First day Sydney: rain, and biggest Mardi Gras in the world

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My first impressions of Sydney were: 1) surprising amounts of rain, 2) plenty of European bakeries where they sell decent bread for a change, 3) gaaaaaaaaay. And by that I mean I arrived on the day of the annual Mardi Gras in Sydney, it's gay parade, biggest in the world (or at least the most famous?).

And it's Fabulous.

No I really loved it. It used to be about the glamour, now half of it seems to be just the grassroots-ness of it all, and the liberal messages liberally sprinkled throughout the parade. And just how many different groups support it, and the varied ways it finds expression: I've seen police officers, prison league rugby players, parents, kids, army people, Daleks exterminating homophobia, gaymers, people in Star Trek uniform dragging a Death Star (I didn't get that one either), not to mention the french, jewish and japanese gay communities.

Oh, and then there was a stream of Putin floats :D

Sydney's Mardi Gras is something they can be proud of, if you'll forgive me the pun.

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Photos

Nearby park
Note: my hostel is in the red-light district. It's not unsafe, except for maybe the street I live in at 2 AM, a local assured me.

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Ooh, euro-style architecture!

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..interesting..

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Most of the gay bars are in the street of the parade. This street also features some interesting restaurants and store names.

Random lights on building
..were sometimes fittingly pink :)

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People in Star Trek uniforms and a death star. Anyone?

Pussy Power
Just so you know

Putin 1
My photo timing wasn't always up to snuff, but you can see this Putin is sad from seeing the Mardi Gras.

Comments

[Jasmine Pryor]

Great Photos - Glad You Had Fun
Hi, I'm glad you enjoyed the parade. I'm the red-head Ensign with the Star Trek float - just FYI it's a Borg Sphere from Star Trek: First Contact and not a Death Star. Just wondering if I could snag a few photos of us for the USS Tydirium's (our ship's) Facebook page.