Last night, we had gone to bed very late. This was on account of a card game. Nathan keeps winning and the girls and I were desperate to stop his winning streak. We plays until almost midnight. Nathan still won :-(
Anyway, I awoke at about 7.30 this morning and decided to let the girls lie in. The plan was to go to Sydney for the late afternoon to enjoy the festivities and watch the fireworks. As I waited for the kids to surface, I showered, got ready and put through a wash load of clothes. I read a book in preparation for my teaching - Hugo Cabret. I had already seen the film - the book is lovely and well worth a read! The kids arose just before lunch. Erin and I read some more 'Animal Farm' and Becky and I read some 'goodnight Mr Tom'. While the girls got ready, I started to read a book on positive psychology; a gift from Knox! Well, if you like reading, it doesn't get much better than that!
We went to the station and discovered that Sunday is 'Funday', which basically means that travel around Sydney is even cheaper and the train tickets you buy can be used for all public transport ( including ferries), around Sydney. Cool! We made a mental note to visit Sydney on Sundays in future.
Sydney was, predictably, amazing. There were street entertainers; karaoke; artists; musicians galore. We wandered through an enormous craft fair. The stalls were all lovely. No tacky chintz or tat. All really good quality stuff. We all stood and watched a glass blower make a beautiful miniature pair of glass slippers. We then observed a spray can artist paint a fantastic futuristic space setting. We watched a number of aboriginal dancers who were covered in paint and playing didgeridoos. There was just so much to see and do. As the sun beat down, we decided to walk through the beautiful botanical gardens. My travelling experience is pretty limited but from what I have seen so far, Sydney is really high up. It's an amazing place and I can't wait to share it with friends and family. As I walk around it, I regularly imagine that I'm here with my loved ones. Take a look at the piccies below.
The fireworks were due to start at 8.45 in the evening. A about 6ish, we thought we 'd stroll over to Darling Harbour, grab a quick bite to eat and settle ourselves somewhere perfect to observe the display. This is where the blog takes a turn for the worse. We are still naive poms and did not realise how nightmarishly difficult it was going to be to get something to eat. Restaurants were out. The queues stretched along the quay. Not to worry. I had spotted a Subway - the girls' favourite. However, as we trundled towards it, we realised that the large group of people, who at first we had mistaken for crowds waiting for the display to start, were actually queuing for a subway. Now, I know we're Brits and experts at queuing but this was beyond a joke. So we decided to head on over to the old faithful Golden Arches.
Today was the first (and last) time that I queued for over three quarters of an hour for a Big Mac meal. There was not much choice. It was queue or starve! The proprietors were, however, very thoughtful and the programme ' The Biggest Loser' was 'appropriately' playing in the background. Predictably, we chose the slowest of the lines and watched as people who had queued behind us outside, we're served before us once inside. It took a lot of positive psychology to remain calm about this. However, the Chinese lady who served us was called Nice, which was nice. It would have been more apt if she had been called Patience. The girls and I had a Big Mac meal and Nathan, keen to maintain his trim physique, ordered a Mega Mac meal. Once suitably replenished, we left the fast food joint to grab a place from which to view the fireworks.
It would appear that whilst we had sit and munched our burgers and fries, the whole world descended on Sydney. Joking aside, it was horrendous. Very frightening. I was really worried that we might get separated. I hate crowds at the best of times but this was well beyond a joke and I grabbed onto Nathan and the girls as if my life depended on them. The crowd began to slowly move and it was becoming increasingly difficult not to be pulled apart. I started to feel a little panicky and started to consider plans and strategies aBout what I could do with Becky if it got too serious. There was a balcony close by and I figured that I could lifte her up onto it if I needed to. A fight broke out. It got seriously scary. The police calmed the situation a little but we were all so squashed; like battery hens. I was so frightened that laying an egg was not beyond the realms of possibility. Nathan took control and continued to push though the crowd. There was more pushing in front of us and a couple of blokes engaged in some macho nutting of each other. Great!
Finally we made our way through to somewhere we could finally breathe. From there we watched the firework display. Whilst it was fantastic, I'm not sure that it was worth the near cardiac arrests I had experienced that evening. As we made our way back to the station to head home, (hoping to avoid more pushing and shoving), we heard the firework display continue. Stupidly, we missed the finale!!
Oh well! There's always next year!
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