Eden Coffee used to be our local brekkie joint when we lived nearby. While their focus is on providing the best coffee possible to diners, they also have fantastic food, friendly staff and a very welcome vibe. If you’re after a kid-friendly cafe in Zetland with great coffee and delicious food, Eden is your best bet.
Despite there being nothing particularly kid-friendly at this cafe, like a kid’s menu or play equipment, it’s still really family-friendly, as evidenced by the many families who brunch here every weekend. Mums regularly park their strollers at the tables both outside and indoors, as the cafe is big and roomy, with an upbeat atmosphere that welcomes tiny and perhaps noisy guests.
We dined at Eden on many, many, many occasions. My regular dish was the Avocado Smash plus Haloumi (smashed avocado on sourdough with roasted tomatoes), or the Eve’s Breakfast (eggs your way, house-made baked beans, sauteed mushrooms and kale, roasted tomatoes on sourdough), while Alec loved the Adam’s Breakfast (eggs your way, spinach, bacon, mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, baked beans, on sourdough).
We would regularly order a babyccino, kid’s milkshake or smoothie for Cheese, plus either banana bread or toast.
The staff at Eden are fantastic. There’s nothing like your regular cafe knowing you and your order when you walk in (or perhaps it’s a sign that we are boring and should branch out into other menu items?).
Highly recommend our old local. If you’re in the ‘hood, drop by!
We were wandering around Annandale recently and came across the adorable Lemonia Cafe right on Booth Road. The cafe has heavy Greek influence, from it’s name (inspired by the greek word Zesty (Ζέστη) which translates in English to “marked by spirited enjoyment”) to the menu. A chalk board inside the cafe proclaims that fresh Greek cakes will be available on Monday afternoons and we are sad that it’s Saturday and not Monday so we could try them.
The menu has lots of vegetarian and gluten-free options. No specific kid menu, but there are plenty of things that kids will eat.
The charming waitress taking our order noticed our preschooler was getting antsy and we had neglected to bring anything to entertain her, and very thoughtfully took her to the back of the cafe to select some toys and a colouring in sheet from a cabinet. On closer inspection, the toys could do with a bit of a bath, but the colouring in sheets and pencils were very welcome!
Our food came quickly and was all spot on. Alec had the Megalo Brekky (your choice of eggs, grilled tomato, confit mushrooms, chorizo, roasted chats, bacon & sourdough $21). His mushrooms in particular were fab, but his whole dish was fresh and full of flavour. I ordered Luxe Artisan Toast (sourdough $6) plus a side of Avocado ($4.5) for Cheese, and the Museli Bowl (natural yogurt with a choice of mixed berry, poached pear confit or fresh strawberries with toasted museli $11) for me.
My muesli dish was just how I like it – mostly natural yogurt and fruit with a small amount of museli.
Next to the cafe is a small shady park that is perfect for kids to run around in, or you can walk to the nearby Orphan School Creek playground a few streets away in Forest Lodge (entry via Wood st).
On the last Friday of every month, at precisely 3:15pm, excited lovers of cake and tea are admitted into the rarely seen Strangers’ Dining Room at Australia’s first and oldest Parliament House to enjoy their High Tea in the House experience.
It’s a somewhat secret experience at the moment, as so few people are aware of this high tea. When combined with the limited seating option available, this high tea becomes Sydney’s most reclusive, and exclusive, afternoon tea experience.
To get to the Strangers’ Dining Room, overlooking the beautiful Domain park, requires walking through a metal detector and passing by some heavily armed guards. It’s a bit of a surreal way to enter a high tea room, that’s for sure.
With the only dining option for 3:15pm, a small crowd gathered in anticipation of the dining event about to take place.
After checking in with our names, we chose our table – by the window with the best natural light.
The china drew our attention immediately – it’s a special Wedgwood china pattern designed for Parliament House. I was hoping to be able to purchase a tea cup to take home, but sadly they are not available for sale.
