On Easter Sunday, we hopped a double-decker train (above) to the site of the 2000 Summer Olympics to see the Sydney Royal Easter Show. More on that later, first we had to explore the Olympic Park!
As a sports fan, I was really excited to see the Olympic Stadium (above), and torch (above). But I was super excited to visit the Aquatic Centre. We went into the centre, which had gorgeous facilities. We saw the competition pool (above), and the diving boards (above), where the Olympians competed. But the coolest thing was that I got to swim in the pool (above)! The same pool where Ian Thorpe won 3 golds and 2 silvers, and where Michael Phelps made his Olympic debut at 15. It was so sweet. I took the obligatory picture of myself on top of the podium (above), the only time in my swimming career that I have ever done so (anyone who’s ever seen me swim can confirm this). I’m pretty sure that it was not the Olympic podium (not nearly fancy enough), but I’m just going to ignore that fact.
After I finished imagining my own Olympic glory, Cailin and I headed to the Easter Show, held on the Olympic grounds. The Easter Show is a huge fair/carnival that runs for the 2 weeks surrounding Easter. The closest thing that I can compare it to is the New York State Fair in Syracuse, which I went to last year.
We entered the gates (above) to walk down the main concourse (above), full of over-priced carnival rides and booths where you can win ginormous stuffed animals. Then, we saw a pretty cool high dive show (above). Besides the obvious high diver, there was: a guy who shackled his hands and feet together, put his body in a sack, jumped into the water, and emerged 2 minutes later; synchronized swimmers; and some comedic divers. Later we saw a fashion show, where models showcased Australian designers’ new looks for the fall (it’s fall here). I chided myself for making judgments on the models and designs with some degree of authority, realizing that watching Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model do not really give me any true expertise.
We ate lunch in the “World Food” section, which proved to have quite a hilarious sight. There was a “Pennsylvania Dutch” booth (above). In Australia. However, it was selling miniature pancakes with bananas and syrup. While I am not as connected to the food from my PA Dutch heritage as I am my Italian heritage, I’m pretty sure that fruity pancakes are not included in typical Pennsylvania Dutch fare.
Then we walked around and perused several buildings. There was a small flower competition (I was expecting the Philly Flower Show, and thus was quite disappointed). There was a fashion and craft building, which had more cool expensive clothing from Sydney’s boutiques. There was a Fresh Food building (above), which had more types of food than you can possibly imagine. I sampled some salsa (or “chili sauce”) at this stand (above). I braved the sauce rated 10/10 for spiciness, which actually was not that bad. Also in that building were several displays made of fruit (a la the Philly flower show, but with fruit instead of flowers). I got a Rocky Road candy, which was marshmallowy and chocolatey goodness.
There was a final building filled with kitchy souvenirs that reminded me a lot of the Surf Mall in OCNJ. There were wigs (above), creepy dolls (above), and stalls with American sports paraphernalia (so many Yankees hats I almost puked). We also went into a small tent about Australian fire safety, and drove a fire truck (above, that picture’s for you, Dad).
It wouldn’t be a fair if there weren’t lots of farm animals around. We saw a parade of cows that won for best cow, I suppose (above). What exactly are they judged on? Beats me. One animal competition that differentiated this fair from the NY State Fair was the alpacas (above), which I think are related to llamas.
The final event of the day was a rodeo (above), which happened to pit American riders against Australian riders. They actually sang our national anthem before it started, which was really nice to hear. At one point, the announcer asked if anyone in the audience was from the states. I screamed really loudly, while there was pretty much crickets (and one boo) in my surrounding area. Pretty funny. We ended up losing (above), but it was a good time. Then rain started to fall, precluding us from seeing the fireworks, so we left. The end of perfect day #2.
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