We're just back from 4
fabulous days staying in the Sydney CBD. It's something I've wanted to
do for a long time, and with Em in recovery from Prince Charming, now
seemed the ideal time to invest some money in a holiday - our first in
4 years.
Living in a regional city is great, however I am conscious of exposing
my teenagers to the reality of the wider world. With Em only 18 months
away from leaving home for uni I need to start skilling her up on city
living. You know, things like catching trains, buses, asking
for information, and finding the value for money eateries in Chinatown!
For 3 days we walked the city streets visiting mega music stores, high
fashion shops, the Apple Store (Davey's favourite), a cathedral where I
happen to know the Dean, museums, art galleries and a trip across
sparkling Sydney Harbour to Manly on a ferry. We walked for at least 8
hours each day, yet not a complaint was heard from either Em or Davey.
Apparently I timed this CBD adventure perfectly!
I think my greatest thrill was the NSW Art Gallery. After several hours
there I thought we'd finish off with the collection of 19th Century
paintings. Davey, who had been happy enough to see everything thus
far, didn't say anything, but as we'd been on our feet for more than 6
hours at this point, clearly would have preferred to start making our
way back to our apartment. However, within 5 minutes of entering the
collection, Davey was hooked. The huge, detailed paintings drew him in
with their richness, colour, movement, passion and detail. There were
depictions of gruesome battle scenes, Biblical scenes, domestic life,
pastoral idylls - the whole gamut, and it was a joy to watch Davey soak
it all up. It was Em & I who sat patiently on a viewing couch,
having finished our tour of the collection, while Davey spent another
45 minutes under its spell. His school art lessons took on more
significance when he happened across the original of a painting his
class had been required to copy. Seeing the original, with brush
strokes evident, the scale and tonal qualities as the artist painted
it, is so different to a print in a school text book!
I felt that if nothing else worthwhile was achieved on our trip, the
seed of enjoying original art had been well planted in Davey, and I was
satisfied.
For Em I think the highlight was driving in CBD traffic. Part of me
felt a little reluctant, but Em was keen, so as our time in the big
smoke came to an end, it was Em who drove out of our security parking
and into the crush of CBD traffic. Em drove through heavy traffic out
to the beachside suburbs where her Dad & I had lived when we were
first married, along the iconic Bondi strip where her Dad lived before
we were married, then back through the city and over the Harbour
Bridge. Her sense of achievement was well earned as I know many adults
who are too afraid to tackle city driving.
When I reasoned it out though, it was the sensible thing to do. In our
state we have to clearly display bright yellow and black L plates,
signifying that a learner driver is at the wheel, on both the front and
back of the car. This means that other drivers are (usually) more
tolerant and less likely to blast the horn. The whole idea of
requiring learner drivers to have a minimum of 120 hours supervised
driving is to expose them to as many different driving situations as
possible, to prepare them for driving alone. With more than 60 hours
of driving experience Em was ready for another challenge, and really,
city driving isn't all that scary provided you're not in a hurry and
don't mind going out of your way if you get caught in the wrong lane.
That mindset takes the stress out of the equation, and as it turned
out, Em was able to change lanes easily each time it was necessary. So
Em is feeling very smug that she's done something even her cousins in
their early 20's have yet to tackle.
To be honest, I'm feeling just a little bit self satisfied about the
whole holiday experience. Terrific time with teens. Gotta revel in it
when it happens!
The driving practice is so valuable! I took my daughter highway driving and more after she had her license - but I thought she needed practice.
Posted by: Daisy | April 22, 2009 at 07:27 PM