There are three options available:
Traditional High Tea served with tea and coffee – $42 per person
Hope Estate Pinot Chardonnay NV Sparkling High Tea – $44 per person
Lerida Estate Lake George Brut Rose Sparkling High Tea – $52 per person
The High Tea in the House was created by Executive Chef David Learmonth and his team of expert chefs. While not every component was made in-house, every ingredient on the menu was sourced from NSW.
Scone tier
Lemonade scones with strawberry gel and cream
Savoury tier
Bocconcini tartlet with chive coulis
Smoked salmon and dill cream cheese crepe roulade
Cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches
Sweet tier
Milk chocolate aero squares
Flamed lemon meringue pie
Macarons
Mini cupcakes
Opera cake
I was somewhat perplexed when the tea stand arrived with the one type of sandwich, the salmon scroll and the bocconcini tarts after I had told them I was vegetarian, as usually I am given an alternative to meat. After confirming that this was the regular platter and there was no vegetarian option I was grateful that there happened to be two vege savouries for me to eat. After we devoured the savoury plate, another was brought over, which I loved. The hot weather had put me off eating too much sickly sweet stuff and I was craving savouries. I do appreciate when extra sandwiches are offered at all high teas, actually, as well as additional tea.
Speaking of tea, I chose an English Breakfast loose leaf tea which came in a beautiful silver pot. The handle was burning hot strangely, and the post only held enough water for two very small cups, but it was a really lovely tea.
The scones were excellent, even though they were not super fresh. I really love when scones arrive fresh out of the oven!
The dessert tier defeated me on this day. I enjoyed the lemon merengue tart, the opera cake and the tiny vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting, but I couldn’t eat any more!
On the whole, I enjoyed the high tea, in particular the savoury tier and scones. The desserts were good, but not very creative. I did think that this high tea was excellently priced. At $42pp it’s cheaper than the majority of high teas in Sydney, and in a location you’re likely to never be privileged to step foot in again.
Is there anything more fun than getting letters and packages in the mail? I thought not. While we love travel, we are not one of those nomadic families who travel year-round. We spend most of our year in Sydney, loving our life here but also dreaming of seeing every country under the sun.
Little Passports is a fantastic new find I made recently that fits perfectly into our lifestyle. It’s a monthly subscription box for kids designed to encourage a love of travel and teach them about the world.
The way it works is simple. Choose the monthly adventure best suited to your family, select your subscription plan, and then watch your kids’ faces light up when they receive their monthly packages filled with letters, souvenirs, activities & more.
There are three age brackets, or “adventures” to choose from – which means the packages delivered are very tailored to each age range.
Next, choose your plan. Each plan includes the Traveler Kit and subsequent monthly world theme kits. Note: prices are in US Dollars (USD). These prices are for the Early Explorers boxes.
12 Month
$13.95/month
One time payment of $167.40 USD
+ $36 shipping to USA/ $66 USD shipping to Australia
Auto renews after 12 months
Cancel renewal anytime
6 Month
$15.95/month
One time payment of $95.70 USD
+ $18 shipping to USA/$33 USD shipping to Australia
Auto renews after 6 months
Cancel renewal anytime
Monthly
$15.95/month
$15.95 + $3 shipping
to USA/$5.50 USD shipping
to Australia, billed monthly
Auto renews each month
Cancel renewal anytime
First Month: The Traveler Kit
The first month you will receive:
A fun orange suitcase
Wall-sized World Map
20-page activity booklet
Luggage Tag
Stickers and photo
“Landmarks” themed kit
Every month following, the kits will have a different world theme. Each kit will include:
20-page activity booklet
Fun Souvenirs
Flashlight Adventures
Trading Cards
Letters, photos, stickers and luggage tags
What I love about Little Passports:
The characters:
Little Passports has created three adorable characters called Max, Mia and their dog Toby, to guide children on their adventures. The characters are very age appropriate and super cute. Having characters make the adventures more relatable for little preschoolers, and each month when the kit arrives, kids can look forward to an update from Max, Mia and Toby’s new adventures like they are getting care packages from a friend.
