The Land Down Under, Part 3: Vivid

 A few months before my trip, I learned that I would be in Sydney during the last week of a four-week festival called Vivid, which is described as, "Light, Music, Ideas, Food." What it all comes down to is four weeks of nightly activities and party atmosphere. 

Since my first night in Sydney involved immediately crashing in my hotel, my second night, of course, meant that I needed to see some of Vivid for myself. 

After a brief rest in my hotel that afternoon, I set off at dusk to find dinner. I wanted to be near the Opera House, and there are a few really good restaurants in the Opera House complex itself. The sun was just setting, leaving the harbour looking glowy and gorgeous. 

Finding a table proved very tricky, but eventually I found a place to sit and ordered food on my phone.

Luna Park was all lit up.

I ordered a passion fruit cocktail and coconut 
water

Chicken dumplings

Promptly at 6:00, it was like someone flicked one big light switch, and all of Sydney lit up. My first notice was the #NeonNights sign next to my table, but then I looked up towards Downtown, and...wow.

Throughout Vivid, every night there were animations of art by Julia Gutman projected onto the sails of the Opera House. 

There were animations on the columns of the bridge, as well, and an ever-changing array of colored lights.

The buildings of downtown Sydney were lit up, as well, and some were used as screens for animations. 

I walked around for a while, enjoying all the sights and sounds, before heading to the area around my hotel to explore a bit. 

I still had several more nights to enjoy Vivid, so after this, it was back to my hotel for some sleep. I had plans for the next day that I didn't want to miss.