Christmas Day - Better Late than Never (Should be my motto for 2010)

Since I was so awful at blogging in 2009, I have some catching up to do. So I'll start with Christmas since it's the most recent. It's the first time we've been on our own for Christmas. Not really the same without family.

We had a little gift exchange with our friends before they left for Adelaide. The Martins gave Alan his very own pot and pan set along with a set of cooking utensils. What a perfect gift! He is a little obsessed with cooking. Unfortunately having his own set doesn't stop him from dragging the real ones out (every day, several times a day). Darn! They also gave us a really neat portable beach tent. I'm sure we'll get plenty of use out of it!

Alan with Dave unwrapping his present from the Martins

Alan sitting with Liesl playing with his very own set of pots and pans

The kids sharing a jolly old fellow's lap

Once our fellow Americans set off on their holiday, the rest of our day was wide open. Apparently most zoos (and movie theatres) are open for Christmas so we decided to keep the animals company. Our zoo passes have been a good investment so far! We've learned to bring a change of clothes because Backyard to Bush is Alan's absolute favorite thanks to all the water features. We've discovered that there are water features all over in Australia (Taronga Zoo, Darling Harbour, and Manly to name a few places). We find it rather ironic that every toilet has a half flush or full flush to conserve water. Yet we need to bring a change of clothes every where we go because this kid always manages to get soaked. I'm pretty sure I use all the water I conserve flushing on laundry.

First stop - the STUFFED animals :)

Komodo dragon

It's always a special treat to see the Harbour Bridge coming down the hill at Taronga Zoo

Close-up of the giraffe

A couple of cute critters posing for the camera

I love how even the mohawk is stiped.

Who needs to turn the crank? Just splash with your hands.

This is the last place we go because Alan could spend all day here

Sticking to the slide after splashing in the water

As we were roaming the zoo we saw this creature on the loose.

The day was still young when we left the zoo. I had wanted to see the Christmas window displays at David Jones department store in downtown Sydney. I was picturing Marshall Field's on State Street in downtown Chicago. DJ's had six animated puppet window displays. I couldn't figure out the connection to Christmas on The Holly and the Ivy or Good King Wenceslas windows. I took a picture of a street banner that made me chuckle because it said "Happy Christmas". I heard that frequently in December and wondered if Aussies would wish me a "Merry New Year". There seems to be a contrarian thing going with them and Americans. However, it was refreshing to have store clerks using the word Christmas since it's been considered politically incorrect in the United States for years. Aussies love to shorten words as well, so another popular phrase was Chrissy pressie for Christmas present. It's really not that much shorter but tell that to an Aussie. Quite entertaining.

Silent Night window display in downtown Sydney at David Jones

A pink cockatoo wishing you a Happy Christmas!

Last stop was Darling Harbour. There were quite a few restaurants and shops open there. We went to Pancakes on the Rocks for a late lunch. We didn't order the American style pancakes (for some reason Aussies think we eat our pancakes with ice cream - I would have said maple syrup and bacon but what do I know).

The massive Christmas tree at Darling Harbour