The variety of themes:
There are so many! Rather than focusing on one location, the broader theme of “music” or “art” lends itself to different types of conversation, as well as being easier for a preschooler to grasp the concept of. Locations, distance, space – these concepts are tough for little kids to understand, so the themes encompassing a feature that numerous locations have in common makes learning easier for this age group. Cheese is able to tell me, for example, that the Eiffel Tower is in Paris, but she has no idea where Paris is.
Themes that the kits encompass:
Landmarks
Music
Animals
Food
Art
Natural Wonders
Oceans
World Coins
Space
World Discoveries
Dinosaurs
Science
Celebrations
Habitats
Transportation
Insects
Sports
The activities
Each kit has activities that kids can do on their own, like stickers, and adult-participation, like the activity books. This mix works well as we have items that Cheese can get out and enjoy on her own, but also ones that we can do together, leading to further discussions. There is a lot of detail in each pack with interesting facts about the world, so when we go through these pack together, I read the information to Cheese, then we chat about what it means, and what she thinks about it.
When I first opened the activity books I wasn’t sure how Cheese would go as she is typically more into physical games than those on paper. I was really surprised however, as she was really happy to sit and work through the whole book in one sitting. I did need to read the instructions to her, but she was then able to perform each activity entirely on her own (note: she is 4.5 yrs old).
They’re educational
I’m a big fan of learning through play, and these kits enable kids to do just that. The landmarks kit we received had the cutest mini figures of famous landmarks around the world like the Sphynx and Great Wall of China. After their introduction to Cheese, they are now being used in imaginary play with her other toys, and she’s dreaming up new and exciting geographic locations for her games. These kits, with bite-sized information and games that teach about the world, are an easy way for kids to absorb knowledge while playing.
We now have the world map on the wall of Cheese’s bedroom and talk about the different continents, what landmarks are on them, where we live, where we used to live in New York, and so on. I plan to write on the cities soon, where we have been and where we are going, so she can get a good picture of the world and dream up her own big adventures.
“Music” themed kit
Thank you toLittle Passports for sending us these kits to check out. All opinions are my own.
This post contains affiliate links. This means if you buy a kit from Little Passports using these links I will receive a very small commission from the sale. Thank you for supporting me and my blog.
If you’re on the go (and, ahem, on your phone) all the time like I am, this great travel app from Webjet is going to make your holiday planning and booking so much easier. The app enables you to search for flights, hotels and car hire and then book them, all in the one app.
I do most of my travel research on my trusty phone, so I really enjoyed using the app to quickly find the best deals within my budget when planning out upcoming Hawaii trip. I found the app to be fast, very easy to use, and also very thorough. It had all of the options I needed to filter choices with when booking a family holiday.
The smart app knows what destinations you’re looking for and auto populates with the correct airport.
Select the number of adult and children.
Your options are presented in an easy-to-read manner.
Sort by departure time, airline, price, stops or duration.
You can also select filters from the bottom of the screen to refine your search by airlines or stops. I prefer “no stops”.
The date selector is easy and intuitive. Vastly easy to navigate than many hotel websites!
The hotel booking tool is similarly easy to use. The selection criteria makes it easy to find hotels when travelling with kids.
The hotel lists come with TripAdvisor ratings that you can click through to read.
Sort hotels by recommended, price, star rating, hotel name, special offers, or, my favourite, TripAdvisor review scores.
Using the filter button at the bottom allows you to select hotels matching a particular rating ot TripAdvisor review score.
Choose the map view to see hotels in the area you would like to stay. Zoom in and out for more detail.
Clicking on the hotel will bring up its location, price for your dates, star rating and TripAdvisor review.
Click on the hotel for further information. I won’t be staying here!
Select to view the price by “per night” or “total price”. I prefer “per night” as I find it easier to compare various hotels this way to see which gives me a better deal.
All your options are listed when you select the hotel. Choose your room type.
Total price and your dates for review.
Pay directly within the app.
Next – car hire. I love how easy this app makes it to book your hotel, flight and car hire all at once.
A variety of cars can be selected.
