New Year’s Eve in Sydney was great. I think the best part was being able to sit in the sun, shirt off, enjoying the summer weather. Oh and the fireworks were great too.
We headed down to the Sydney Harbor a bit after noon, and got into the Botanical Gardens which overlook the harbor bridge and opera house. Now we got to sit around and wait all day. That is one common thread I have noticed between all large scale NYE productions… lots of waiting.
At 9pm a small “family” fireworks display went off, so the familys could get their kids home to bed. Then at midnight the count down started and the bridge exploded with fireworks, and identical fireworks went off across the other side of the harbor. All in all, Sydney blew up 14 million dollars worth of fireworks.
Afterwards, the streets of Sydney were inundated with people. I don’t know if I have ever seen so many people in my life. Every street for blocks and blocks and blocks was a sea of people trying to navigate their ways back home.
I didn’t bring my nice camera with me, so the photos aren’t as good/interesting as I had hoped. But here is a basic photo rundown of the day’s festivities:
Sydney Harbor Bridge from the Botanical Gardens
Opera House from the Botanical Gardens
Me looking really cool in front of the Opera House
Josh: This is all so exciting. I’m glad you got to see the Sydney Opera House and the famous bridge–as well as the fireworks. It’s nice that there was a family show first and then the BIG show at midnight. All the traffic! Wow! How does this compare with New Year’s Eve 2000 in Times Square in NYC?
I like your haircut.
Hal and I might not be able to stay awake until midnight. Around here, there are fireworks in neighbors and some people just bang pots and pans.
Happy New Year!
Comment by katie shimon — January 1, 2008 @ 5:57 am
Happy New Year! I love looking at all of your pictures…it looks like a ton of fun being over there!
As far as comparing it to New York for NYE, I liked Sydney a lot better. In New York we were just coralled into this tiny little area with no food or drink for sale. We sat on the concrete for about 8 hours, and there weren’t even any bathrooms. Not to mention how cold it was. It was neat to get to see the Time Square ball drop, as I had seen it every year on TV, but of the two, I enjoyed Sydney a lot better. I will say New York would probably be a lot more fun if you had a ticket to some event in the city, rather than just the general public deal.
I did get a haircut. I am still in need of a shave.
Glad you had fun! Looks comfortable! We had 8-10 inches of heavy snow overnight. Mom and I ended up staying overnight at Dunkers’ and we’re glad we avoided all the bad roads. The beach and sun would have been fun! But then we would have missed the football.
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Comment by josh — December 31, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
New Year’s Eve in Sydney was great. I think the best part was being able to sit in the sun, shirt off, enjoying the summer weather. Oh and the fireworks were great too.
We headed down to the Sydney Harbor a bit after noon, and got into the Botanical Gardens which overlook the harbor bridge and opera house. Now we got to sit around and wait all day. That is one common thread I have noticed between all large scale NYE productions… lots of waiting.
At 9pm a small “family” fireworks display went off, so the familys could get their kids home to bed. Then at midnight the count down started and the bridge exploded with fireworks, and identical fireworks went off across the other side of the harbor. All in all, Sydney blew up 14 million dollars worth of fireworks.
Afterwards, the streets of Sydney were inundated with people. I don’t know if I have ever seen so many people in my life. Every street for blocks and blocks and blocks was a sea of people trying to navigate their ways back home.
I didn’t bring my nice camera with me, so the photos aren’t as good/interesting as I had hoped. But here is a basic photo rundown of the day’s festivities:
Sydney Harbor Bridge from the Botanical Gardens
Opera House from the Botanical Gardens
Me looking really cool in front of the Opera House
Night begins to set in
Lines got long for the porta toilets
14 million dollars explodes in the sky
Sydney streets flood with people after fireworks
I also have a video of the fireworks. Sydney 2007 NYE Fireworks
Comment by Clara — December 31, 2007 @ 4:13 pm
Josh: This is all so exciting. I’m glad you got to see the Sydney Opera House and the famous bridge–as well as the fireworks. It’s nice that there was a family show first and then the BIG show at midnight. All the traffic! Wow! How does this compare with New Year’s Eve 2000 in Times Square in NYC?
I like your haircut.
Hal and I might not be able to stay awake until midnight. Around here, there are fireworks in neighbors and some people just bang pots and pans.
Happy New Year!
Comment by katie shimon — January 1, 2008 @ 5:57 am
Happy New Year! I love looking at all of your pictures…it looks like a ton of fun being over there!
Comment by josh — January 1, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
I had a blast
.
As far as comparing it to New York for NYE, I liked Sydney a lot better. In New York we were just coralled into this tiny little area with no food or drink for sale. We sat on the concrete for about 8 hours, and there weren’t even any bathrooms. Not to mention how cold it was. It was neat to get to see the Time Square ball drop, as I had seen it every year on TV, but of the two, I enjoyed Sydney a lot better. I will say New York would probably be a lot more fun if you had a ticket to some event in the city, rather than just the general public deal.
I did get a haircut. I am still in need of a shave.
Comment by dadman — January 1, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
Glad you had fun! Looks comfortable! We had 8-10 inches of heavy snow overnight. Mom and I ended up staying overnight at Dunkers’ and we’re glad we avoided all the bad roads. The beach and sun would have been fun! But then we would have missed the football.
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