It was lovely to meet Courtney recently as she began her big adventure along Australia’s east coast. It’s funny the feelings it stirred in me. I really wanted her to have a good time in Sydney. And I wanted her to love my neighbourhood of Bondi as much as I do. So I sent her off a quick list of things to do with children, and I thought it might be useful for anyone else visiting Sydney.
Of course, this list is not exhaustive and is skewed to areas near where I live. So I’d love to know your suggestions if you live locally.
Nielsen Park, Vaucluse – a Harbour pool that is kid-friendly with the most amazing view of the Harbour Bridge while you swim. There is a kiosk where you can get takeaway food, a café or you can just take a picnic. There are a few walks in this area too. There’s loads of great advice on this blog – Family Fun Sydney too.
Watson’s Bay – you can get ferries here to the city or just enjoy the park and wander around the streets which have the cutest cottages – used to be a fishing village although now highly coveted for real estate so everything is made over. But still has lots of charm. You can eat with your family at the pub there – Doyles or get takeaway fish n chips.
Oceanworld, Manly – You can get a ferry from Circular Quay to Manly which is a really beautiful journey across the harbour and I’m pretty sure at this time of year at dusk all the little penguins come out onto the beach.
Powerhouse Museum - No Sydney museum is going to compete with London or New York – but the Powerhouse Museum has a section for kids that’s very popular. It’s called Zoe’s World and it’s a mini construction site with bricks made of foam that kids can build with in a mock construction zone.
Redleaf Pool, Double Bay – Another beautiful Habour pool that’s kid friendly. There’s also a kiosk here.
Weekends are always for adventures and when we stumbled from our cosy little burrow last summer into Battersea Park we hit upon treasure. The Park is situated just south of the river between the Albert and the Chelsea Bridge. We drove and parked up at one of the many car-parks around the park. We got all of our paraphernalia out of the car: buggy, 2 children, nappy-bag … (you know the drill) and hoped that the trip was worthwhile. We were aiming for the children’s zoo that we had heard about, but before even getting there we saw a boy driving around the park lanes in a cross between a bike and a go-kart. Then we saw 5 or 6 more children come flashing past in similar vehicles — there was no way that coincidence could have situated 6 recumbent bike owners on this one park path? It turns out Battersea Park is one of only two parks in London (Dulwich being the other) where London Recumbents hires bikes, trikes, tandems and various other bike-like contraptions (hiring starts at Easter and goes through until the end of Summer). It looks like so much fun, and in fact Time Out called it “the best family biking this side of Amsterdam” — it must be good, hey Esther?
We carried on our journey to the zoo which was a perfect-sized animal treat for pre-schoolers. Donkeys, Otters, Chickens, Pigs, Meerkats and Monkeys to name but a few — all really close up and the zoo is small enough to be a distracting hour or so without it being overwhelming.
During the Summer months the park also has a boating lake and a land-train that can be picked up from outside the Adventure Playground. A really fun family day out.
I love traditional toys that allow my children to use their imaginations — toys that inspire their creative play. I also love toys that look great in my home. (Hey, I haven’t earned the title ‘toy snob’ from my friends for nothing!) Enter Dobbin and Drum’s hobby horses. Just gorgeous. They are made from 100% natural fabrics — Australian hardwood dowel, leather trim and are filled with the highest quality 100% lightweight pure Australian merino wool. Now these hobby horses are no ordinary run of the mill horses, they are of heirloom quality and completely and lovingly hand-made. In a world of electronic toys and high tech gadgets, I am proud to say my children love their hobby horses and they regularly feature in their creative play. To be honest, they also make the odd appearance when they are fighting….
Dobbin and Drum are a small Australian company that produce a select range of natural fibre quality crafted toys — toys with ’soul and substance”. For the full range of hobby horses (including the fabulous unicorns and dragons) and for stockist information, refer to their website. Despite being a little tricky to wrap (I always end up resorting to just a ribbon) they make the perfect gift for a young child.
P.S. I can also recommend Dobbin and Drum’s teepee’s and drums — the verybest I have seen.