Sort by car price, company name, car type or make.
Filter by car type or make.
Choose to see the price “per day” or “total”.
All the info you need. How many people its fits, how many bags, info on the shuttle bus from the airport to the car hire, price for the duration, what’s included for your price.
Choose your extras – all of your family needs are here!
Pay within the app.
I really enjoyed the ease with which this app made researching and booking hotel, flights and car hire.
Sydney’s beaches often get all the attention. It’s easy to see why – they’re glamorous, hip and all over Instagram. Head an hour south out of Sydney, however, and you’ll find beaches that are just as beautiful, but without the crowds.
Austinmer Beach is one such beach. It’s one of Wollongong’s most popular beaches, located 25 minutes north of Wollongong’s CBD and under an hour south of Sydney. It’s an easy drive south, too. The beach is located off Lawrence Hargrave Drive, with a large, free carpark and cafes lining the road opposite.
Local families love Austinmer Beach, particularly the fenced in playground (sadly no shade cloth) that has plenty of activities for kids of a variety of ages. The rock pools are a major draw for this beach, too.
Located at the south end of the beach, they attract children and adults alike with their amazing ocean life. We spotted fish, a crab, sea snails, an anemone, and some freaky looking creatures that none of us could identify.
Also at the south end of the beach are two large ocean pools.
Where to eat:
Shell’s Diner
An old-school fish and chips shop that makes fab lentil burgers and delicious fish and chips at a reasonable price. Shell’s Diner: 106 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Austinmer. Hours Mon-Thurs 7:30am-4pm Fri-Sun 7:30am-8pm
Austi Beach Cafe
A wide variety of breakfast and lunch options, plus gelato and afternoon tea. We highly enjoyed their fresh, warm scones. Austi Beach Cafe: 104 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Austinmer. Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30am-4pm Sat-Sun 8am-4:30pm
Making a living as a writer, as opposed to just blogging my little heart out, has been such an interesting learning curve. In my previous full-time roles I was representing big businesses who people wanted for their own business’ success. Being a writer is basically being on the other side of that business model. I’m now the person reaching out to big publications wanting their exposure or profile for my resume, or wanting to be paid to write for them.
As such, I’ve discovered how important etiquette is when balancing the fine line between being just the right amount of assertive, such as when introducing myself and pitching story ideas, and polite, because no one wants to work with an aggressive ego maniac.
Etiquette will get you a long way when working with editors, who can get hundreds of pitches and queries a week from writers just like you. I wanted to share a few tips on how to build relationships that will last and bring you repeat work.
Be polite
First rule of life, as far as I’m concerned: be polite. Thank people for their time. Remove weak words out of emails, like “just” and “think” and keep the tone strong, but at the same time polite. It’s a fine balance. It will be likely you’ll need to follow up with most editors various times as they are some of the busiest people you’ll ever meet. I suggest waiting at least a week between following up between the first email and second, then 2 weeks between the next email, and then, after another two weeks, sending a new email with new pitches. All very politely, of course.
Do your homework
Before pitching ideas, look at their site/publication. What have they already covered in the last few months? What topics do they focus on and avoid? Sending over pitches that are not in line with what they do is a waste of both their time and yours.
Be assertive
But not rude. Never, ever rude. Never harass repeatedly with frequent follow up emails, or demand responses. That’s a surefire way to have your emails send to the trash.
Be 100% professional
Nail the word count. Run spell check. Get your article in BEFORE the deadline. Fulfil the brief exactly. Keep questions to the editor to a minimum (questions = extra work for them). Be easy and pleasant to deal with. Build a name for yourself as someone who delivers what the publication needs with zero fuss.
Deliver clean copy
Get a friend to read over your copy to make sure you didn’t miss anything. There is no better feeling than filing copy and seeing it published soon after with zero changes made by an editor. Your editor will also love you for this as it means no additional work is needed by them.
