As we were going through Bernice's (largely pink) wardrobe, she suddenly remembered an item and said excitedly,
"Let me show you, let me show you!"
"Show me what?"
"This is what ma ma gave me for when I’m 680 years old."
- Bernice, facetiously referring to how oversized the jacket mama had given her.
Sharon and I walked the kids to school this morning. Weather was breezy and lovely, roughly 20 degree celcius. The kids were skipping, running and chatting along the way.
Ethan looking spiffy as usual in his school uniform.
As we stepped through the school gates, Sharon asked Ethan if he was happy to be in school.
Ethan: I don't like school.
Sharon: Why don't you like school? You have many friends here and there are many fun things to do, right?
Ethan: Hmmm.... (not convinced and a little moody)
At assembly, Sharon and I found out that the kids were doing a mass dance right in the school compound. Despite obvious hints by teachers that we should leave ("Parents, please go upstairs for the parent-teacher meeting", "Children, say goodbye to your visitors."), as die-hard groupies, we pretended not to understand. Again, we stuck out like sore thumbs (we were kicking ourselves for forgetting to wear the Excelsior pullovers we'd bought). Didn't help that we were also snapping pictures.
Below are photos of Ethan doing the Hoki Poki.
Sharon was watching Ethan very closely as she has been worried about him enjoying school. When she saw how Ethan was not getting as much attention, she almost drove me crazy with her questions,
"Why is Ethan alone?"
"Why does he look so sad?"
"Where's his dancing partner???"
"He has no partner!!!"
"Why isn't his teacher doing anything?"
"My heart hurts! Look, he has no dancing partner! Where's his partner???"
"How, how, should we tell the teacher?"
" Why is he being overlooked?"
"Why wasn't he given the worksheet?"
"Why was he marginalised?"
"Why is the Chinese girl trying to hold his hand again?!"
Monday mornings have never been more stressful.
We had a magical day with Bernice at the Rocks, a street market in the city (close to the Harbour Bridge). With a map from the hotel, we began our adventure. After a short while of walking, we decided that we should take a bus to the Rocks, which was at the end of George Street. We thus had our first experience of taking a public bus in Sydney with Bernice. It was her first experience too!
Our first stop after we alighted the bus. Much to our delight, we were welcomed by the ice-cream stand! Bernice had a peppermint ice cream and we had a lemon sorbet. We had a great time walking down Circular Quay with our ice cream.
Bernice was really easy to hang out with. She was especially mature, sensible and well-behaved. On top of that, she was very cooperative whenever I fussed over her to keep herself clean. She was puzzled why I brought her to the toilet so many times to wash her hands. Nevertheless, she was always ready to oblige. I caught her puzzled look once and broke into a giggling fit that I could not stop. She laughed along with me in the toilet!
Our second stop was at the Rocks. It was a street market full of interesting items. We had fun browsing and snacking on roasted, caramelised almond nuts.
The rest of the pictures were taken by the great photographer - Bernice Tang! We discovered another hidden talent of this bright, beautiful young girl. When she was taking these pictures, she had the stance of a professional photographer and the passerbys were all quite amused and impressed by this little girl.
Ethan showing off his only mole.
Ethan: See, I've got a mole here.
Me: Is that the only mole?
Ethan: Yes. But yeye has lots of moles.
Bernice: Plenty.
It's always easy to catch a great picture of this looker.
and erm...this catcher.
Needless to say, us of course.
Daddy Tang and tiniest Tang.
Mummy and Ethan look for catch.
Manny follows tracks in the sand.
Bernice with her sand portrait of Sharon.
The united wait for waves.
Then the runaways.
Meanwhile, Manny yells into a crab hole, "CRAB! CRAB!"
"Look, this crab is almost dead."
Manny basks in the sun.
"Bernice and Sharon are here."
"This is Bernice's foot print." (Note arrows)
Cookie break.
Crowd behind us awaits a country music concert by the beach (note cowboy hats).
Day ended with a hearty Mexican fare, that is, until dessert, when coffee arrived accompanied by a cockroach.
He's been my regular dining partner.
"You just have to think in your head, 'I can do it! I can do it!' then you'll be able to do it."
- Bernice Tang, 6 years old, Motivational Hula Hoop trainer
Hunter Valley is 2-hour drive from Castle Hill. We spent two days on our own in Hunter Valley, which was a charming, romantic and secluded wine-growing region. It was tucked away in the western part of Sydney, which made us feel like no one could find us.
This was our room at Thistle Hill cottage, where we stayed for a night. The interior decoration of the room was elegant yet cosy.
Behind me was the swimming pool and dining area at Thistle Hill cottage.
This kangaroo is a pet of Thistle Hill cottage owners. It has been a domestic animal since birth and when the owners walk their dogs, it will follow them for the walk.
We spent the two days exploring vineyards and wineries and tasting wine. This picture was taken at Keith Tulloch vineyard, where we bought a bottle of Chardonnay.
My favourite fruit is grape, so you can imagine how excited and overwhelmed I was when I saw the bunches of grapes at the vineyards. It was a dream come true. Walking in the vineyard and reaching out to pluck a grape to eat was simply pure indulgence. I was so excited that I had to sms my mother immediately.
Much to our delight, we found a little museum that showcased many interesting antiques which related the history of the Australians who stayed in Hunter Valley.
Food at Hunter Valley was simply fantastic. We had dinner at Amanda's. The food and ambience of the restaurant was simply unforgettable.
View from breakfast table.
Breakfast at Thistle Hill was a very pleasant experience too. The view of the mountains and vineyards was such a luxury.
We left Hunter Valley with a sublime feeling of happiness.
