New Years in Sydney
Posted: January 30th, 2012 by Courtney
After lots of sun, reef, and rainforest in Cairns, we were all off to Sydney for a few days of sightseeing and of course the firework show on New Year’s Eve.
One of the first places we went was the Sydney Fish Market, said to have to largest selection of seafood at any market in the world outside of Tokyo.  After a quick look around Scott and I settled on a whole crab.  We were able to select our live crab from the market stall and then hand it over to the kitchen where they would cook it up for us for lunch.  We also snacked on some oysters and prawns overlooking the harbor, all for little more than market prices.  What a great way to start off a trip to Sydney.
Sydney Fish Market
Our salt and pepper crab
The next stop was to Adriano Zumbo’s pastry cafe. Â Scott and I have seen Zumbo’s work on one of your favorite TV shows, MasterChef and were really excited to try out his famous V8 cake. Â It’s an eight layer cafe with white icing and since it was still very close to Christmas they were selling a special Christmas version of the cake. Â I’m don’t remember what all the layers were made of, but it was good!
Adriano Zumbo's pastry shop
Special Christmas V8 cake
For New Year’s Eve we had tickets to the Lawn with a View in the Royal Botanical Gardens.  We arrived and got settled into our picnic blanket with a hamper of food and some sparkling wine.  We had great views of the bridge and the Opera House.  After the 9pm “family” firework show we were treated to an acoustic guitarist who played for us while we waited for the main event.  After an exciting countdown we were impressed with fireworks from every angle.  The were shooting them off the bridge, 6 spots in the water, as well as off the tops of the buildings in the CBD.  It defiantly was the best firework show I have ever seen.  It really felt like a one in a lifetime experience!  Check out Chanel 9’s footage of the fireworks at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_crNUYe3q8g.
Cheers!
Waiting for the fireworks show
That was some firework show!
Fireworks all around us
The next couple of days we spent touring around some of the major sites. Â We went to the Botanical Gardens, this time for a look around the gardens, the Opera House, and the Rocks district.
Everyone
Nice shot from the Botanical Gardens in the daytime
At the Opera House
More shots of the Opera House
What a cool building
We took a lot of photos
On our last day in Sydney we took the ferry to Manly Beach for some shopping, beach, and a nice relaxing lunch. Â It’s a 30 minute boat ride through the harbor and offers some great views of the Opera House, bridge, and CBD skyline. Â It was a nice relaxing way to spend our last day in Sydney.
From the ferry to Manly