I took the kids the other night to a fun park filled to the brim with people, and it occured to me how easy it would be to lose them in the crowd. Especially the eldest, whose birthday we were celebrating, and who was running around like an excited little puppy with her friend. That is when the friend’s dad had a stroke of genius: he simply wrote our mobile numbers on their arms with a pen and instructed the kids that, if they ever got lost, they should go up to one of the booths to a person in a uniform and ask them to call the number on their arm. The kids completely got it, and would have known what to do in the case of getting lost! So simple, why had I never thought of that?! (I am sure most of you had, I just wanted to write a post about it, in case you were a bit clueless, like me.)
I remember Courtney telling me a story of how she got lost at a big fair when she was a child and got picked up by a stranger who spent a good hour walking around with her trying to find her parents while her mother was worried sick. At least we can avoid this in the era of mobile phones! BTW, thankfully, no kids got lost on my day out to the park and it was a great birthday celebration.
Nestled in a bend of the Yarra River, amongst the river red gum and paperbark trees (a very typical Australian setting!) is the Collingwood Children’s Farm…. a little slice of country life right in the heart of Melbourne, only 4 kilometres from the CBD. It’s a magical place for city children (and adults) and an absolute favorite with family and friends.
Here, children can get up close and personal with all the typical farmyard animals and immerse themselves in farm chores. They can get their hands dirty milking the cows, bottle feeding the lambs, waddling with the ducks, patting the rabbits, feeding grass to the horses and all the while marvel at the sight and smell of the pigs. They can also look for eggs — a great way to teach them that eggs and milk don’t come out of cartons (as I am lead to believe some ‘other’ children think is the case… not mine, of course! )
And, after all that exhausting animal frolicking, if you haven’t brought your own picnic, there is the delicious Farm Cafe where you can enjoy a decent coffee made with Eureka beans and a hearty farmer’s breakfast or lunch, always reliably good.
Needless to say, this is truly a hidden oasis for us Melbourne city dwellers. Every second Saturday of the month the farm hosts a wonderful farmers’ market selling fresh produce from the farm and from dozens of other Victorian producers. I am always gutted when I miss this. And despite a little mishap with an enthusiastic cow I was attempting to milk several months ago (I won’t divulge but it didn’t end so well for me), it really is one of my favorite places to take my children. We always have a ball.
ps. Should you happen to be a germaphobe like me, don’t forget this!
Richmond Park is the largest royal park in London, covering 2,500 acres of land and has been a Royal Park since Edward I (1272 – 1307). There are around 650 deer that roam free and stand elegantly among the ferns, blending in to the landscape, which is why it is sometimes known as ‘The Deer Park’. We’re very lucky, as we live a stone’s throw away from the park and go almost daily. So I have some favourite places to mention…
We often park up at Pembroke Lodge* (a lovely canteen/tea-room which used to be the residence of our Prime Minister, Lord John Russell in 1847), and from there walk north to King Henry VIII’s mound, where on a clear day you can see 12 miles to St. Paul’s Cathedral! Or we head east across the road to the ponds. *Note: Pembroke Lodge tends to bring out freshly made (warm!) scones at around 3pm daily, served with cream and jam. There is nothing nicer than a sweet-treat after a bout of fresh air, I find.
On the other side of the park we love the Isabella Plantation which blooms with majestical (excuse the flamboyant language but if you’ve seen it you’ll understand) rhododendrons in May and is full of secret lakes and coves (perfect for treasure hunting and exploring). There is so much space and things to climb up and over that my son just can’t get enough of it.
Of course any big park is going to have a big playground and Richmond Park’s playground just so happens to be a hop, skip and jump from Petersham Nurseries, which as Courtney mentioned is a fantastic restaurant. You can drop in to the cafe for a slab of cake and a cuppa without booking, which makes for the perfect treat after a long spell on the swings (my love of cake may become a bit of a feature in my posts).
If visiting the Park for the first time then the Royal Parks website has some great tips for planning where to go and what to see and do.
Actually, it is the best things in life that are free! A cliché but oh, so true. In a quest to live more simply and to try and instill this truth in my children, I have been trying to entertain them these term holidays with ‘nature inspired’ activities and simple pleasures. Homemade picnics in the garden, collecting pebbles and leaves to paint, walking rather than driving, and so forth.
