This past Friday was Australia Day! I was glad to be able to be here for this day as we had been learning about it in our Australian Culture and Life class. It is a controversial day, especially with many in celebration and many in opposition.
We had originally wanted to go see the Sydney Opera House at sunrise, as there was aboriginal work being reflected on it, but we unfortunately slept through it. Instead, we started our day by taking the ferry over to Manly, which gave us a nice view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as the Sydney Opera House. There were lots of people at the beach that day, laying out on the sand, playing volleyball, and surfing the waves.
Later that evening, Lexi and I went to go see the fireworks over the Sydney Harbour. It was a finale event for the day of events, as there had been a music festival at Circular Quay that day. The area was super crowded with police controlling the flow of traffic and blocking off certain entrances and gates. We saw the tail end of the fireworks, but it was beautiful over the harbour. After seeing the fireworks, we went to Observatory Hill where you can see the harbour, bridge, and opera house. We people watched for a little while, watching as people were walking the streets after the fireworks ended.
