Christmas Decorations

 We then walked a few blocks to the City Square, where there's a really cute Christmas display.

Taylor Swift Concert

Lauren used to be Team Katy (Perry) but I think she has finally seen the light after the concert ;).

We had somewhat of a crisis right before the above picture was taken. I had downloaded our tickets to my phone through the ticketing app, but when we arrived, the app was completely down and the tickets wouldn't load. I had taken a screen shot of one ticket, but for some reason not the other. Just as I was prepared to leave Lauren in the dust (just kidding!), we got it all sorted out at the ticket window. It turns out, everyone else in line was having the same problem, and we were eventually given paper tickets and all was well. For a moment, I thought we were going to have to try to break into the stadium, which I would most definitely do to see Taylor.

We sat in the last section on the floor, which was all good until Taylor came on and two girls a couple rows in front of us stood on their chairs, completely blocking our view. We fumed in silence for a few minutes until Lauren heroically climbed over three rows of chairs to tell them to sit down. Sort of awkward, but totally worth it.
The crowd was predictably diverse, because let's face it, everyone loves Taylor. There were tons of teenage girls, which is to be expected, but we also spotted middle aged women without children, a mom and her two sons, three college-age guys, and even a couple of grandparents. Taylor transcends age...she is basically superhuman.
We were given light-up bracelets on the way into the stadium that were activated when Taylor started and switched between various colors throughout the concert.
 Fireworks at the end!
 And because it would be a crime to blog about the concert and not include a video, here is a clip of "Shake it Off". You're welcome.



Basically, it was the best three hours of my life.

One note about the concert: it was shockingly quiet. There were definitely screaming fans and lots of cheering, singing, and dancing, but it was noticeably quieter than any concert I've ever seen. This is the first show I've been to in Australia, and it could have just been a fluke, but it was definitely toned down and left me wondering if there is some truth to the 'Americans-are-super-loud-and-hyperactive' stereotype (Lauren says yes). The venue was also pretty small, so that could have accounted for the relatively calm atmosphere, I suppose.

Hanukkah Party

I'm usually the 'wine friend' (aka the one who can't cook so I bring the wine instead) but I decided to contribute something edible this year. I considered a traditional Jewish dish, but I didn't want to completely butcher it, so I went with peppermint bark. It's basically dark and white chocolate with crushed peppermint on top and is my current obsession.

Back to New Zealand posts tomorrow with a recap of our jet boat adventure!