A rainy week in Sydney! June 9, 2016 Our Vivid Sydney weekend turned into a waterlogged Sydney weekend. But it was fun nonetheless! View fullsize What better to do on a rainy Saturday in Sydney than tour the Opera House! View fullsize Tickets in hand and headphones on head - we're ready to go! View fullsize Touring in style! View fullsize The interior of one of the 3 smaller theatres in the Opera House, which has 5 theatres in total. View fullsize A Le Corbusier tapestry commissioned by architect Jørn Utzon in 1960, but only on display since 2 weeks ago! View fullsize The exterior of the main concert hall. View fullsize The glass separating inside and outside of the shell. View fullsize The shells are made of poured concrete; it took 6 years and 12 iterations of the sail design to find one that worked structurally. View fullsize Glass, shell, and theatre wall. (The interior theatre building was designed by a different architect, after the shell was finalised.) View fullsize View from the main staircase inside. View fullsize This one! View fullsize Not too shabby a view - at least on nicer days! View fullsize The foyer behind the concert hall - with a special photography exhibit for Vivid Sydney. View fullsize Bridge from the foyer. View fullsize In the foyer of the Joan Sutherland Theatre, beds were set up from a sleepover the night before - another special Vivid Sydney event. View fullsize Exterior of the second, smaller shell. View fullsize Crossing from one shell to the other - during a temporary pause in the rain. View fullsize The lobby of the Joan Sutherland Theatre. View fullsize More lobby. View fullsize Photo books were available for purchase - no thank you. But this does show what the interior of the Concert Hall looks like. View fullsize A very cool elevator - with no ceiling! View fullsize A twister of a tunnel trying to exit the Opera House. View fullsize Enjoying the lull in the rain. View fullsize Not a bad group shot this time. View fullsize That poor seagull was bobbing up and down with the waves, stuck against the wall. View fullsize CBD, and storm clouds. View fullsize Did we mention that it was windy, too? View fullsize Something tells me more rain is coming! View fullsize Let's push our luck and go for a walk in the Botanical Gardens anyway. These lights are part of Vivid Sydney too. View fullsize Tucked away at the back of the garden is the Government House, the official residence of the Governor of New South Wales. View fullsize Uh oh! Our luck has run out! View fullsize Spotted in the garden: what kind of flower is this? View fullsize Fall has felled the leaves. View fullsize Also in the garden: the castle-like Sydney Conservatorium of Music, part of the University of Sydney. View fullsize A quick visit to the rose garden, where roses grow on trees. View fullsize Had to stop and smell the roses. View fullsize Many of them had broken in the wind! View fullsize Found a thorn! View fullsize These dogs had a story behind them, but now I forget what it was. View fullsize Castle, garden, Opera House in the background, and rainstorm behind that. View fullsize That's basically the extent of Sydney's CBD. View fullsize Onward we go! Reflections in The Bar. View fullsize High pedestrian activity. Look at all those activities! View fullsize It's Ethel Quokka! Her unframed sister will be coming home with us to Bangkok. View fullsize Posing with Thomas. View fullsize Next indoor stop: the Museum of Contemporary Art. View fullsize They had many neat modern installations, like this one made of a roll of scored vinyl. View fullsize Viewing aboriginal art. View fullsize More aboriginal art. View fullsize These paintings are made out of instant coffee! View fullsize Can you guess who's standing behind the screen? View fullsize No shame. View fullsize Interesting exhibit of routes fleeing Africa. View fullsize The museum's rooftop restaurant is not rain-proof. View fullsize A wet opera house. View fullsize Stopping for lunch at Pie Face! View fullsize And after drying off at the hotel, we're off to the Carriageworks once again, for their evening market - another Vivid Sydney special. View fullsize Same market as two weeks ago - but at night! View fullsize This time, an entire pizzeria came by truck. View fullsize It was much more crowded than when we came in the morning the other week. View fullsize But the fresh baked goods still look delish! View fullsize Our dinner? A monster falafel salad, made to order. View fullsize Another lull in the rain - great! View fullsize Final stop on the tour, while the weather is dry: Circular Quay! View fullsize The centrepiece of Vivid Sydney: the Opera House! Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". (Cool 3D effects!) View fullsize We were blown away by the projections! View fullsize No, really. View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize And here's the little booth that makes it all happen! View fullsize We found Ground Zero! View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize The crowd of viewers below. They haven't figured out that there's a great vantage point overhead. View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize More Lighting the Sails "Songlines". View fullsize The bridge was participating, too. View fullsize As was the CBD! View fullsize And many cruises and ferries. View fullsize More colours! View fullsize A movie being projected on the front of Customs House. View fullsize It's never too cold for Gelato! View fullsize Up close and personal. Still looks good from here! View fullsize Bridge from afar - it reflects nicely in the water, too. View fullsize More of the aboriginal designs. View fullsize This one was my fave. View fullsize The next morning, it's too stormy to go out! So may as well go to the gym. View fullsize Finally, around 3pm, we make it over to the Newtown neighborhood. View fullsize It feels a bit like Cambridge or Somerville. View fullsize Lunch at a very Thai restaurant. View fullsize More ornate shops. View fullsize Vegan propaganda that I do agree with. View fullsize More cute shops - lots of them with very neat, original products. View fullsize And a "J" vegan Thai restaurant. View fullsize Mmm... chocolate! View fullsize How colourful! View fullsize Nice mural - and setting sun. It's only 4pm! View fullsize Back in the CBD, this mall has a piano that's open for anyone to play -- provided you know how! View fullsize Hah! What a tease. Monday morning is beautiful. View fullsize As is Tuesday morning. View fullsize Mid-week, we found another great Thai restaurant. They did a great job recreating the feel of Bangkok. View fullsize And it was filled with Thai customers! Very disconcerting!
