The 1975 in Sydney

---

Yesterday morning was by far the coldest weather I have felt since our own winter back in Massachusetts. It was windy and frigid, even in the scarce sunlight. One day I was at the beach, the next I was wishing I had my winter coat on... guess thats Australian winter for ya!

Despite the strong and cold wind, my three friends and I trekked to this little outdoor/indoor cafe that we had seen the night before and swore we'd go to. It was good, but nothing compared to the coffee with gelato in it. Over coffee, we got to talking about a concert that was happening that night, a British band called The 1975. We all knew some of their songs, maybe we weren't avid fans but we decided it would be fun to go anyways. So we bought tickets, did various errands throughout the day until it was time to get dressed and then we were off.

Our first stop was for pho, which is noodle soup that we had all been craving throughout the cold and windy afternoon. During dinner, I miraculously learned how to use chopsticks, and proudly used them to eat my noodles while simultaneously staining my white jeans with soup. We wandered through the nearby train station until we were able to figure out which platform to take and how to get to the Sydney Olympic Park, where the concert was being held. After a few trains and an Uber ride, we reached our destination only to find people dressed in cowboy hats and riding boots (the building right next to our venue was where the professional bull riding show was going on). So, after some more wandering to find the right building, we finally made it inside. It was a huge warehouse type space, with a stage at one end and just open space everywhere else. The light sets and strobe lights were amazing, one minute the entire room was pink and the next it looked as if someone had drained all the color from the room, leaving only black, white and grey.

The opening band was Australian, so naturally I had never heard of them but they were actually really impressive. The atmosphere in the crowd was amazing throughout the entire show, it felt literally electric. And of course, The 1975 was absolutely amazing live. It was probably one of the best concerts I have ever been to; it was one of those nights that happens so unexpectedly but is just unforgettable.

After the concert, we dragged ourselves home, sore and stiff from standing in general admission for three hours. We, of course, made time to stop at McDonalds on the way home from the train station. Our first Australian "Maccas" (that's what they call it here) experience was up to par, its pretty much the same as American McDonalds with a few exceptions on the menu. They had things like loaded french fries and burgers with some strange toppings that I'm assuming Australians enjoy but I am not interested in.

Finally finding myself in bed after what was a long night of standing, walking and dancing was heavenly. But we were up early to go to the zoo at 9 am! It took a walk, a train, and a ride on the ferry but seeing my first real live kangaroo and sleepy koala in a tree made it all worth it! We got to see so many Australian animals and take tons of pictures. My understanding is that most Australian zoos don't have super closed off exhibits like zoos in America, so the animals can kind of roam free around their exhibit, which happens to be what we walk through. In one area, kangaroos, wallabies and emus were just meandering about and an emu actually walked right out of its exhibit and across the pathway where we were standing! It was so much more interesting and much more fun than any zoo I've been to back home!

A long day of animal watching at the zoo exhausted my friends and me, and we came back to our little home to make some dinner and relax with some white wine. Classes start tomorrow, bright and still too early for me at 11, so we'll keep the wine consumption to a minimum (maybe).

---