Now in doing so I am learning 3 things – one, my children know a lot more about recycling than I do, even my 4-year-old (for this I have their school to thank!). Two, my kids are quite happy living more ‘simply’; they have much more of a respect for and interest in nature and their planet than I ever had, which I am ashamed to admit but of which I am so, so proud (and which I am determined to keep fostering as I learn too, with them). And three, that in Melbourne you can treat your children to the most beautiful nature attractions without needing to pay for the pleasure as you do with so many other activities – they are ‘free’, indeed just as they should be, for everyone to enjoy.
This gorgeous garden is designed specifically for children to enjoy and explore and is enclosed with only one gate in and out. It is full of interesting and interactive spots where children can play and hide, dig, climb, paddle and generally have a wonderful time learning about plants, conservation and the environment first hand. There is a wetland, a rainforest, a bamboo forest, a rocky gorge, a ruin garden with an ancient redgum, plant tunnels and a winding “river” meandering around grassy mounds. There is also a fantastic kitchen garden planted with seasonal crops.
The garden is really a great day out for all, children and adults alike (afterall, who isn’t wowed by gigantic vegetables?) and a cheap one too (well….that is, providing you don’t read the parking signs incorrectly and incur an astronomical parking ticket as I did on my last trip!)
Just don’t forget to pack the homemade picnic or you may have to rely on supplies from the ‘Observatory Cafe’ – very delicious but can be a little pricey…
Yes, simple ideas are often the best and two of the places I go for them are the blogs of illustrator, interior designer and all-round creative Antonia Pesenti and Brooke Reynolds from Inchmark Journal. Antonia once did a post on painting with water on concrete, and often I think of it because it’s simple, easy and completely un-messy. Likewise I really enjoy the books Brooke shares on her blog and her craft and cooking projects too. Well worth a look.
The summer is almost over, and we are trying to use every available ray of sunshine before the leaves start falling off the trees and the cool weather starts creeping up on us. Last weekend we headed off to the swimming pool and the aim was to go swimming outside and nothing was going to stop us!
Turns out swimming outside in Paris is actually not that difficult. All we had to do is jump on the line 1 metro (the fastest metro in Paris) and jump out in the very chic Parisian suburb of Neuilly. The public pool there has an outdoor area, a sun lawn, a toddler paddling pool and, to everyone’s great excitement: a big waterslide. It is great to go with kids — enough to keep them entertained for a few hours and not too much to bring on a sensory overload. The swimming pool does tend to get a bit crowed so I would recommend going earlier rather than later in the day.
It turned out to be the perfect day; the kids swam their hearts out and the grown-ups got to soak up the sun.
I tell you, I am really dreading the winter!
- Emilie
Centre Aquatique Neuilly sur Seine:
27/31 boulevard d’Inkermann
92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine
Tel.:01 55 62 62 70
Metro Line 1
Station: Les Sablons
It is that time of year again here in Paris: the right bank of the Seine has been taken over by lounge chairs, palm trees, sun and sand.
If you happen to be in Paris for the month of August (most Parisians have left for the country and the city is spookily quiet) Paris Plage is the place to be. It has something for everyone: bars, a swimming pool and a great play area.
If you go in the mornings the “beach” is relatively quiet, even on the weekends, and it is a perfect place for kids to get rid of some excess energy. This year the place to be for kids is the area around the pont de Sully at the eastern edge of the beach.
The other area of Paris Plage around the basin de la Villette is great too, there is even a sailboat you can rent! I loved the idea of sailing around a canal in the middle of Paris, but so apparently do a lot of people so it is completely overbooked. If you have kids from 6 years upwards, there are some fantastic little pedalos that they can peddle around in, in a supervised area of the canal.
All of this has been sponsored by the Mairie of Paris so almost all the attractions are free!
I have always wanted to live by the beach but have actually never succeeded. I think I am destined to beach holiday destinations as opposed to being able to live close to it.
My kids seem to love the beach as much as I do, so we were all very, very excited to discover a beach about one hour away from Paris in the middle of the country!
The river beach in the picturesque little town of Ville d’Adam actually doubles up as the local community pool and is a perfect escape from a hot and sticky day in Paris. You can jump on a direct train from the gare du Nord and be in the water approx. 50 mins later, as the beach is about a 5 minute walk from the station.
