Beautiful Sydney

The last couple of weeks in Sydney have been lots of fun. With classes ending, I've had more time to enjoy the city. Although the weather has been getting colder, it has been nice to get out and enjoy all the beautiful things Sydney has to offer.

One of the big events that has been going on the past couple of weeks is a festival called Vivid Sydney. As part of the festival, they have been lighting up the Opera House in a display called 'Luminous'. We went to Circular Quay the first night of the display on May 26th to check it out and eat some gelato.

Another event of recent weeks was the jazz and blues festival in Darling Harbour the weekend of June 5th through the 7th. It was a free event with live concerts all weekend. I went to a couple of the performance on Saturday night. Also that day, Becky, Nate, and I visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It had exhibits of Aboriginal, Asian, contemporary, and European art. It was a nice relaxing Saturday.


After returning from Cairns, this past weekend has been pretty eventful. Friday night I went to see the Sydney Symphony perform in the Concert Hall of the Opera House. Before the performance, Becky and I got dinner in Circular Quay and enjoyed some more of the 'Luminous' display. Afterward, we met up with Nate and one of his friends to head to the Opera House. The concert was titled 'Romantic Perfection' and included Berlioz's Roman Carnival - Overture, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, and Beethoven's 6th Symphony. The selections were a lovely combination of beauty, emotion, and virtuosity. I really enjoyed the experience.

The next evening was our farewell cruise of the Harbour with IES. It was nice to visit and eat some h'dourves while sailing around on a beautiful night. The next night we returned to Circular Quay for the third time to see the last night of Vivid Sydney and a show called 'Fire Water' in the Rocks. The show was a reenactment of a convict ship that caught fire in the 1800's. After the show, we sat in our favorite spot in front of the Opera House to take some final pictures of 'Luminous'.


Yesterday was a gorgeous day outside, so Becky and I decided to take advantage of the weather and take a day trip to Watson's Bay. Watson's Bay is a short ferry ride from Sydney and has great views of the city and the ocean. We did a couple trials and saw some beaches, old forts, a lighthouse, and amazing scenery. We made it back to Circular Quay for sunset, which was a great way to end the day.

Here is the link to some more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066989&id=15508380&l=e89b67828c

Cheers!