Oh Vivid!

It was Gabby and Manon's first year in Australia, so they hadn't experienced Vivid yet.  I really love Vivid, I remember the first year it was held, when it was nothing more than a few exhibitions and some pretty lights being projected onto the Opera House.  It's come so far since then and I think it's probably now my favourite event in Sydney.  Martin Place in particular is lovely during the time of year as it fills with lights, colours and people.  This year, they had set up a set of drums for people to play with, and at 5pm sharp everyday, we could hear the "boom, boom, boom" from our office.

Winter in Sydney is normally quite boring.  I've often said that this is a city that is made for the summer.  When it's not summer, most of the city just goes into a hibernation as it waits for better weather to return.  Vivid changes that whole atmosphere as the whole city and fills it with colour and music.

We went for a long walk around the city to try and see as many of the displays as possible.  The festival organisers had even created an app which made it easy to locate all the different spots to visit.

Manon and Gabby loved it all.  It was easy to understand why with all of the incredible lights and displays around the city.  The interactive displays were particularly fun this year and we spent lots of time playing with the various lights which responded to our actions.

It sounds like a cliche, but Sydney does feel a bit more magical around this time of year.  You walk around the familiar places you see everyday and they come alive in front of you.  The moving images and colours seem to make the buildings appear to be living entities, with feelings and a soul.

It's incredible to think that Vivid has become so big and popular in such a short amount of time.  I'm all for it.  Winters don't seem as boring in Sydney with this incredible festival to look forward to.