MARDI GRAS!

Rain.  Yes, again.  This time we had a plan.  Paddy's Market!

We grabbed our umbrellas and headed out to the market to see what knick-knacks we could find!  We wandered through the market, eyeing all the merchandise that was just BEGGING to be purchased.  T-shirts, clip-on koala bears, wigs, hair extensions, cheap didgeridoos, boomerangs, glitzy/shiny outfits that were just calling out for someone to wear to Mardi Gras, Opals, and more!  I'm sure that anything purchased at Paddy's comes with a 2-hour warranty and will last a (flies) lifetime!

After the market, we split up.  Brad when off to Darling Harbour to meet up with friends that had just arrived on the Atlantis Cruise, while Ken and I went over to Chat Thai for some incredible thai food!  Not only is Internet getting cheaper and cheaper, but Australia is also emulating the United States in other ways.  We saw this along the harbour.

Not ready to head back to the hotel, and wanting to take advantage of a break in the rain, Ken and I walked over to Darling Harbour to catch the ferry over to Circular Quay.  We needed to make our pilgrimage to the Sydney Opera house.  We had seen it several times throughout the trip, but hadn't taken the time to pay it a proper visit.  The Sydney Opera house is a beautiful building, with a tiled facade that you don't notice until you get up close to it.  It's certainly one of the most iconic buildings in Sydney, and perhaps even the world

Finally, it was time for the main event.  The Mardi Gras parade!  We had purchased tickets to the GLAMBAR, which is an area at the very end of the parade route.  GLAMBAR includes drinks, food, bathrooms, and a small viewing area that is limited to a small group of ticket holders.  Across the street is the GLAMSTAND, which is are a set of bleachers with reserved seating.  Another special feature of GLAMBAR is the GLAM-FX.  If you followed our blog the last time we were in Sydney, you may remember the Beauty Shot mode on Ken's replacement camera.  When it was turned on, any pictures taken automatically made the people in the picture look like superstars!  Well, we've come to find out that Australia has improved on this technology one hundred-fold!  GLAM-FX is the newest iteration of Beauty Shot.  Just look at the amazing effect it had on Ken and Brad!

Before GLAM-FX

After GLAM-FX

Before GLAM-FX

After GLAM-FX

Unfortunately, GLAM-FX was the only part of GLAMBAR that held up to its promise.  The drink service was terribly slow and ran out of all the good stuff before the parade started, the food was decent (but infrequent), and the viewing area was uninspired.  Fortunately, the parade itself was fantastic!  While pride parades in the USA are full of politicians and corporations, the Mardi Gras parade was full of fun, fabulousness and choreography!  Just take a look at some of our pictures and videos and see for yourself (and yes...it seems like everybody in Sydney is in INCREDIBLE shape.  Bastards.)

Jim Beam in a can.  So...tasty?

Eric at-the-ready with his camera

GLAMBAR before everyone arrived

GLAMSTAND across from GLAMBAR

The people behind the scenes of the parade

When the parade ended, we did what any reasonable person would do...go out for cocktails!  Or...at least we tried.  Apparently, due to the influx of people in town for Mardi Gras and the lack of bars in Sydney, you're not allowed in unless you bought a ticket and watched the parade from that venue.  Even if you DO buy a ticket, they apparently kick you out for a little bit, and make you queue up to get back in.  We couldn't get in anywhere that evening, and the Sydney police are lined up along all of Oxford Street to prevent you from even trying to cross!  Ridiculous!  I guess Sydney doesn't care about the tourist dollars it could have raked in that evening.

My rating of the Mardi Gras experience:
GLAMBAR:  C+  (far too expensive to not deliver)
Parade: A-   (too short!)
After parties: F  (um...complete fail)

We came, we saw, we did, we had a lot of fun, and it was certainly worth doing once, however, I think we all agree that once was enough.