Throwback Thursday: Vivid Sydney

Before the world went on lockdown I was able to see a bit of Vivid Sydney. It's the annual celebration of creativity, innovation and technology. They usually have installations and projections all over the city. I read it returned this year.

I chanced upon it in 2019 and saw it with some friends during a business trip. We headed to the area of the Sydney Opera House and walked around to admire the installations and projections. The Sydney Opera House was a sight to see. They projected different images on the building. It's best seen in person (here's a short clip). My photos did not do justice to the beautiful images. 

Some of the installations reminded me of the Winter Illuminations in Japan. Uncle Fumio and Tita Pet brought us to see it when we visited them in Tokyo. The installations in Sydney though featured animals. They were so pretty. I didn't take that many photos because I wanted to relish the moment. 

What made the experience of seeing Vivid Sydney was seeing it with friends. It would be fun to go back someday to see more of the installations and projections across the city. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursdays: Long Walks in Darling Harbour

I mostly went on foot anywhere I went when I'm in Sydney. I walk to the office. Walk to the grocery. Walk to the mall to eat. I've always stayed in Darling Harbour and when I have time I cross the Pyrmont Bridge to get to the other side.

My main motivation is to get to Lincraft* (for obvious reasons). After I do my business at Lincraft I cross to the Queen Victoria building. The Queen Victoria building is a heritage building built in the 1890s. It served as a municipal market. It was restored in 1986 and is now a well-known shopping center. They have a lot of nice shops, but more importantly a toy store that collectors would love. I was able to buy a few Yoda figures there (budol is real!). It's a nice area and if you walk a bit more you'll get to St. Mary's Cathedral. 

The best time to visit Sydney is during spring. The weather is always perfect and it's always good to stay at Darling Harbour. There's a lot of restos in the area overlooking the harbour. I got to try them with Tita Chu. Miggy loved the Australian National Maritime Museum which is located beside Pyrmont Bridge. The mall was my savior whenever it would be too cold for me to walk outside. 

My favorite thing to do though was walk across Pyrmont Bridge. It's 369 meters, so I'd always walk slowly. I liked hanging out in the middle of the bridge to watch boats and the multitude of birds. Sometimes I would hear Pinoys banter with their friends. That would always make me smile because it would make me less homesick. 

The key though to those long walks I would make is the fresh air. That's elusive in cities in Southeast Asia so I'm always stuck inside an air filtered room. I realized that when we were in Bohol because I was able to walk more and do more. Perhaps time to move to a place with cleaner air? 

*Just found out it's now permanently closed, huhu.

P.S. Day 5 and 6, boys are feeling better. Still positive though so we're still taking all precautions. As for me, I'm just taking things slow. Not sure if the SOB I've been feeling is due to the bad air quality or if I'm coming down with it. Vitals are stable though so I'm very hopeful it's just the bad air. 

Adventure Down Under: Sydney

Way back in the late 90s my Tita Chu invited me to come visit Australia. I managed to get a visa but didn't have enough funds to pay for a ticket (huhu!). It took more than 15 years for me to and mainly because I had work to do (sorry I'm such a tightwad!). I was worried about leaving my son at home alone so I immediately checked if I could get cheap tickets so I could bring him with me. We got lucky since I managed to get promo tickets for Miguel and Sweetie!

So off we went Down Under on a red-eye flight. Seven and a half hours later we arrived in Sydney and ended up eating at McDonald's at the airport. The first thing we learned? Water and taxis are very expensive in Australia. You could actually drink from the tap but unfamiliar water is one thing that makes me sick so I always drink boiled water (some bottled water makes me sick too boo). The first thing we did when we arrived at the hotel was take a shower and sleep.

In the evening we met up with Tita Chu and Uncle Robert at a nearby restaurant. We had a real treat eating seafood buffet. It was a good thing we decided to walk back to the hotel. I walk very slow so it took us about an hour to reach the hotel. It was a good long walk since we were able to familiarize ourselves with the area.

The next day we met up with Tita Chu at the pier and went on the Captain Cook's Sydney Harbour Story Cruise. It was a two hour ride across the harbour. We got to see the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the different nooks and crannies locals go to (there was even a nude beach!). It was an awesome experience to see the area. We were also lucky because the sun hid for awhile so it wasn't too hot to be on the open deck. It was such a beautiful day to be with family.

In the evening we had a very different experience. Tita Chu brought us to the Mercedes Benz Fashion Show. It was our first time to attend a fashion show. It was fun to see new trends in fashion. 

The next day we had an awesome gastronomic experience at the Sydney Fish Market with Sweetie's cousin James. We had a wide array of seafood. Fresh. Juicy. Crispy. The scallops were unbelievably huge! Bondat from lunch we headed to the Market to buy some stuff. 

So that was our first three days in Sydney.