The New Years Eve week was another great week in our travelling adventure. It started on Monday with Nathan & I going into the city to find him some shoes for NYE to go with the suit Sam & Ben had given him for Christmas. We then met Ben for lunch at Zilver which was a really nice Japanese style restaurant. The food was like Ping Pong in London.
Then we took a walk through ChinaTown and down to the botanic gardens which were beautiful.
The gardens are really big and give an amazing view across the city.
I want to go back with my camera rather than just my phone as the photo opportunities were amazing.
Tuesday we relaxed and went to the beach for a few hours. In the evening we had a lovely BBQ and just sat out chatting on the balcony which is a real positive about life in Australia being able to just sit outside for dinner most of the year.
Wednesday was New Years Eve and we had a a busy morning trying to see if anywhere in Coogee would fit Sam in to get her nails done. After the fourth rejection we gave in and came back to get our hair done. Sam had organised for the two of us to have our hair put up for the evening which was awesome. The hairdresser used a needle and thread to sow my hair into place which I found crazy as I had never seen anything like it before, was really good and stayed in place all night.
By 3.30pm Sam and I were so excited we were actually ready to go and started taking photos on the balcony.
We cracked open the champagne and called a taxi to take us to town.
We got down to Darling Harbour where we were getting on a boat but we were early so headed to a bar alongside the water which was lovely. We boarded the boat at 6.45pm and were sped out to Fort Denison
Fort Denison is a former penal site and defensive facility occupying a small island (Pinchgut Island) located north-east of the Royal Botanic Gardens and about one kilometre east of the Opera House in Sydney Harbour.
As the boat pulled up to the island it looked beautiful, just like a wedding. There was a table plan, immaculately decorated tables, wait staff everywhere handing out drinks and music from a live band filled the air.
The first thing I did was have a quick look around for any of the 'Made in Chelsea' cast as I had seen on Instagram that Proudlock, Andy, Lucy and Tiffany were in Sydney and actually drank at a bar we were at 24 hours after we did! Unfortunately none of them were at Fort Denison but it was worth a quick look!
After wandering around for 15 minutes with my mouth open going 'wow, wow, wow!' as the whole experience was amazing and the place was beautiful we found our table.
Then the canapés started to come out! Ben and I managed to have 11 oysters between us, they were beautiful.
Once seated the first dish was delivered to us and it looked more like a Christmas Decoration than something you could eat, it had little orange balls glistening inside the glass, after eating my first mouthful Nathan informed me they were Salmon eggs. They were actually very good.
After this there was some movement and people seemed to be rushing to the edge to look at something. Being curious we got up and followed and to our surprise saw a stunt plane flying around. It was awesome, the driver was crazy but clearly talented.
Then it was back to our table for more food. I was in heaven when the starter was delivered, king prawns were covering my plate, they were delicious.
At 9pm we all stood up to watch the fireworks. I think it is a fabulous idea that Sydney put on a 9pm show for the children in case they fall asleep before midnight. The harbour was empty as all the boats have to sail to the edge and dock there during the performance. The boat carrying the fireworks is the only boat allowed in the middle of the harbour and it was right in front of us. They were spectacular! When they were finished I was so excited to see the midnight show as the 9pm one was beautiful.
Main course was so beautiful, anyone who spends a lot of time with me will know my obsession with tomatoes, I literally eat about 6 a day at home, I love them, so when the main came out with lots of beautiful colourful tomatoes I was in heaven! To make it better Sam doesn't really like them so I actually got double!
After dinner we got to climb up to the top of the lighthouse where the view was unbelievable, you could see the banks of the harbour absolutely brimming with people. (According to the papers the next day there were 1.5 million people).
After dessert we went onto the lawn where there was the most beautiful cheese table I've even seen! I think I was actually the first person to dig in to the 50 or so cheeses laid out but I had been excited about this since reading the menu. My dad would have been in heaven there was just so many creamy, wonderful cheeses! After my second cheese plate I literally could not move! But then tea was served with white chocolate Rocky Roads! I was so full that as midnight rolled around and we all stood with our mouths open and champagne in hands I had a cuppa instead and it was perfect!
Standing in Sydney Harbour watching the fireworks that I have always seen on TV at 1pm on NYE back in London was an experience I will never in my life forget! I will try and explain it as best I can!
Standing on the lawn at Fort Denison looking out across the water where all the boats had by now been moored up around the banks felt like we were the only people in the middle of the harbour (which I guess we pretty much were). It felt so dark but beautiful and strangely quiet which I guess it would not have felt if we were standing on the banks. The clock started to count down, as it got to 10 we all started shouting ...9,8,7... and my heart was literally thumbing, I could see the large firework boat about 10 metres in front of us ...6,5,4... I remember just looking and looking ahead and wondering where he first firework was going to come from ...3,2,1 'Happy New Year!' And then bang, bang, bang, bang! The banging of the fireworks was like nothing I had felt before my heart felt like it was exploding, the bangs were so loud your whole body could feel it. You felt like you were part of the fireworks!
The view was unreal, the fireworks were as if they were being put on just for us on Fort Denison, they were aimed right at us, we had a perfect view of the bridge and opera house! I think I stood for the entire 15 minutes with my mouth open! They were truly spectacular. I feel like it was one of those experiences that will stay with me for the rest of my life and I will be that annoying old woman who sits with her family every year when the Sydney fireworks are on TV going 'Did I tell you about the year I was there!'
New Years Day was so strange as I woke up and it was still 2014 at home in the UK. It was nice to be able to text friends who were heading out for their NYE parties.
On Friday Nathan and I had dinner at Lee and Sharmila's house and met their little girl Lola. I haven't seen Lee for years and was really great to see his home and meet his family. Sharmila made a lovely dinner and Lola was absolutely gorgeous.
On Saturday we headed back into town and went to The Chinese friendship gardens. The gardens were beautiful but super hot so we don't stay too long.
We went to Darling Harbour and had some drinks while looking out at all the boats then went for a lovely meal at the Blackbird restaurant. After dinner there was another firework display which was beautiful to watch from the porch of the bar we were in. The bar had a live band and we all ended up dancing which was really good fun.
The past week in Sydney has really been amazing and I'm excited that we still have 16 days left here.