Christmas was quite different for both of us this year, but it's one we'll never forget. The hot weather, fireworks, artificial trees, santa hats, seafood lunches and pavlova were all part of our Australian Christmas (aka Chrissy) experience. I must say that we had to work harder to get into the holiday spirit (which usually comes VERY naturally for me), but we made it special with our tree, some decorations and Christmas Eve/Morning plans.
On Christmas Eve we went to dinner at Quay, which is in a spectacular location on the edge of Circular Quay with floor to ceiling views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. We enjoyed a nice long gourmet dinner and then headed over to St. Mary's Cathedral for midnight mass. It was standing room only when we arrived at about 11:15. Despite being a bit warm and uncomfortable, it was a beautiful setting for a Christmas Eve service. After leaving the church at about 1:30 in the morning we were suprised to see ice cream trucks outside! So funny..it just couldn't be more different than to what we're accustomed.
We slept in on Christmas morning, had a lazy breakfast, opened pressies and spoke to our families on Skype. We were planning for hot sunny weather, but it actually wasn't really a beach day. We ended up running down to Bondi to check out the scene, which was essentially tons of backpackers wearing santa hats. That evening Chris and Jess had us over for a BBQ at their place in Woollahra. We ate lots of yummy food including pavlova, a meringue dessert topped with cream and fruit that's very popular here. It was nice to close off the day with good friends, food and drink.
Thanks Australia for a unique Christmas, although I'm already looking forward to sitting by the fire and drinking hot cider in the Northern Hemisphere next year!
Jan 1, 2010 at 7:12 AM You were certainly missed here in Pebble Beach, but I am glad that you created some special experiences that will always be memories of your Sydney, summery Christmas!