inside and could hear each one whisper my name in the breeze calling me to come in and have a tiny look........ .....no, this trip is NOT for shopping, for now. Next exibit HMS Vampire, and the HMS Onslow (submarine) - not for the claustrophobic. In Summary, we enjoyed our stay here. Sydney is a vibrant city and liveable if you know where you are going and enjoy driving just 25km in hour, can afford $1m plus to get a decent place to live in, pay $55 for 4 hours parking without breathing out fire, do not struggle with hay fever, enjoy online grocery shopping.... And love hazelnut gelato Tips on how to enjoy, a holiday in Sydney with a large family: 1. Take your time in doing anything, do as little as possible over a loooong period of time. Tell the kids the heat or the cold or the hay-fever, depending on the season you get here, is getting to you then sleep till noon. 2. Self catering is a must, however you (mum) don't always have to be the 'self' in self catering. 3. Every attraction you manage to drag yourself to must involve kilometres of legwork. The goal is exhaust your children, education, fun and broadening their minds come second. So visit the museums, botanical gardens, zoo, beach, mini golf, aquarium etc. Watch them drop into their beds at night with ease and then sleep till noon...... PS We have only 3 apples left from the 6 kilos that arrived on Friday. The children act all surprised when I ask them what happened to all the fruit. One of them actually said 'well I was meaning to ask you that mum'.