The girls had a ball — there is a pretty big sandy area, and we put our towels down by a massive kid’s paddling pool. There is a huge Olympic sized swimming pool built in the ’20s for more ambitious parents, but, for my part, I was very happy building sand castles and splashing around in the shallow pool. If your kids do get bored of playing in the sand, there is a huge bouncy castle area for all ages and two big water slides.
This being France there is also a gorgeous looking restaurant, but I decided that my kids would not appreciate being forced to sit at a table looking out at a beach and watching other kids have fun, so I did not check out if it was as fabulous as it looked.
All I can hope for is a long, hot summer to enjoy our new found out-of-town escape!
It is finally warm here in Paris and we are all loving getting out there amongst the action and not being cooped up inside. This is the first year that I have two mobile children who both want to explore the world, so I am getting to know the parks in Paris better and better.
I have just discovered the great outside play park at La Villette. La Villette is the place you can find the fantastic Science Museum for kids (I still have not been, but I need to go, so I can let you guys know my verdict on it). There are more than 10 different themed gardens at La Villette — the one my kids loved is called “Jardin des Dunes et des Vents”.
The outside play area is divided into age groups, with age-appropriate equipment. It’s fantastic as I could relax knowing that my kids were not going to be knocked over by an over enthusiastic 7-year-old.
My 13-month-old loved climbing over the bumps of a bouncy castle type thing and climbing up the climbing frames a bit like her ancestors the primates. The 3-year-old was running, jumping, spinning and climbing until she couldn’t move anymore.
A great way of letting go of a week’s worth of pent up energy!
We’ve all raved about the mini-micro scooter more than once before. Now the great news is that micro has come out with the follow-up version to their best-selling kid’s scooter. The maxi-micro is stable and maneuverable like the mini but is a bit more sturdy, to cater for children from 5 years old.
The board is just a little bit longer and wider and it has two wheels at the back (but very close to each other, so working as just one wheel), and the joystick steer has adjustable height. The look and colour is definitely more grown up, appealing to those children needing an upgrade from the mini.
For added safety you can pair it up with one of their helmets — which look so cool you will be able to convince the most reluctant kid.
The maxi-micro is on sale now worldwide, although in the US it’s marketed as the maxi kick scooter.
Now for the exciting news… Babyccino has one maxi-micro scooter in black and one micro helmet to give away to one of our readers!! Just leave a comment below by Sunday, June 28th, and we’ll pick one winner at random.
Imagine a tiny Disneyland on the outskirts of Paris, but run by the city and founded a good one hundred years ago. So, actually not like Disneyland at all!
The Jardin de l’Acclimatation in the Bois de Bologne is Paris’ own kiddie fun park, and it is great. My eldest daughter is finally old enough to enjoy it, so this past weekend we headed off for a day of fun-filled activities. I really recommend a visit if you ever happen to be in Paris with kids.
I will say it has the most random mix of attractions I have ever seen, but who I am to complain? The kids loved it.
These are my top tips to visiting the park:
Make an entrance by jumping on a little steam train that runs from Porte Maillot all the way to the park. Why not start as you mean to go on, as my friend Sam would say!
If your kid is three years and over, take them on the roller coaster and on the water ride. I have never seen my daughter so excited. It might be a little tame for grown-ups but for a small kid it is the best thing ever! For older kids there are a couple of bigger roller coasters and rides.
In the summer there is a big splash basin for kids to cool down in, with sprinklers to run through. Parents get to lounge on the sun loungers and eat crepes, while kids go crazy.
There is a little farm with cows, goats, hens and pigs. For my kids, who are growing up in the centre of Paris, a real live pig is as exciting to see as a real live elephant. In between all these domestic animals there are also some lamas. (As I mentioned before there is a certain randomness that is part of the charm of the park).
If the weather is good I would recommend bringing a picnic with you, though there are restaurants ranging from fast food to full on three course meals.
If possible try to go during the week as the Parisians are in the know and it can get a bit crowded during the weekends and Wednesday.
