Hello 2007!!!

Well! For some reason, it hasn't really sunk in as being 2007 yet. I guess it's because I'm used to having the new year come in the frigid cold along with a nice hot chocolate in my hands as opposed to warm balmy temperatures and some beers. Hmm...

Anyway, it's 2007 regardless of what I think. Okay, enough rambling!

The New Years Festival here is definitely one of the biggest holidays here, and Sydney claims it has the biggest New Years fireworks display in the whole world. After watching it just over an hour ago, I can't say I doubt that claim.

We rode our bikes down to the end of Balmain, where about 100 million other people were, to watch the famous fireworks. We jockeyed for a good viewing spot, which was hard to find, given the amount of people already there, but we finally found a decent place.

Midnight struck and it was the beginning of an awesome display of fireworks. There were (I counted five) that I could see that were all choreographed. The sheer amount of fireworks and the variety were simply dazzling. It was really worth it to go down there and see it.

Getting back home took much longer because I had to walk our bikes much of the time as the streets were too crowded with people to actually ride. Police were keeping the situation under control, and I can truthfully say I never felt unsafe. It was part of the experience watching the hooligans and the revelry though. It actually wasn't that bad. I've seen worse crowds in Seattle!

The moment the fireworks went off, so began probably the longest day I'll ever experience in my lifetime. It will still be Jan. 1 when I arrive back home in Portland and it'll only be mid-afternoon. My flight leaves Sydney mid-afternoon on the first. It's too much to comprehend at the moment. I'm going to bed as it's quarter past 3 AM.

Pic of the day

Fireworks are hard to capture for an amateur like me, so this is about as decent of a shot as I got of the fireworks from the bridge.