Still Sydney...
Monday 12/31: Botanic Gardens + Opera House Gala
Yoga and swim again for me and same breakfast before 9:15am departure for the Botanic Gardens and the 10am Aboriginal Walking Tour that we'd booked yesterday. Unfortunately, due to all of the NYE preparations, the guides couldn't get to the Gardens! Luckily, another staff person was on hand to provide a substitute tour, which was quite informative despite the impromptu nature of the narrative. Let's just hope we can get our money back from the other tour that didn't happen... Mr. E took some great shots of the flowers, trees, and animals in the Gardens.
After the tour, we stopped briefly at the Library to cool down and spent the rest of the afternoon at our hotel, resting up before our NYE extravaganza at the Opera House.
We passed several checkpoints for the ticketed events as we walked to the Opera House, arriving just a few minutes before the pre-dinner champagne mixer was opened. We enjoyed our bubbly on an outdoor deck overlooking the Harbour, especially since the light rain that had accompanied our walk over from the hotel had luckily ceased.
Only two other people were seated at our assigned table for the pre-performance dinner, despite the numerous other place-cards waiting to be claimed. The poached salmon first course was absolutely delicious, as was the accompanying wine. Mr. E had a beef entree, and I ended up with barramundi after a slight confusion with the vegetarian option. Dessert was a mandarin tart for both of us. Wine flowed freely throughout the evening, although at a certain point, neither of us wanted any more!
During dinner, all of a sudden a storm moved in, bringing two episodes of torrential downpours that we witnessed from the lower level of the North Foyer as we enjoyed dinner. But how awful for all of the people in the other public access viewing areas who had no cover at all! Many of them had staked out their spot early in the morning. The city does provide lots of amenities for these areas, including drinking water, toilets, and food and beverages for sale, but no options for shelter. I'm glad we were inside!!!
The Gala performance, featuring a variety of selections from multiple operas, began at 7:45pm, and the intermission was timed to coincide with the 9pm fireworks so that we all had time to exit the concert hall and return to the North Foyer to get a good spot. We had seats in the front row on the stage right side, which gave us a great view of the musicians.
The second part of the show was a bit longer and included some fun and not-on-the-program antics at the end, including a can-can number! We finished around 10:45pm and then joined the throng to return to the North Foyer for the midnight party, which featured small bites, champagne, and wine in anticipation of the second fireworks show. I staked out a spot on the stairs looking out towards the bridge, which provided a great perspective for the pyrotechnics as well as the lighted ships and Luna Park Ferris wheel that changed colours in sync with the fireworks.
Once we'd officially welcomed in 2019, we joined the crowds heading away from the harbour and back into the city and made it to our hotel by 1am.
Happy New Year!
Yoga and swim again for me and same breakfast before 9:15am departure for the Botanic Gardens and the 10am Aboriginal Walking Tour that we'd booked yesterday. Unfortunately, due to all of the NYE preparations, the guides couldn't get to the Gardens! Luckily, another staff person was on hand to provide a substitute tour, which was quite informative despite the impromptu nature of the narrative. Let's just hope we can get our money back from the other tour that didn't happen... Mr. E took some great shots of the flowers, trees, and animals in the Gardens.
We passed several checkpoints for the ticketed events as we walked to the Opera House, arriving just a few minutes before the pre-dinner champagne mixer was opened. We enjoyed our bubbly on an outdoor deck overlooking the Harbour, especially since the light rain that had accompanied our walk over from the hotel had luckily ceased.
Only two other people were seated at our assigned table for the pre-performance dinner, despite the numerous other place-cards waiting to be claimed. The poached salmon first course was absolutely delicious, as was the accompanying wine. Mr. E had a beef entree, and I ended up with barramundi after a slight confusion with the vegetarian option. Dessert was a mandarin tart for both of us. Wine flowed freely throughout the evening, although at a certain point, neither of us wanted any more!
During dinner, all of a sudden a storm moved in, bringing two episodes of torrential downpours that we witnessed from the lower level of the North Foyer as we enjoyed dinner. But how awful for all of the people in the other public access viewing areas who had no cover at all! Many of them had staked out their spot early in the morning. The city does provide lots of amenities for these areas, including drinking water, toilets, and food and beverages for sale, but no options for shelter. I'm glad we were inside!!!
The Gala performance, featuring a variety of selections from multiple operas, began at 7:45pm, and the intermission was timed to coincide with the 9pm fireworks so that we all had time to exit the concert hall and return to the North Foyer to get a good spot. We had seats in the front row on the stage right side, which gave us a great view of the musicians.
The second part of the show was a bit longer and included some fun and not-on-the-program antics at the end, including a can-can number! We finished around 10:45pm and then joined the throng to return to the North Foyer for the midnight party, which featured small bites, champagne, and wine in anticipation of the second fireworks show. I staked out a spot on the stairs looking out towards the bridge, which provided a great perspective for the pyrotechnics as well as the lighted ships and Luna Park Ferris wheel that changed colours in sync with the fireworks.
Once we'd officially welcomed in 2019, we joined the crowds heading away from the harbour and back into the city and made it to our hotel by 1am.
Happy New Year!
posted by jms | 7:45 PM
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