Tulip Time : Bowral NSW

Our next NSW destination? Southern Highlands: BOWRAL! My friend Cyril and I went for their annual tulip festival: Tulip time.

Bowral is about 1.5 hrs drive or 2.5-3 hrs by train from Sydney. We opted to take the train because we expected that there will be lots of people coming to the festival and parking might be limited. Also, no tired driver! We can take a nap during the train ride. 😅

For this annual event, several promotions are being offered. One of them is riding the Old steam trains from Sydney Central to Bowral station. This included the High tea experience during the trip. I think it was around $100+ per person. We didn't want to spend that much hence we opted for the normal (modern) trains. We did have the chance to take a picture of the old trains. Train to Hogwarts anyone? 😆

Entrance to the garden is free. There are donation box at every entrance though. If you have spare change to donate, you can drop them on those boxes. Unfortunately, due to the sudden cold weather, the Tulips have not fully bloomed at the time of the festival. The garden volunteers said that it might take one to two weeks more before they get a full bloom. Nonetheless, I still think it was very pretty! It this is how it looks like now, how prettier will it be during full bloom? 😍

There was also a parade in the afternoon for the event. The festival is for 2 weeks but the parade is only done on the first Saturday of the event. This is the reason why we went on this specific day even though the tulips have not bloomed yet.

Note: Most buildings here are really old. They have the European/historical building feels. 😊

NSW: Hunter Valley

Another travel destination. Christmas Figure and Lights in Hunter Valley! ^_^

before arriving in the garden, we passed by a chocolate factory. we decided to stop and rest for awhile. <who said anything about resting? Let's go take more pictures... =p>

OOTD for this trip. 

Purple jumper from Uniqlo

Pants from H&M

shoes from converse

 Lacoste Bag

NSW: Wollongong Lighthouse and Beach

Last stop, lighthouse and beach! ^_^

NSW: Nan Tien Temple

Continuation of my Post from Sea Cliff Bridge..

One of the tourist spots that we went to during my cousins vacation in Oz is the Nan Tien Temple. Since Ate Lea have to go to work that day, we ask her husband, kuya gerry to drive for us.. First stop is the Sea Cliff Bridge. This is followed by the Nan Tien Temple. We also went to the Wollongong Lighthouse and ended the trip on Wollongong Beach. ^_^

Entrance to the temple. We're not allowed to stop the car here, hence, the blurry picture.. T_T

NSW: Cherry Picking

December is the season for Cherry Picking. Because all of us are busy before the Hols, we decided to go on December 25th (no work).

The orchard the we pick was "Wombat Heights". For the official website, click here.

It was about a 4 hrs drive from our suburb. 

NSW: Parliament House, Canberra

Hi All!

This is the accompanying post for my Floriade post. 

After enjoying the colours of Spring in Florida, we decided to see if the Parliament house is open. We rode the bus from Commonwealth Park to the Parliament House. 

We were like; "Really?! Can we really go inside the Parliament House? I haven't even been to the Malacañang Palace. hahaha.

 the walk to the front entrance (a really long walk).

NSW: Floriade

Every year, the beginning of Spring is celebrated in Oz. One of the highlights in NSW is the Floriade which is held in Canberra. It is usually held in mid-September. Commonwealth park is filled with flowers of different kinds and colour. This is one of the must-see events in Oz. 

Official Facebook page of floriade here.  

Last year (2014, this is a really super late post T_T), we decided to go see this event. Canberra is about 2.5 hr drive from our suburb. 

Thanks to Kuya Ogi and Ate Avi for letting us stay in their house (and the delicious dinner! =D).

ROYGBV!

NSW: Auburn Botanic Garden

Just because I wanted to see Cherry Blossoms! =D

I saw an announcement in Facebook about the Sakura Festival in Auburn Botanic Garden here in Oz. Being a Japanese obsessed fan, seeing cherry blossoms for real (not on TV or picture) is included on my bucket list. At that time, all I can think of is "its now or never". My solution? Taking my niece to an impromptu outing to Auburn. 

OOTD for the day here. 

Lovely bird (?) that you will see upon entering the garden.

The garden doesn't have a lot of sakura tree, just a short pathway lined with them. But at least, I SAW REAL SAKURA..  =D

NSW: Mandarine Picking

Another fruit in season for picking? Mandarins! ^_^

(Sorry, I forgot where we had the mandarin picking. Hence, I can't give credits or mention the orchard  T_T) 

(Pickers for the day)

$10 for a bucket of mandarin and a lot of free taste before picking.. =p