Light and shade

It was a soggy start to Vivid Sydney 2026 on Friday. I got drenched twice, once at the rehearsal and then again at the official launch.

But it was exciting to see the fireworks explode over the Sydney Opera House and take a bubbles shot on the MCA roof before sneaking home.

I was supposed to be on duty on Saturday night, but I pulled out for reasons that will be explained at a later date.

I spent Saturday mooching around the house and decided to cook TinEats beef ribs in Korean barbecue sauce, which were a total disaster.

My oven is a dud – I had it on 75C and it still burnt the expensive little buggers into charred lumps. Grrrrr.

Well, I did have the distraction of thinking DD had collapsed from a heart attack after a strenous gardening session (see yesterday’s blog post), but that was only 20 minutes of excuse in the cooking fail.

I am a stubborn creature and wasn’t prepared to admit failure, so I went back to the supermarket and bought another kilo of ribs, slathered them in another bowl of Korean barbecue sauce and … burnt them as well.

Sigh.

By that point, I’d completely lost interest in eating ribs, so I made risoni with feta and roast cherry tomatoes for DD instead and sent him home with the least charred ribs.

On Monday night my friends from Sydney Tall Ships invited me out on a 1.5 hour Vivid Sydney cruise, which is a great way to avoid the crowds and see the lights in comfort and style.

We were very nervous about the weather, but there’s nothing quite like sailing on Sydney Harbour and seeing the pretty lights, so we persevered.

We were so glad we did, it was such a peaceful, beautiful evening aboard the Coral Trekker.

Here are some happy snaps …

Vivid Sydney is lighting up the city until 13 June. Sydney Tall Ships have nightly cruises, departing Campbell Cove at 6.15pm. It’s perfect timing to watch the lights come on before boarding.

We also ducked up to the Argyle Cut after our cruise to see an installation called Time:Warped, which we really enjoyed. Photo courtesy of DD.

This morning has dawned grey and wet. I want to cocoon under the covers and hide from the world. But there are dogs to walk and there is work to be done.

Better get on with it.

Song of the day: Icehouse “Man of colours”