The latest travel information plus insider event and sightseeing tips for New York City, Boston, Hawaii, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Bermuda.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
One Museum Leads to Another
Our recent visit to the Australian Museum, with its fabulous collection of opals and other gems, inspired a visit to the American Museum of Natural History once we returned to the Big Apple. Like its Australian cousin, AMNA has both a display of minerals that help explain how various rocks are formed and plenty of precious items to oogle and drool over.
After some time in the galleries, we headed downstairs to the cafeteria for refreshment. AMNA hasn't quite matched MOMA in the high-end culinary department, but there is still plenty to please even fussy palates. You are bombarded with piles of tempting sweets as you enter the eatery (so rush through quickly if you have sugar-loving tots in tow), followed by an extensive -- and delightfully fresh -- salad bar. Standards, like pizza, dino-shaped chicken nuggets, buffalo wings and burgers are in the hot food section in the back. But with some searching, you'll also find more high-brow seasonal delights like gazpacho. The beverage selection is also comprehensive, with something for everyone.
Our last post mentioned how much we enjoyed our trip to the Australia Zoo, made famous by its seemingly fearless owner, the crocodile-cheerleader, Steve Irwin. So we were startled and saddened when we heard about Steve's tragic accident on the Great Barrier Reef. His death is a huge loss for Australia, for conservation and preservation efforts, and for animal lovers everywhere. Steve once said, "I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message."* We couldn't agree more. Crikey, we'll miss his passion and enthusiasm!
Sydney was not the only place we stayed in Australia, of course. We spent a day in Manly (just a short ferry ride away from Sydney's Circular Quay), where we enjoyed the walk down the Pathway of the Olympians which leads to the Oceanworld aquarium and the Manly Art Gallery & Museum. We had been told that Manly also boasts an amusement park, but, alas, it doesn't. It does have Waterworks, a small waterpark featuring giant waterslides, but (naturally), Waterworks is a summer attraction and we were there in winter.
Our final stop was on Australia's Sunshine Coast. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Coolum, where we enjoyed building sandcastles on the beach, watching kangaroos jump around the golf course, playing with the resort's giant chess set, and dining on Noosa's famed Hastings Street.
On our way back to Brisbane to catch our flight, we stopped at Steve and Terri Irwin's Australia Zoo. We knew all about the "Crocodile Hunter" from TV, of course, and we were not surprised to find that the zoo sports an impressive collection of crocodilians and an even more impressive series of live crocodile shows. We weren't expecting (but were delighted to see) the huge variety of other animals, including Harriet the giant Galapagos tortoise (the oldest living animal on the planet!) and the huge, beautiful (but dangerous!) cassowaries. We also got closer looks at (and were able to pet) more koalas than at any other zoo.
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