We arrived at our last port (at least for me) of Sydney early yesterday morning. It is a very beautiful place to sail into with the iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Unfortunately we docked at White Bay, which is not as spectacular as the other place, Circular Quay which is literally next to the bridge and opera house. As I discovered later a gigantic NCL ship was there.
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| Sailing into Sydney |
I was off the ship by 10 AM and taken to my hotel for the next two nights, the Langham Hotel. I picked it because it looked like a place with a little more character than the chain hotels here and I thought it was in the Rocks section of Sydney. That’s an old historic part of the city. It turns out I was not correct. It’s in the section next to it, but still an older more historic place. Oh well. The hotel is lovely with big well-appointed rooms and from my little balcony I had a view of the Quest docked across the harbor.
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| My former home away from home across the bay |
My room wasn’t ready so I waited with some of my fellow passengers who are also staying here for a few days. I didn’t want to go out and about until I could put my valuables in a safe. By the time the room was ready and I did a little walk near the hotel, I had time for a midafternoon snack and then I had to get ready for my trip to the opera house to watch a show. I do have to mention the mini-lunch I had. The hotel’s lounge has a limited menu but I was intrigued by the name of one offering, a Moreton Bay Bug Roll. I ordered it and it turned out to be something similar to a Lobster Roll. The Moreton Bay Bug is a species of small lobster found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It was good, but not as good as a New England lobster roll.
I had bought a ticket online to see Penn & Teller, the American magicians. It was what was playing last night and I would have booked almost anything just to be able to go in and see a performance. My cab dropped me off at the outdoor forecourt of the complex. The Opera House complex occupies all of Bennelong Point or about 4.5 acres. It’s supported by 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 80 feet below sea level. The building consists of a series of precast concrete shells. The highest roof point is the equivalent of a 22-story building. The building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II in October 1973, 16 years after the design was selected in an international design competition. The view of downtown and the bridge were pretty spectacular from the plaza in front of the building.
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| Harbour Bridge |
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| Central Business District Sydney |
The performance I went to was in the Concert Hall which seats nearly 2700 people and is the home of the Sydney Symphony and Sydney Theater companies. It also houses the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ which is the largest mechanical tracker organ in the world with more than 10,000 pipes. (I don’t know what that means but I’m sure my daughter does. I would have liked to hear it played.) I was there early so I sat and people-watched in the atrium. It was very entertaining actually. Australian people must be the most casual people on the planet and their fashion sense is very different from ours. I saw all kinds of strange tattoos and hairstyles and hair colors. One man who went up on the stage to participate in a magic trick had a Mohawk that was dyed in alternating green and purple stripes. The performance was absolutely packed because, as I learned from the people sitting next to me, Penn & Teller appear on Aussie TV often and are well-known and loved here. The show was very entertaining and lasted for an hour and forty-five minutes. I have absolutely no idea how they did what they did. That’s why it’s magic!
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| The Concert Hall |
The views of downtown Sydney and the Harbour Bridge were beautiful both before and after when I came out and it was dark. I cabbed back to my hotel and crashed for the night. I got little sleep the night before and had walked quite a bit and was pooped.
This morning I slept fairly late and then after breakfast I decided to go to the Queen Victoria Building in the central business district. I passed it last year when I was here and thought I needed a closer look. The QV occupies a whole block and is listed on the New South Wales Heritage Register. It’s in a style called Romanesque Revival and was completed in 1898 to be a marketplace. Since then it’s gone through a series of different uses and at one time was in a state of serious decay. In the late 20th century it was restored and turned into a shopping mall but it still retains much of its original character and architecture. Now it sits in the midst of towering modern structures as a reminder of the grand Victorian era.
I walked through all the levels of the building. The interior has an open area in the middle which allows natural lighting to flow down from the glass ceiling. The floors in the center are the original tiles while the rest are in the same style. There are lots of wrought iron railings and at all four sides there are beautiful stained-glass windows. The place was bustling with people, some shopping and many eating at the multiple cafés on each floor. In the central part of the building there was a multi-story red and gold glass snake to commemorate the Year of the Snake as 2025 is in the Chinese Lunar calendar. (Chinatown is not far from the building and Chinese New Year is coming in just about two weeks.) I didn’t do any shopping; I was just interested in seeing the building because I remembered passing it on my whirlwind tour last year.
.Tomorrow I'm heading to Singapore for a few days there. It was 30 years ago that Al and I spent two nights there before a cruise. It will be interesting to see how it's changed - a lot I'm sure. For now good night.
1 comment:
I especially like the photo of the opera house and cars at night. The sky and light are interesting. Looks like fascinating sights!
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