We headed for the Art Gallery New South Wales, to see their permanent collection of modern Australian art, and a current exhibition on American painting.

I don’t think I have ever seen Australian painters before. In a continent in discovery, arts and paintings were not necessarily the first thing on the settlers’ minds.

A great number of pictures hence portray Australian landscapes, aboriginal life, farmers, sheep shearers and the general notion of ‘frontier’ as for example in American painting.

I remember a number of portraits: rich, established Australians that had their families painted by new young artists, most of them educated in European and American schools.

It was an interesting insight into Australia’s development. They also have a fun 20th-century modern art part, that left you, as so often, more questioning than enlightened…

Outside, we had a coffee with some special guests. My first encounter with the Australian fauna.

It is impressive when a small rainbow-like parrot lands at the table next to you and sips some coffee out of a cup. Or something with an enormous beak tries to steal the bread.

We then went on to explore the botanical garden, a beautiful park along the water that stretched up to the Opera house, where you are invited to hug the trees, walk on the grass and enjoy.

Sydney is preparing for New Year’s Eve. Most of the city centre will be closed by tomorrow afternoon, by the sheer number of people who will come to see the fireworks.

That meant that big parts of the area had already been prepared for the masses – metal blockades and protections, hundreds of toilets and huge garbage containers are waiting at strategical points, to be deployed ahead of the party.

We have tickets for a party on the roof top of a Museum at the harbor, with a view on both the bridge and the opera house. More about that in the new year.