five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

december 11

seasons of love (from RENT)

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year? in daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. in 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life? how about love? how about love? how about love? measure in love. seasons of love.

525,600 minutes! 525,000 journeys to plan. 525,600 minutes - how can you measure the life of a woman or man?

in truths that she learned, or in times that he cried.

in bridges he burned, or the way that she died.

it’s time now to sing out, tho the story never ends let's celebrate remember a year in the life of friends. rememberthe love! remember the love! remember the love! measure in love. seasons of love! seasons of love.

it has been five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes since we vowed to be one heart and one soul, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

we woke up around 9:30am that day and decided to have buffet breakfast in shangri-la sydney's cafe mix. eric wanted to give his anniversary present to me first before having breakfast so he gave me a small gold box which contains 18k white gold hoop earrings with ten channel-set round diamonds! of course i immediately tried it on.

i then gave eric my anniversary present which is a gold gift certificate to bridgeclimb (first year anniversary: paper = gift certificate) which i already booked for 5:25pm that day (we have been wanting to do this since we arrived in sydney).

since cafe mix's breakfast buffet is only until 10:30am, we just went down to the cafe and decided to just take a shower after having breakfast. i truly enjoyed the buffet spread since they had bbq pork buns which is one of my yum cha faves. after eating, we proceeded back to our hotel room to take a shower, pack our bags and prepare to check-out.

we then heard mass at st. patrick's in the city. since we still had a couple of hours before we need to check-in for our climb, we grabbed a bite from costi's famous fish cafe which is located at the rocks.

we then proceeded to bridgeclimb reception and then they started with our climb preparation.

Climb Preparation

The BridgeClimb experience begins with a comprehensive briefing and safety demonstration to prepare you for the Climb of Your Life!

Alcohol Breath Test

In the first stage of preparation, Climbers are required to sign a Declaration Form and complete an alcohol breath test. Avoid alcohol before you Climb as a reading of 0.05 or higher will result in non-participation in the Climb and the inability to reschedule.

Bridge Gear

Safety is our number one priority. All Climbers are issued with a specially designed BridgeSuit that is worn straight over the top of the Climber's own clothing. As BridgeClimb operates in all weather, we also issue a BridgeFleece* which is a warm fleecy jacket, Headwear*, BridgeGloves*, WeatherShell* which is a rain jacket and Overpants which are wet weather pants (*dependent on weather conditions). Lanyards are available so Climbers can wear glasses or sunglasses. Climbers at night are also issued with a BridgeLamp to give some extra light when climbing up the arch. These are not unlike those used for caving.

Lockers

As no personal items are permitted on the bridge, Climbers are asked to remove these items and store them in the lockers provided. All Climbers must then pass through a metal detector.

Climb Simulator

A safety harness is also issued to each Climber before starting preparation on the Climb simulator. All Climbers must complete a Climb simulator before embarking onto the bridge itself. BridgeClimb's professionally trained Climb Leaders assess all Climbers on the simulator to ensure they are comfortable with ladder procedures and use of their harness. For the duration of the Climb, all Climbers are attached to a static line on the bridge.

Communications Equipment

Finally, communications equipment is issued to all Climbers, consisting of a radio and comfortable Headset so that you can hear the commentary of your Climb Leader. A professional trained Climb Leader escorts each group of Climbers and provides a full commentary on the history of the Harbour Bridge as well as interesting facts on Sydney.

You are now ready for 'The Climb of Your Life' and the breathtaking view that lies before you as you scale to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

after the preparation, our group (there were ten climbers (four couples plus a father and son tandem> plus lisa, our climb leader) then proceeded to the bridge entrance and then followed the catwalks to the pylon. we then walked through the pylon and out onto the catwalk above water. next, we climbed the ladders to the eastern arch of the bridge which for me was the most hard and scary part of the climb (imagine really steep metal steps). last part to reach the summit was to climb the eastern arch which gave us spectacular and breathtaking 360 degree view of one of the greatest harbours in the world.

The View

The exhilaration and personal satisfaction achieved by reaching the top of the Bridge is rewarded by the breathtaking view that lies before you as you scale up the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Spending approximately two hours on the bridge itself, Climbers weave through catwalks, up ladders and then to the most spectacular point of all - the upper arch Climb. At this point Climbers not only have a birds eye view of the beautiful Sydney Harbour and city, but have the exhilaration of a truly rewarding experience of reaching the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

At night, the city lights glimmer and reflect in the harbour's glass like surface, with the toy-like looking ferries leaving their tiny trails across it.

Your reward once you reach the summit of the bridge is a spectacular 360-degree view of one of the world's most beautiful harbours.

The Climb Leader, who escorts each group of twelve Climbers, is also equipped with the latest in digital photographic technology to capture the moment. All Climbers are issued with a complimentary photograph of their Climb group, with all Climbers in the group receiving an identical photo. Additional photographs are also taken which can be purchased at the conclusion of your Climb.

we crossed the walkway from eastern arch to the western arch...

the last leg was to climb down the ladders on the western arch, through the pylon, and venture along the catwalk back to the bridgeclimb base. lisa, our climb leader, took one shot of us with the sydney skyline at the back while the sun was setting down.

it truly was a wonderful experience for us. exactly one year ago, we were walking down the aisle of st. francis of assisi chapel in fernwood gardens exchanging vows. that day, we were making our way up and down sydney harbour bridge. the aching legs i've been experiencing this past couple of days was indeed well worth it.

climbing approximately 1,438 steps burned our late fish and chips lunch so before we called it a day, we passed by kuks thai restaurant in lindfield for dinner.

and that's how we celebrated our first year anniversary. can't wait for next year!

*more pics of our bridgeclimb here.