Vivid Sydney

Vivid Sydney is a festival of light and music.  From 24 May through 10 June Sydney is transformed into a beautiful canvas of colour.  

The first area of colour we saw was Darling Quarter and Darling Harbour.  The display at Darling Quarter was called Luminous.  It is the worlds largest interactive LED display showcased on the Commonwealth Bank building.  In Darling Harbour is the Vivid Aquatique display.  It is a water theatre of light and music inspired by the fountains of Versaille in Paris.  The theme was Dance Around the World and there were light projections of all different types of dance set to beautiful music.  Also in Darling Harbour leading to Pyrmont was the Night Blossom display.  Twinkle lights adorned the trees on the foot bridge to Pyrmont.  

Circular Quay is encircled with vivid light displays.  Everything is lit up – The Custom’s House, The Circular Quay Train Station, The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Opera House, and of course the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  The array of colours is just amazing.  The display on the art museum was my favourite.  

Customs House

Circular Quay

 

Museum of Contemporary Art

Where is Nemo?

The Rocks also have quite a few colorful displays to take in.  

We took the long walk home Friday night from Circular Quay through the Walsh Bay Finger Wharfs.  It was so delightful to walk along the finger wharfs as it was much less crowded than the Circular Quay area yet the light displays were just as beautiful.  

Sunflowers in the Rocks

Luckily we saw all of this on Friday night before the wicked winter rains came.  It rained non stop until Sunday evening just before our Vivid Sydney Harbour Cruise.  

There were some short rain storms on the cruise but overall we managed to stay fairly dry and captured vivid scenes of the Harbour Bridge and city.

 

Ten Month Catch Up

Well let’s see..it’s been about ten months.  

So August and September 2012 were busy with work.  This was around the time Wendy, Louisa, and I started having Taco Tuesday’s to give us something to look forward to every week.  

The first weekend of October was Labour Day weekend.  It was my first visit to Balmain and it was beautiful day as Spring started to show its face.  A view of Balmain from the ferry.

Towards the end of October we went to Brisbane.  We went rock climbing and night kayaking on the Brisbane River.  We also explored South Bank and the Botanical Gardens.  It was a bit cloudy on the day we left Brisbane but here is the river we kayaked on.

The first weekend of November was Sculpture by the Sea.  All along the Bondi to Coogee walk were amazing art displays. 

 

 November  also brought our first annual Australian Thanksgiving dinner.  Josh roasted a turkey for us and Wendy made some fantastic mashed sweet potatoes!  And we even imported in some Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Mix so we could have a proper dessert!  Since we had to work on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday we treated ourselves with a trip to the Hunter for the weekend.  And as summer was just around the corner it was a beautiful hot weekend for touring the vineyards.  

And after waiting five months from when we left the states in the summer it was finally our turn to have summer.  Summer began on the 1^st of December.  It was beautiful out.  Looking at all of the Christmas lights on Town Hall and St. Mary’s Cathedral in sundresses and flip flops was just lovely!  

Then on the 21^st of December I began my journey to reveal a huge secret to America.  In October I decided I wanted to go home for Christmas so I told my dad and that was it.  We decided to surprise everyone.  And it turned out to be amazing.  Due to flight delays I landed in Newark pretty late and by the time we got home to Brielle it was too late to wake my mom up so I went to bed in my bedroom without her knowing.  Then in the morning I walked down the stairs for the biggest surprise ever.  She was thrilled.  I continued to surprise friends and family and it was so fun.  

 After a week of winter it was time to fly back to summer and the iconic New Year’s Eve celebrations in Sydney. 

Rachel, Iz, and I took the ferry to Goat Island to see the spectacular celebration.  We packed a picnic dinner and dessert to enjoy while we waited for the 9pm fireworks and then the midnight ones.  It was an amazing sight to see – unlike anything I’ve seen before! 

We still had one more mandatory week off from work and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.  It was mid-summer and it was hot hot hot.  A lot of time was spent at the pool and eastern suburb beaches.  Wendy and I also took a trip up to Palm Beach and the sights to see were lovely. 

The last weekend of January was the Australia Day long weekend.  We took a trip up to Port Macquarie where it rained the whole time.  We managed to make the best of it with a walk through the rain forest in the rain and a quick visit to a koala hospital.  

Not much to report for February but March was a big month.  Bruce Springsteen came to Oz and had three shows in Sydney.  We  went to the concert on Monday night and had such a good time that we ended up buying tickets for Friday night as well.  Friday night’s show was amazing…fourth row and Born in the USA! 

A few days later we saw Zac Brown Band and Jason Mraz.  ZBB was great…Mraz..interesting.  Easter fell at the end of March into April so we took advantage of the four day weekend and headed down to Tasmania.  

There were about a dozen of us in Tasmania-  Louisa, Wendy, and Wendy’s UNC connections.  We arrived in Launceston on Good Friday and headed straight for a guided tour of some wineries.  On Saturday we drove to the Bay of Fires to explore the beautiful coast lines. 

