We rarely look like our passport photos but there are flashes of resemblance. Lately it was getting impossible to see the resemblance between the bald headed infant screaming and the curly haired, talking nineteen-to-a-dozen kuttyma. It was time to renew her passport and a trip to Sydney was a necessity.

What a vivid city! I think Sydney goes to the list of places I would like to live in (yes I have a list) The city is so full of life and beauty. Every direction you turn you find something to gawk at – be it the historic buildings at Martins Place or the quirky cafes with lines snaking out or the boats on the water.

Old-fashioned charm – The Strand Archade

The weather played spoilsport during our visit. It was cold, grey, and rainy but we made the most of it. Vivid Sydney – a festival of light, music and ideas was on. We bundled up and carried our umbrellas as we explored works of art. Traveling with a 5 year old means you cut corners and scoop out for the kid-friendly options the city offers. We did just that.

The Sealife aquarium on Darling Harbor was our first stop (or rather second. The US embassy was our first stop). The aquarium was interesting (again compared to the one in Singapore it was rather lacking). Kuttyma enjoyed the visit.

We were in the city when Vivid Sydney was on. What a luck! The rather drab Opera House looked magnificent lit up. I was rather amazed at the creative uses of light in art. (I will do another post on that soon). The Vivid Trail (we spread it out over 2 nights) took us to Martins Place and Darling Harbor one night. Fireworks and a laser light show (Very similar to the one in MBS Singapore). The second night, we took to the waters to see the Harbor Bridge and Opera House. We also walked around the Rocks taking in the sights.

High on Kuttyma’s list of must visit places were the Botanic Gardens (we had to give it a skip due to the weather), kayaking (another skipped activity), library (skipped) and museum. The Australian museum had a Tyrannosaurs exhibit on and kuttyma is in a dinosaurs stage right now. It was a great stop. The rest of the museum was also very kid-friendly and informative. Kuttyma seems to be fascinated with insects and minerals.

Another event happening in Sydney while we were there was the Head On photo festival. We made a quick stop at the Parliament House to see the top landscape photographs on display there. I was quite surprised to see kuttyma fascinated by the pictures.

With so much to offer and enjoy, the 3 days we spent in Sydney seemed too short. Maybe someday I will go back but till then I will cherish the memories we created.