David French | 7/01/2013 11:34:12 AM

This article was originally published as 'Greetings from Sydney' in http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/ on 29 December 2012. Image taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Luna_Park-Sydney-Australia.JPG

Greetings from Sydney, where I am staying with my three children on a dad-inspired visit, while Sandra takes a well earned break with her sister and mother in a much more relaxed and tropical location. This visit is reminiscent of trips my mother took me and my siblings on – to Brisbane. We always stayed at the Canberra Hotel, an historical temperance hotel right in the centre of town. Brisbane then retained an almost colonial (or at least 1930’s) feel, but it had enough to experience suburban trains, city parks and gardens, ferries and factories. Just down the road, the People’s Palace contrasted with nice cafe’s and shops, and no visit was complete without going to the Golden Circle pineapple cannery. We glimpsed some of mum and dad’s history, and relatives rarely otherwise seen.

So here we are in a tower in Chatswood, close to where I spent my first 5 years, before moving to Rockhampton. We are off to the fish markets soon where the kids will see the best variety of ocean produce in the country, and then we will go to Luna Park, where I especially like the old fashioned rides of Coney Island. I can’t wait to see my youngest on the giant slide – it is huge – even for an adult! Yesterday we went sailing on Pittwater, and tomorrow we plan a ride in another friend’s sports car. We’ve planned a bike ride on the harbour foreshore, a browse of some great shops, and a trip to Cabramatta, where “round eyes” are definitely in the minority and most of the menus you cannot read.

I guess that doesn’t seem too exciting by the standards of the Bridge Climb, Jet Boat tours and the Zoo, but my aim for this holiday is not that type of excitement. I want to show the kids, that despite its 4 or 5 million people, Sydney is just as safe as anywhere else, perhaps safer. I want to show them that you don’t need a car here (a weekly family bus-rail-ferry ticket costs less than a return airport-hotel taxi journey). I’m keen that they get the feel that big cities are not just about skyscrapers, work and bars (and I have done plenty of each). Most of all, it’s an opportunity to feel a little out of place, concentrate on each other and to do some simple things together.

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