Luna Park

October 31st--We took it real slow this morning since yesterday was so busy. Plus, we really felt like that we had seen all the major highlights of Sydney yesterday, so now it was just time to have fun. So, we headed to Luna Park. Luna Park is a small amusement park located across the harbour from the Opera House. We rode the public ferry boat from Darling Harbour to the Luna Park stop. It was a beautiful day in Sydney so the boat ride was really enjoyable. We got a great view of the city skyline and also saw a wedding take place on one of the islands. We arrived at Luna Park about 20 minutes later. The good thing is there is no fee to enter the park, but we had to purchase wrist bands for the rides. The kids were immediately excited and we headed to the 'Coney Island' area. This is where Mike and the kids went down the big slide numerous times. Austin had to have an adult accompany him so Mike was the lucky one of the day to get to be that adult. After Coney Island, we went to the kids rides area. There were 3 rides that Abby and Austin could ride by themselves and so they just kept alternating between them. After about an hour of this, they wanted to go back down the slides. After the the slides, Mike and Austin rode the bumper cars. Then, Mike and Abby rode the Wild Mouse. The Wild Mouse lived up to its name. Mike said that it was by far the jerkiest ride he's ever riden. From here, Austin and Mike rode the ferris wheel while Abby rode the carousel. Then, they all 3 rode the carousel before leaving the park. We had intentions of eating at a restaurant right by the park, but unfortunately when we got there, they informed us it was all booked up. We didn't realize that reservations were needed. Reservations are apparently a big thing in Sydney. All restaurants take reservations. So, we decided to head back to our apartment and figure out what we were going to do for dinner. By the time we got back, Austin was really tired and just wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and Mike said he wasn't really hungry. Abby and I were starving because we hadn't eaten lunch. So, it was Girls Night Out. Abby and I went to eat at Nando's. We had eaten at Nando's in London and loved it. Nando's was about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. We really enjoyed our meal and time together. While we were walking back to the apartment, we passed a couple of kids kind of dressed up. Abby said "They look like they're dressed up fro Halloween". I said "they are dressed up for Halloween". She said "Why?". I said "Because it's Halloween". She said "Oh, it is? Are we going to make it back in time to watch Cat and the Hat?" We did made it back to the apartment just in time for Abby to watch Cat and the Hat on TV and she never gave Halloween another thought. Halloween is not a big deal in Australia. We have seen very little decorations and advertisements for it. We were at a children's park all day and saw no signs of it being Halloween. Very different than what we are used to in the States.