We got back from Lima on the 13th of December, just in time for the all-important Santa pic. Completely jet lagged for five days, the first chance we got to go to Broadway Shopping Centre was on the morning Saturday the 20th. Fortunately, we got there early so there wasn’t much of a wait. We were there for when Santa arrived – he was a very cheery fellow indeed.
It’s official – Santa prefers Coca Cola over Pepsi, as evidenced by the above photo.
While at the Circuito Magico de Agua, we came across a magical area where you could see where Santa makes his toys, as well as visit his house, and even get your photo taken with him.
Ever since we arrived in Lima everyone’s been asking us “have you seen Circuito Magico de Agua”?
We were a hesitant, since we wondered how exciting can some fountains with lighting really be?
Boy, are we glad we went – the Circuito Magico de Agua (magic circuit of water) at Parque de la Reserva was simply amazing. It was something I would never expect to see in Lima.
While in Lima, we thought it might be nice to get a family portrait taken. From left to right, my beautiful wife Rocio, my one-year-old daughter Hannah, my three-year-old daughter Grace, and of course, me (that balding, but still very youthful looking guy on the right).
We had the photographs taken at a small studio in San Isidro, and were surprised at the studio’s brisk business- they were booked solid.
Many people think the kids’ music show Hi-5 is an Australian invention. But as Rocio, Grace and I recently found out, the real Hi-5 is actually located in Lima, Peru.
Today the three of us (Hannah stayed at home with grandma and grandpa) went to Mila Florence to see a Hi-5 show, where local Peruvian actors played the actors from the US version of Hi-5.
Rocio, Grace and I were strolling down a street Mila Florence (Lima, Peru) on our way home to Rocio’s parents’ place after a Hi-5 show, when we noticed a particularly flustered policeman screaming and waving at traffic at an intersection urging it to “avanza”.
We knew something was amiss so we stopped and didn’t cross the road. As the policeman got the last of the traffic through the intersection, we saw that a motorcade was coming through.
One of the things I like about living close to the city is that there’s always something on to amuse the kids, and often within walking distance, or at worst, within reach by public transport.
Last weekend North Sydney Council held a Children’s Festival at Civic Park. This involved bands, performances by local groups, arts and crafts, baby farm animals, and snakes!
Late one night about four years ago, while searching online for information about the old White Bay Power Station at Balmain, I chanced across a piece of creative writing by a man in his early 30s. It described how he and a girlfriend broke into the abandoned power station, explored its bowels, and were almost caught by security guards.
There have been a number of books that have resonated with me years after I have read them. Ernest Hemingway’s The old man and the sea is one of those books.
There’s a passage that always comes back to me when I’ve found myself facing a tough or difficult situation; it comes at a time in the book when Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman, is trying to bring his catch, a giant marlin, back to the shore, but the big fish is being mauled by sharks.
My daughters, Hannah (6 months) and Grace (2 and a half years). That is all.