It wasn't really planned, in fact we only thought of it on Thursday and booked only an overnight accommodation at Waldorf Apartment for Sunday night. Along the journey though we decided we'd stay another night so that we wouldn't be so tired coming, and we already had applied for 2 days leave off work anyway. Unfortunately though, the hotel didn't have a room available so we had to book the 2nd night on a place - Oxley Serviced Apartments.
We also convinced Nanay to join the trip so we were quite pleased. She hasn't to any part of Australia other then our home, the church, and the Opera house since first arriving here in 2012.
Here's how the trip went:
- Sunday, 2pm - left Sydney after our usual Church duties; It was extra exciting for me because it was the first long drive on the new car. I had to buy a roof rack basket because we didn't have enough space for all the luggage. Papa and I spent most of Saturday afternoon installing it and the roof rail.
- 5:30pm - Reach our hotel after 3.5 hours travel with a short stop to buy mangoes, hotdogs, and coffee. It was late and all shops were closed so we stayed in for home-cooked dinner. Lani did some work while I played with the kids.
The Waldorf Apartment Hotel was so-so. Nicely presented and well-equipped, but a little too tight and crowded for a 2 bedroom suite. Once the sofa bed was laid out, there wasn't any more room to walk around the living room. The location is great though, right across the street from the shopping center. But like most things in the city, parking ($15) and internet ($24/10MB are not free ($15/day and $24/10MB respectively).
- Monday, 10am - after breakfast and preps, we checked out of the hotel and went to Floraide. Nanay enjoyed it a lot.
- 1pm - headed to our next apartment on the other side of the city - Oxley Serviced Apartments. Checked in, and found it refreshingly spacious. It was in a very quiet location but only about 2mins drive from a shopping center. It had free parking and free wifi, and did I say it was spacious?
- 3pm - After lunch and rest, and some work for Lani, we went out again to visit the Dinosaur Museum. I thought it wasn't worth the entry fees. Too expensive for such a tiny exhibit. Ethan enjoyed their "Dinosaur Hunt" mini game and that's pretty much all that's exciting about that place.
- 5pm - went to the Canberra Centre shopping mall for quick dinner. Then headed back to the apartment to rest. Lani again did some work before sleeping early. Ethan, Erin, and I spend most of the night playing hide and seek - I hide, Ethan seeks, Erin tells Ethan where I'm hiding.
- Tuesday, 9am - early breakfast and left for Questacon. Ethan of course loved it and didn't want to leave anymore. Oh and this day was also Mama and Papa's 40th wedding anniversary.
- 3pm - started our journey back home to Sydney. Reached home right before 5pm.
For now, I'll get myself busy booking hotels for our Manila and Hong Kong trips in October. Excited!
