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Showing posts from July, 2016

Sydney Stories - Vivid Sydney

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Early June, 2016 When our Travel Agent met the family at Uluru , she said she was "in town" for Vivid Sydney.  I wasn't entirely sure what she meant at the time.  I thought I had read something about Vivid as we moved around the country.  But I didn't really understand what it was.  She was very excited and said she would report back when she arrived in Sydney. When we were in Hobart, I got an e-mail from our agent.  "Vivid Sydney is amazing!!  You're going to have a great time!!"  By this point, I had read a bit more about Vivid, but didn't entirely understand what we would be seeing. This.  We'd be seeing this. The Vivid Sydney website calls the festival a place where "art, technology and commerce intersect."  It began in 2009 and has grown since then.  In 2016, it was a 23 day festival, with art installations, live music and speakers scattered around the city.  Basically, you couldn't swing a dead cat without ru

Touring the Hunter Valley Wine Region

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Wednesday, June 1st I told Mom as we were planning the trip to Australia, "I am going to take one day and do a wine tour.  You, Dad and Elias are not invited.  I will set up a tour for you guys for that day.  I hope you don't mind." Here's the thing.  I wasn't doing this to be a jerk.  I wanted to do a wine tour while we were in Australia.  No one else cares about a wine tour.  Mom drinks very rarely (or whenever I bring a bottle to her house).  Elias has learned he is a beer person (he's 20... of course he's a beer person right now).  And Dad isn't allowed to drink.  A wine tour would not hold any interest for the rest of the family.  Not only would we have to pay for three people to go on a tour that is not relevant to their interests, but then I'd be stuck feeling guilty because they are on a tour that is not relevant to their interests. The family was sent on a tour of the Blue Mountains.  Which after we met up later in the day, I fou