Be thankful for feedback
Writing can be subjective and highly personal, and therefore hard to know how to respond to edits requested by editors. While my first reaction might be, in my head, that the piece was great as it was, that’s only my pride speaking, not the truth of the situation. The changes my editors suggest always improve my piece, as well as helping me better my writing skills in general. I always, ALWAYS, thank editors for their time giving me suggestions on changes to be made.
What are your tips on building a lasting relationship with editors?
Venice to me is like a trip back through time. A place with narrow alleyways leading to hidden restaurants and ancient cathedrals, with water lapping gently at the sidewalk as you walk along the canals. It’s literally a place out of a fairytale and considering it is slowly sinking, I think it should be on every traveller’s must-see list before it’s gone forever.
The capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, Venice is built on over 100 little islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. Images of its stone buildings rising out of the water have brought 20 million tourists a year from all over the world to wander through its maze-like alleys. There are no cars and roads in Venice – just boats on canals. It’s a unique place steeped in history that I would love to visit again.
When you visit Venice, whether it be a day or a week, be sure to do the following:
1. Get lost
Put down the map and just wander the alleys and explore the tiny squares they will take you to. Venice is at its most authentic when you get off the beaten path and just go where your feet take you to.
2. Take in the view
Catch an elevator 98 meters up to the top of the San Marco Campanile and get a birds eye view of this amazing city. At street level Venice is a rabbit’s warren of twists and turns and you need to get up high to really see the full impact of this city perched on top of the ocean. Get there early or just before closing to beat the queues.
3. Eat gelato
Ingest as much of it as you can, from chocolate and vanilla to tiramisú and stracciatella. Gelato contains less butterfat and air than regular ice cream and has no artificial flavorings or preservatives. Basically gelato is heaven and the Venetians do it damn well.
4. Go to church
From its Byzantine domes and luminous mosaics to the 24-carat gold leaf paint, Basilica di San Marco is a sight that won’t be forgotten. Dress modestly when you visit (ie cover your knees and shoulders).
5. Be a bird of a feather
Don’t be tempted to feed any of the 130,000 pigeons that frequent Venice’s historic centre as it’s now banned. If you’re tempted to get the classic “bird on head” shot, you’ll need to lure the pigeons without birdseed that was once sold in Piazza San Marco. The crack down is an effort to curb the “immense damage” caused by the birds, which costs taxpayers €16 to €23 per year in cleanup costs.
6. See the city by sea
Technically see the city by canals, but it doesn’t have the same ring to it. If gondolas aren’t your thing, hire a kayak, flag down a water taxi or relax aboard a cruise. This city is meant to be visited and viewed at water level.
7. Soak up history
A visit to the Doges Palace is a lesson in Gothic architecture and Italian opulence. Palazzo Ducale, or Doge’s Palace, was the home of the Doge (the elected ruler of Venice) and the seat of its government for centuries.
8. Carb load
I had the best spaghetti carbonara in a tiny hole in the wall cafe in Venice. Forget any carb-free diet you might be on and just enjoy the best pasta of your life.
9. Hear voices from the past
Join countless other tourists taking a selfie at the Bridge of Sighs, the bridge that crosses the channel between the ducal palace and prison. Built in 1962, it’s a somewhat notorious sight as the bridge was used to move prisoners directly from the court to their prison cell. The name “Bridge of Sighs” came from the vivid imaginations of the locals as they thought they heard (or perhaps really did hear!) the complaints of the convicted prisoners who crossed it.
Some places stay with you your entire life, even if your time there was fleeting. My visit to the Antelope Slot Canyon was one of these times. I actually saw the canyons way back in 2007 when I did a road trip around this part of the USA – well before I started blogging! High on my list to see were these canyons, with their etherial colours and shapes. I thought at the time – and still feel today – like they were something out of a dream. Too incredibly beautiful to be real.
The Antelope Canyon is a “slot canyon” located on Navajo land east of Page, Arizona. The Antelope Canyon includes two slot canyon sections, referred to as Upper Antelope Canyon or The Crack; and Antelope Canyon or The Corkscrew.
We visited the Upper Antelope Canyon, the Navajo name for which is Tsé bighánílíní, meaning “the place where water runs through rocks.”