 On Easter Sunday Liz gave us a proper Easter Egg Hunt.  Following breakfast we drove down to Freycint National Park for a hike down to Wineglass Bay.   

After a quick hour of relaxing on the beach we drove down to Hobart.  In Hobart we went to the Mona Museum.  Before heading to the airport we took a quick drive up to the top of Mt. Wellington where we were lucky enough not to blow away.  The wind was strong and the temperature dropped to about 8 degrees!  

April was a month of travel.  A mere couple weeks after returning from Tasmania, Wendy, Louisa and I took our very first quick trip to the Northern Territory.  We flew out to Ayers Rock to see Uluru.  The quick trip involved a walk around the base track of Uluru, the view of the sunset at Uluru, and a Camel ride!  

A few days after coming back from the Northern Territory we flew out to Bali for an extra-long weekend.  Bali was all about rest and relaxation and it was well deserved for us auditors as the end of April was a very busy time for us.  Our first full day was spent entirely at the spa.  We went on a boat trip the next day and snorkeled  the reef.  On Saturday morning we rested at the pool until taking an afternoon trip to a temple where we watched a traditional Balinese dance.  We took the red eye home on Sunday night so we spent Sunday relaxing at the pool and beach.  

May began with us saying goodbye to our Louisa and welcoming in our new friend Emily, another fellow auditor.  Louisa’s farewell was at the Opera Bar so she could take in the sights of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge one last time. 

 

 May was also Wendy’s birthday!  To make her

birthday more like home I arranged for her favourite cake from home to make its way here and it was a great surprise!

International House Hunting - Sydney Style

Upon arrival in Sydney I began my international house hunting search as my initial accommodation arranged by work was only good for four weeks.  My requirements for an apartment are as follows:

• 1.        Location – being close to work is extremely important to me (to give you an idea of distance comparative to US standards – 400 meters is equivalent to a quarter of a mile (or one lap around a track) and 800 meters is equivalent to a half a mile). 

• 2.       Size – one bedroom with ample closet space

• 3.       Style – modern finishings and furniture

• 4.       Internal laundry is key

• 5.       Budget – no more than $600 per week

I viewed five properties in five different areas- let’s see if you can guess the one I chose.  The chosen property will be revealed in the next post!

Property #1 – King Street Wharf Unit

This property is 306 meters from work.   The building was very quiet and it is a secure building with a concierge  who can accept packages on your behalf if you aren’t home.  The property is not on a main street.  The unit was one bedroom with a large double closet in the bedroom, a large linen closet in the bathroom and another closet right when you walk in so there is certainly ample storage.  The washer and dryer were in the bathroom hidden by doors.  For the most part the furnishings were updated and the kitchen had all of the necessities.  The unit was quoted at $600 per week.  Some additional perks to this unit was the large outdoor balcony off both the living and bedroom.  Also included in the building is a gym, a sauna, an outdoor pool, a large outdoor lounge area and a grill.

Property #2 – Circular Quay Unit

This property is 790 meters from work.  This building also seemed quiet and was a secure building with a concierge on staff.  The unit was one bedroom but much smaller than Property #1.  It is located on a pretty busy side street.  The only storage available was the double closet in the bedroom.  Included in the tiny bedroom was a washer which also has a setting to be a dryer.  The kitchen was indeed interesting.  The hot plate on the counter was considered the stove and the microwave is considered to be the oven.  The sofa in the small living room turns into a sleeper bed which would be good for visitors.  There were lovely plantation shutters covering the windows in both the bedroom and living room.  The unit was quoted at $550 per week.

Property #3 – Chinatown Area Unit

This property is 981 meters from work.  This unit is in a very large apartment building with many student tenants.  The unit was quite spacious with lots of closets and very modern furnishings and appliances including internal laundry.  This unit has a concierge and is secured.  The unit actually resembled a hotel with the quality of furnishings and linens.  This unit was also quoted at $600 per week.

Property #4 – Bridge Area Unit

This property is 109 meters from work.  The unit was very small and was quoted at $625 per week.  There wasn’t actually a kitchen.  There was a mini fridge similar to one you would have in a dorm room in college and the microwave would be used for all your cooking needs.  There was no internal laundry.  Shared machines operated by coins was in the basement of the building.  The furniture was quite dated.  There was a small outdoor balcony overlooking the harbor bridge!  The view was incredible!

Property #5 – Darling Harbour Unit

This unit is 362 meters from work.  The unit was quite large and located in a secure building with an attendant at the desk at all times.  This was a corner unit with large floor to ceiling windows letting in lots of natural light with beautiful city and harbor views.  There is also a large rooftop deck with a grill, lounge chairs and gorgeous views of the city.  The appliances in the kitchen were dated and there was no television with the unit.  The bathroom was a decent size with internal laundry included.   The closets in the bedroom were very large.  This unit was quoted at $600 per week.  

All properties in Sydney include water in the base cost of the rent.  Electricity, gas, and internet are the tenants responsibilities.  All of the properties I viewed were considered fully furnished including bed, living room furniture, kitchen table and chairs along with cutlery and basic kitchen needs.

Which one will it be?!?