Festive Sydney

There is always something going on and something to do in the vibrant city of Sydney, and I love this (I'm not, however, a fan of the fact that I can't fit everything I want to do in my schedule). The Vivid Festival started up on May 23rd. This is a unique annual event of light, music, and ideas. All around the city there are extraordinary light installations and projections, performances from local and international musicians, and public talks/debates from leading global creative thinkers. I only had the chance to explore Vivid on a few occasions, and I would have loved to see more. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and yesterday (June 9th) was the last day of Vivid. Last night I walked around to soak in the last bit of Vividness.

I have come to realize that I may have a slight obsession with the Sydney Opera House. I just can't get enough of it. Though it may be a little hyped up, I can't help but get super happy and excited every time I get a glimpse of this beautiful building. On Saturday, in a mere 4 days, I'm going on a guided tour of the Opera House with my friend, Heidi. We will discover the stories, history, and magic of my favorite Sydney building. I'm super excited!

Being as obsessed with the Opera House as I am, my favorite part of Vivid was (naturally) the spectacular illumination of the Opera House sails. Every night from 6pm to midnight during the festival the Opera House came to life and depicted a dramatic journey through time - from the birth of architecture and civilisation through the pinnacle of human and technological achievement. It was a great sight seeing the sails change from one thing to another. I could have watched this all night. Truly mesmerizing! 

You could take boats around the harbour to get better views of the Opera House and the city. These were lit up with bright lights, creating a beautiful rainbow of colors in the water. 

In my opinion, the Opera House illumination was the highlight of Sydney. However, there were heaps of other beautiful attractions. For example, the continuously moving projection on the Museum of Contemporary Art building was colourful and spectacular.  

The Vivid Aquatic Water Theater at Darling Harbour featured water shows and aquatic effects. A constant flow of water jets and color lasers enabled the audience to see people dancing beautifully on the water. Pretty nifty, don't you think? 

Huge inflatable white rabbits invaded Sydney for Vivid. The 7meter/23feet bunnies appeared to be enjoying their new home. 

After taking in the beautiful views for an hour, I met up with my friend, Christian (from Australia), to go to another festival: the Sydney Film Festival (SFF). SFF is one of the world's longest-running film festivals, and is a major event in NSW. It is a 12-day festival that screens feature films, documentaries, short films, and animations from around the world in venues across the city. This year the festival is from June 4th - 15th. 

On our way from Darling Harbour to the movie theater, we suddenly heard the familiar sound of Mario theme music. Childhood memories of playing Nintendo with my brother and cousins in California quickly came to mind. Remember how you had to blow into the game if it didn't work? Ah, the original Mario was the best! As we continued walking, the person playing suddenly came into view. It was Mario himself! 

The movie was playing at the State Theater on Market Street. Lovely venue! We saw "Cold in July" starring Michael C. Hall (the guy who plays Dexter). Perhaps not the best movie I've seen, but was entertaining! 

I look forward to more cinematic adventures in the near future. Tomorrow Anne, Anita, Isabelle and I are seeing the Norwegian/Swedish/Danish action comedy "In Order of Disappearance". Should be fun! 

Before I end this post, I'd like to say a quick hello and thank you to my friend in California, TJ Berger. I spoke to my Grandma today, and I am happy to hear that you are keeping her updated on everything I'm posting. I appreciate it!

Love, 

Suzy