The name is very literal, as the Antelope Canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone, mostly through flash flooding.
The canyons have been accessible only by tour since 1997, which is when the Navajo Tribe made it a Navajo Tribal Park.
The upper canyon is the most popular to visit because it’s so incredibly photogenic (it’s also the easiest to access, with the entire length of the canyon at ground level and no climbing required). Beams of light radiate down through the slots in the canyon roof, bouncing off the walls and creating the most spectacular rays of light and coloured rocks. Depending which time of year and day you visit, the canyons will look different. The best time to see the canyons if you’re after this kind of light is summer, during the middle of the day – the beams are most often when the sun is in the middle of the sky, During winter, the colours are more muted.
My prime purpose for visiting the canyons was to get photos like these. And I’ll tell you, they weren’t easy to get. I was on a tour group with many other tourists, so in order to get these photos with no one in them, I had to lag behind the group, or walk slightly ahead. Lighting in the canyons is really tricky too. I brought my tripod and I’m pretty sure it’s the only reason these photos are in focus.
To visit the Antelope Canyons, purchase tickets for a tour in nearby Page. They range from $35 to $82 per person, depending on the time of the day and length of the tour.
Many moons before the little Cheese came along, hubbie and I travelled foot loose and fancy free all over Europe. One place that has stayed with me as something out of a fairytale is Neuschwanstein Castle.
This castle is one of the most beautiful (and popular!) in Europe, and is a place that photographs do no justice to. It’s impossible to capture in a picture the majesty of this spectacular castle, perched high in the mountains.
We visited Neuschwanstein Castle, nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace, when we were visiting Munich. We did a day tour out to the castle that included a fantastic bike ride around the country side, and ended up at the village Hohenschwangau, at the bottom of the castle.
Neuschwanstein Castle was home to King Ludwig II of Bavaria, a supposedly shy king who built the palace to keep the public at an arms length. It’s ironic that after the solitary monarch’s death his home is now one of the most popular of all the palaces and castles in Europe, with around 1.4 million visitors a year.
Our visit was on a busy day, but the timed tour groups meant that the inside of the castle never felt crowded. It was fascinating learning about the shy king who lived in such a magnificent dwelling – like something out of a children’s fairytale. Out on the terraces people gathered in larger amounts trying to take selfies or admiring the view. It was a lot more chaotic than the photos would lead you to believe.
Visiting Neuschwanstein Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle can only be visited within a guided tour.
Entrance tickets for Neuschwanstein Castle can only be bought at the Ticketcenter in the village of Hohenschwangau below the castle. More info. To get from the ticket office to the castle, you can take the 30-40 minute walk (Around 1.5km uphill) or check out these other options.
Info from the website: Your entrance ticket is valid for a guided tour of the castle at a particular time. We would like to explicitly point out that the tours begin punctually. Please allow sufficient time to get up to the castle, as if you arrive too late you will no longer be able to participate in the tour.
Please note that during the high season entrance tickets for a particular day may be sold out. We would therefore ask you to reserve your tickets well in advance.
Neuschwanstein Castle Hours: 19 March to 15 October: 9am-6pm 16 October to 18 March: 10am-4pm Open daily except 1 January and 24 / 25 / 31 December Admission: From 12 euros (adult) / 11 euros concession). Children and young people under 18 are free.
Getting there (c/o the castle website) By car or coach
Take the A7 motorway (direction Ulm-Kempten-Füssen) until the end. From Füssen first follow the road B17 to Schwangau, then the signs to Hohenschwangau
or take the A7 motorway until the exit Kempten and then the road B12 to Marktoberdorf. Follow the road B16 to Roßhaupten – OAL I to Buching – and then take the road B17 to Schwangau and Hohenschwangau.
By public transport
Take the train (www.bahn.com) to Füssen, then the bus RVA/OVG 73 in the direction to Steingaden / Garmisch-Partenkirchen or the bus RVA/OVG 78 in the direction to Schwangau until you reach the stop Hohenschwangau / Alpseestraße.