The Eastern Market, in DC’s Southeast quadrant, has always been one of my favorite weekend stops, long before I lived in the neighborhood. The market itself is DC’s oldest food market, dating to 1873, housed in an old brick hall. (The hall suffered from a big fire a few years back, and the market is in a temporary shelter across the street, with the old/refurbished shelter set to re-open soon.) Just like a European market, you can come here to visit your neighborhood butcher, the florist, the cheese monger, the produce man, etc. People from all over the city also flock to Market Lunch, for greasy spoon southern-influenced breakfast and lunch. The bluebucks (blueberry buckwheat pancakes) are to die for! But be sure to get there early, as the lines can be lengthy…. Have Dad stand in line while you take the kids to explore all the other merchants nearby in the hall. After lunch? Take a stroll through the flea market next door (Saturday and Sunday only) to check out furniture and other treasures, and walk the whole block of 7th street — tents are set up all along the street with vendors and artisans selling jewelry, paintings, and all sorts of cool things. And be sure to look for the cafe with the bubble-blowing machine outside — that in itself inspires my 4-year-old to walk the 5 blocks to the market!
Just south of the Luxembourg Gardens you can find the Rue Vavin, a mom’s dream of a shopping street. Along the rue Vavin and its side street, the rue Brea, you will find some of the best Parisian children’s shops. From the affordable — a great DPAM baby shop– to the more expensive — Jacadi and Catimini both have a branch on this street– there is everything you could wish to get for your kid. Paris’ first children’s hairdresser Simon is based in the rue Vavin (16 rue Vavin. Tél. : 01 53 10 08 12). There are also toy shops, chain shops, shoe shops and other cute, little individual boutiques.
I personally recommend dragging the family for a quick shopping mission around the rue and then heading off to the playground in the Luxembourg Gardens — a great day out for the whole family.
Spring has finally arrived in Paris! It is beautiful outside, the first flowers are blossoming and the sun is just warm enough that you can comfortably take the kids to the park, enjoy a ray of sunshine and feel semi-human again after months of hibernation.
Now here is a warning for anyone new to Paris or planning to visit Paris in the spring time: It is not necessarily allowed to sit on the grass in the parks! That’s right — there are very complex rules and regulations. First of all, during the winter (from the 14.10 to the 14.04) the grass in almost all parks has been given the time off. But, even come spring time it is not a given that you can plop yourself anywhere. You need to look out for tiny signs indicating if the grass is ‘resting’ or not.
In this city grass is apparently a completely decorative element in the park. It is normally closely guarded by a man in a uniform with a whistle, lest someone decides to break the law and step onto the sacred green ground.
After living here for almost 3 years I still cannot get my head around this. It just does not make sense. The whole point of a park is that the public can go sit on the grass. So I still plop my kids on any available stretch of grass and get surprised by the man with the whistle. I doubt that will ever change. It feels to me like, yet again, style has won over content in this beautiful but not always practical city.
Even though the newest generation computer games come with all sorts of gadgets that encourage players to get physical (play tennis, golf, or plain old killing people), it still takes place inside the house and in front of a (huge) television screen. Swinx, a new game concept by the inventors of the Bugaboo (yes Dutch, yes smart), is best described as a game console that encourages children to get active: to play together, run around, dance, compete, scream, laugh and have fun. It has a rechargeable battery and is light and waterproof, so it can easily be taken outside to the garden, the park or the beach.
Last weekend our Swinx arrived, and ideally our nephew and niece (9 & 11) were staying with us! Within minutes we (well, they) discovered how the Swinx works: it’s actually very straightforward: by pushing one of the three buttons on the top, a game is selected. The players all choose a coloured bracelet (containing a microchip) and register by ‘bleeping’ on the Swinx. ‘The voice’ will give then directions, play music, encourage the players to run faster etcetera.
The whole weekend we had three children (3, 9 and 11) seriously competing in games like Hide & Seek, Musical Chairs, Quizzes, Duels and Races that required running through the house! They had so much fun! My 2-year-old didn’t really get the concept, but still was laughing his head off, and was so cute racing his race…
The games are all very fun and sweet, kind of old-fashioned. There is absolutely no aggression involved.
My husband felt he was missing out and before long was racing around like he was 8 himself! (He’s 38, and he won.)
I must say that in addition to the games being all very active and the console able to be taken outside, the fact that different ages can have fun with the Swinx is the biggest attraction for me.
