Australia Day 2008

Same as the years before, we spent Australia Day in the CBD. First stop is Martin Place, where the A1 GP people have this huge inflatable dome of a pit stop with an A1 car on display. There's a competition going on to find out who can change the tyres the quickest. Winner gets free tickets to the races at Eastern Creek.

From Hyde Park all the way to the Mitchell Library, there were cars of all ages, shapes, and sizes lining Macquarie Street. Walking down the road, we visited the Parliament House of NSW. Took some pictures inside the council chambers, then crossed the street to St. Stephen's Uniting Church. There were some free recitals lined up throughout the day, unfortunately we can't stay for long.

Bought some sizzling sausages from the BBQ stand at Sydney Hospital, then proceeded to the Museum of Australian Currency Notes to cool off a bit. After watching a short historical video showing the construction of the Reserve Bank building, we proceeded to Circular Quay. The place is just packed with tourists and buskers and revelers. It's a wonder we were still able to get a table at the CQ Cafe. More surprisingly, the food is quite ok, and the prices reasonable.

We finished our lunch quickly, then went to the harbour to view the aerial acrobatics of the RAAF Roulettes. The planes gave off white-colored smoke instead of multi-coloured ones, but still fun to watch. My sister and Dad went to Manly via ferry, while my other sister and I went back to Hyde Park.

St. James Church is closed, so we continued on to St. Mary's Cathedral for some picture-taking. We stayed only for a while because I had to go to Darling Harbour to meet GF and her Mom and sister. We didn't stay long as there's not much happening at Tumbalong Park. The afternoon is too hot, and nobody wanted to wait another 4 to 5 hours to see the fireworks. After some hot corn and ice chocolate at Gloria Jeans, we went back home.