| Alan |
Jul 1st, 2002 03:29 PM |
Hi, AJ!<BR>On New Year's Eve, don't stray too far from the hotel, will you, as you are right in the thick of the celebrations. You will see a fireworks display (actually two... one at around 9 p.m. for the families and another at midnight) all around the harbour, and the lighting up of the Bridge is the highlight, so stand where you are in sight of it. If your hotel has a view of the Bridge, you're in luck... otherwise the crowds start to form in the best view-spots from mid-morning. From New Year's Day onwards, alas, you won't find a lot of festivities, as most of Australia goes back to work on around January 3. The one exception to this is the schools... this is our main school holiday period (to end-January), and there will be lots of sctivities for children in Sydney, most of them centred around the Rocks (at Circular Quay)or Darling Harbour. The shopping is good in the early days of the New Year, however, as the large department stores are clearing stock after the Christmas-present rush. The best bargains are often in the suburbs, however, so you may need to hop a train to go to places like Parramatta, Bankstown, Chatswood, Hurstville.... places where the train lets you off right at the main shops. The city itself has declined as a shopping mecca in recent years, as the suburban malls have opened, and the area around Town Hall, once a good shopping area, now has a lot of tacky shops with loudspeakers out the front and nothing inside that will last you until you get on the plane.<BR>Have a great time!
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