travelswithalice

January 01, 2013

Scenes from New Year's Eve

Sydney sure knows how to throw a party!

New Year's Eve celebrations were obsessively micro-managed, to the minutest detail. They rehearsed everything a day before. There were strict rules in parks and other vantage points for watching the fireworks on the harbour: no alcohol, no bottles, no glass. They checked bags. There were ushers, monitors, ticket checkers, traffic wardens, all uniformed, all efficiently discharging their duties. There were police on the ground, in cars, and on horseback.

Stuart and I attended the New Year's Eve Opera Gala and the rooftop party at the Opera House, which of course had an enviable view of the entire proceedings: the fireworks and light displays on the harbour and on the bridge, and the illuminated flotilla of tall ships, ferries, and yachts that followed the show.

Getting there was a bit tricky. On this evening, the Opera House was accessible only on foot.

This called for some compromises in the wardrobe department, particularly for the ladies. Some went barefoot or wore flip flops, carrying their evening shoes in their hands.

All glammed up and ready to party though, most of the ladies chose not to compromise their style standards, preferring to soldier on in party-pretty shoes.

I wore totally inappropriate sandals and Stuart gamely carried my shoe bag for me.

In the end, I didn't even bother wearing my evening shoes at all because having hurdled the long trek from our hotel to the Opera House, I still had all those stairs to negotiate to and from our concert seats!

At the rooftop party, the champagne flowed and we danced to live big-band music into the wee hours.

We walked back home happy, if a little worn out from too much dancing, too much walking, and too much champagne, which in the course of the evening, I'd managed to spill on my dress, legs, and sandals.

Congratulations to the city bosses for how organized the party was, how free of party junk the streets were, and how safe we felt walking the city streets in the dark!