Lakwatsera Fridays: Vivid Sydney and My Fave Places

I loved visiting Australia. It's one of those places I can walk around freely without fear of getting mugged. I walked around a lot and the best thing is people would go home early from work. After work I'd walk more and sometimes cross the Pyrmont Bridge to the CBD to visit some favorite places. 

Chanced upon Vivid Sydney during one visit. I just watched a vlog about it last night and remembered how fun it is. The lights were beautiful all over the city and the vibe was very festive. I'm not sure when they resumed it, but I'm glad they did. It's something you should experience at least once. 

Vivid Sydney

Whenever I cross the Pyrmont Bridge I normally go to Queen Victoria Building. There's a nice toy shop there where you can buy items not easily found in Southeast Asia/Japan. Of course, I always visit Lincraft. It's my favorite craft shop in Australia. JB Hifi is also one of my must-visit places. That's where I was able to buy box sets of my favorite 90s shows like Ally McBeal and Charmed. Plus Beauty and the Best from the 80s. Too bad they did not have Doogie Howser (it's on Hulu though).  I never finished it and it's not easy to find online.

QVB

When things get busy I stick around Darling Harbour. I sometimes go to Coles which is between the office and where I stay. They sell a lot of baked goods and I normally bring back some muffins for the boys. There's also a convenience store near the hotel where you can buy some ice cream (did that until I discovered there was a huge freezer of ice cream at work, haha). And there are a few restos in the mall I frequent, but I oftentimes just get some takeout from the fastfood when it's late. 

Yummy scallops

One place though I'd like to visit again is the Sydney Fish Market. I want to go back to eat scallops again. I never had the chance to visit again because the food places were only open on weekends. Maybe someday I'll get to visit again :)

#BeKind #StaySafe 

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