Sydney Open 2016

Sydney Open is an annual event where select buildings in the city are open to ticket holders to wonder amongst - it was a great chance to gain an appreciation to buildings I would normally walk past without a second thought.

One Farrer Place

I originally ordered my tickets to be posted but a slight mishap on their part meant I had to pick it up on the day. Picking up the tickets worked out well in the end as Kyle and I caught the ferry from Balmain to Circular Quay and spent the day working our way to Sydney Town Hall. 

View from the AMP building

We had a list of buildings in mind that we wanted to see:

• Land Department
• One Farrer Place
• AMP building

• NSW State Library

• Government House

• Parliament House

• The Mint

• Hyde Park Barracks

• St James' church + crypts
• Sydney Town Hall
• Hong Kong House
• The Great Synagogue

 and managed to see all of them except one - the Land Department building which had a long line. We also managed to luckily catch mini events; watching St James' church bells being rung, a short organ recital in the Sydney Town Hall. The highlight of the day for me was seeing the Great Synagogue, unfortunately no photos were allowed to be taken and the security was understandably super beefy.

St James crypt

Despite seeing a lot of people wearing pink wristbands (identifier for Sydney Open guests), buildings weren't crowded and routes between each location was hassle free. I think Kyle and I would attend again next year, I'm thinking to explore the buildings near Barangaroo. 

Parliament House and Sydney Town Hall

L-R clockwise: Sydney Town Hall organ, NSW State Library, city view from Hong Kong House, Sydney Town Hall hallway

It was Halloween the past week, and although Australia doesn't really celebrate it , a lot of houses around my area were participating in the festivities with horror themed houses and free candy. I walked amongst the terror that is children with easy access to sweets as I walked my dog, and really enjoyed the community vibe. It was great to see kids with their friends in costumes (I saw a kid dressed in a plush Venus fly trap costume, a favourite), toddlers dressed as the latest Disney trend, and accompanying parents holding a glass of wine or bottle of beer whilst making minimal costume effort (i.e. capes).

 

 

  

My favourite horror house. Plastic hanging heads, motion activated fog machine, crackling animatronic witch (that scared my dog), dropping of a plastic skeleton from above by the home owner - perfect.

Speaking of the macabre, I've started reading Little Hands Clapping  by Dan Rhodes. It's an odd little book written with simplicity in mind. A mesh of short tales with an undercurrent of sadness with a connection to an unique museum located in Germany; it is an easy and interesting read so far.