Next to encouraging kids (and dads) to get active, the Swinx can also be used to play music or read stories. There are also a variety of educational games. Additional information and games can be downloaded on the Swinx (free of charge), and through the website you can contact other Swinx owners and share experiences, challenge each other etc. It can also be used as a jukebox, playing your favourite music.
Pretty cool, I think.
Last Sunday we spent the perfect winter day visiting the Natural History Museum. We met there quite late in the morning, with another family with two children.
We first toured the ground floor where the main attractions for children are the skeletons and reproduction of dinosaurs; there is a life-size triceratops that is really impressive.
Then we headed to the cafeteria, which is on the top floor with a gorgeous view over the roofs and trees of this very central neighbourhood of the city. While, as usual in Milan, the cafeteria does not cater especially to children, the staff there are really patient and will help you compose a plate for the little ones. I was not sure what my little daughter was going to like, so they let me pick and mix among the various foods available. The quality is good and the price quite reasonable.
Then we headed to the first floor so that the children could burn off some of the energy accumulated while sitting at the table. They roamed enthusiastically through the corridors, looking at wild animals set in nicely restored dioramas that really help them envision where lions, polar bears, elephants and the like live in reality.
Overall, this museum does not compare in grandeur and content to the one in London, but I think the size is perfect for little children whom cannot read and so do not appreciate the full amount of knowledge available over there. Surprisingly, it was not very crowded, so even my daughter could crawl and cruise while pointing at deer and penguins without running the risk of getting lost or run over!
We ended our trip with a nice walk in the park surrounding the museum. Everyone was dirty and tired when we headed home, but we were so pleased to have managed to spend such a family-friendly day in our city (as you know by now, it’s not that easy!).
For the second year running Milan will have its own Christmas Theme Park — the Villaggio delle Meraviglie. It all takes place in the lovely surroundings of the Giardini Pubblici Montanelli, one of the nicest parks in the very centre of Milan.
From the 6th of December until the 6th of January a fairytale village inspired by everything Christmas will be put in place for the entertainment of children and adults together.
There will be Santa’s house where children can meet Santa Clause and hand him their Christmas letter. After Christmas his place will be taken over by Befana, an old witch-looking lady, who flies on a broomstick and brings sweets and presents to well-behaved children on the night of the 6th of January. Next to Santa’s house there will be a toy factory where children can draw their favourite character and then see an animation of it.
Under the Ice Palace (though not really made of ice) there will be entertainment for the very little ones, a circus school and face painting.
One of the biggest attractions for children will be a rollercoaster in the shape of Santa’s sleigh that will ride along on mountains of snow. For a quieter and more tranquil ride, one can choose the “Park Express” train that will take adults and children on a tour of the park where they will meet the fairytale characters that live in it. The organisers have also set up a shopping area where vendors will showcase their products in nice little wooden huts, with all sorts of things for sale: little handcrafts, chocolates, cheese and wine and other regional products.
The village would not be complete without a proper ice skating rink where alongside the “free-skating” sessions (and lessons) many exhibitions and shows will take place.
It truly is a very festive and wintery activity! The park is open everyday until 8pm with the exception of the 31st of December when there will be a New Year’s Eve party inside the park.
It was lovely to meet Courtney recently as she began her big adventure along Australia’s east coast. It’s funny the feelings it stirred in me. I really wanted her to have a good time in Sydney. And I wanted her to love my neighbourhood of Bondi as much as I do. So I sent her off a quick list of things to do with children, and I thought it might be useful for anyone else visiting Sydney.
Natalie in Sydney
March 2nd, 2010
4 comments
Richmond Park is the largest royal park in London, covering 2,500 acres of land and has been a Royal Park since Edward I (1272 – 1307). There are around 650 deer that roam free and stand elegantly among the ferns, blending in to the landscape, which is why it is sometimes known as ‘The Deer Park’. We’re very lucky, as we live a stone’s throw away from the park and go almost daily. So I have some favourite places to mention…
On the other side of the park we love the Isabella Plantation which blooms with majestical (excuse the flamboyant language but if you’ve seen it you’ll understand) rhododendrons in May and is full of secret lakes and coves (perfect for treasure hunting and exploring). There is so much space and things to climb up and over that my son just can’t get enough of it.
I have always wanted to live by the beach but have actually never succeeded. I think I am destined to beach holiday destinations as opposed to being able to live close to it.
