"Full On" Queens Day Long Weekend!

"Full on" did not enter my vocabulary until I moved here to Sydney but it certainly does aptly describe the Queens Day Long Weekend that just passed (Monday, June 14 was a national holiday - well for every state except West Australia). It means the weekend was fun and totally jam packed!

This long weekend snuck up on me - it was only a week prior that someone asked me "so what're you doing this long weekend" that I responded "what long weekend?". And as I look back I remember that last year on the Queens Day Long Weekend I moved into my apartment so of course it wasn't much of a "holiday" and all I associate with that weekend is unpacking and lots and lots of empty boxes.

As a Commonwealth of England, Australia celebrates the Queen's Birthday on the second Monday of June (it's not her actual birthday) and it also signals the start of the snow season. Canada celebrates the Queen's Birthday (Victoria Day) at the end of May and New Zealand celebrates it on the first Monday of June (I don't get why Australia and New Zealand can't get in sync on the first/second Monday of June - seems deliberate).

Here are the highlights of the long weekend:

(Saturday) Roller bladed around Centennial Park - Tomu thank you again for the upgraded, new rollerblades! I circled around Centennial Park twice in this my first time roller blading since I moved here. I have to admit I missed my former favorite rollerblading park in Mountain View as there I could blade for hours before turning back and the path was a heck of a lot smoother. I'll have to keep searching for a better place to roller blade.

Then I was off to meet friends from swimming for a Sydney Film Festival Screening of Me, Too and then on for a drinks and a bit to eat afterwards.

(Sunday) Swimming squad in the morning then off to meet Sandy to catch a ferry to Cockatoo Island to check out the 17th Biennale of Sydney which is a contemporary art festival. What hit me when I got off the 20 minute ferry ride to the island is how much it's like Alcatraz Island. Cockatoo Island has a plateau where convicts were imprisoned in this large cement prison building and then a flat area with massive old, empty warehouses where ship building and other industrial activity took place. And when you looked back towards the city, you had this amazing view of the skyline and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Unlike Alcatraz - if you escaped from Cockatoo Island and tried to swim ashore, it'd be a short and very pleasant swim.



I've always felt that Sydney and San Francisco are similar (both have a bridge, are on the bay, similar weather) and then to find out both also had an island where they locked away prisoners yet gave them a million-dollar window view from their prison cell of the city skyline and the bridge.



While Alcatraz remains a tourist spot and the prison still stands, there are plans to transform Cockatoo Island into an entertainment quarter with wine bars, shops and theatres. Already people can camp on the island - if Sandy and I were to do this, we've already scouted out which tent we'd want - #4 has a great view!

The empty warehouse buildings made for a perfect canvas for the contemporary art on display.

The evening was topped off with another Sydney Film Festival screening of a bio pic of Charles Darwin called "Creation" which was followed by a Q&A with the screen writer and producer. Then we popped next door for hot chocolate and dessert that came from the heavens :)



(Monday - Queens Day) Woke up at 3:15 a.m. to catch a cab to Darling Habour to watch the Australian national soccer team (Socceroos) play Germany in their first FIFA World Cup Match. It was crazy mad as I reached the FIFA Fan Fest in Darling Harbour (only 1 of 6 in the world) and they'd already closed it out to more visitors as they reached maximum capacity. Fortunately I was a guest of Football Federation Australia (FFA) and was able to push my way through to the Bayside Restaurant in the Sydney Convention Center where we had a great view of the HUGE screen in the harbour where we could watch the game and stay warm inside as it was very chilly.



Australia unfortunately lost 4-0 and it was disappointing that they couldn't get even one goal on the board! Ang and I went for another quick coffee after the game and then I headed home for a long nap before heading to dinner at Nina and Andrew's new home (my former next door neighbors who I dearly miss)! What an exhausting but exhilarating long weekend!