Sticker Shock

Sydney is a gorgeous city!  We just loved walking about the city, enjoying the skyline, Harbor Bridge, Opera House, parks, architecture & art etc. etc.  However, we weren't mentally prepared for the cost of things.  The train ride from the airport to downtown was $15 a person!  A meal at one of the take-out/food courts was 10-15$.   We were in sticker shock after coming from SE Asia, where a decent restaurant meal was $3-5 and we could rent private transportation the whole day for $12 for both of us! 

Sydney Harbor Bridge

However, we were really lucky that Frank was able to get us yet another free room at the Sydney Marriott in Circular Quay, which is central to everything - shopping, restaurants, boat terminals, the Sydney Opera House, bus and light rail stations.  And the hotel was rated as a 5 star hotel.  It wasn't as spectacular as the Bangkok Marriott Hotel & Spa we just stayed at, but hey, for a very nice, free room in a fabulous location, we can't complain!  

Darling Harbor

We did the usual touristy things in Sydney, like walking around the Royal Botanical Gardens and Sydney Harbor, taking a boat cruise, visiting the fish market and walking the beaches (Bondi to Coogee).  Unfortunately, Manly Beach was closed due to dangerous surf conditions, which was a shame as Frank was really looking forward to try surfing.  The newspaper said that they had over 3.5m tall waves, and the beaches were closed for 7 days!   

We decided to hold off on doing the Harbor Bridge Climb, supposedly the #1 attraction in Australia... and also a hefty $220/person!  Instead we decided to do something more cultural and see an opera in the world famous Sydney Opera House.  There was only one Opera playing, La Boheme, during our 5 day stay in Sydney.  So we walked over to the Opera House the first morning we arrived in Sydney, and the ticket office said that the Opera was totally sold out!   Jan 4th was season's opening for the Opera and was sold out for weeks.  We were sooooo bummed!  Not willing to give up that easily we checked with the Marriott Concierge.  They said that they probably could get us tickets as they had a direct relationship with the Opera Company.   Over the next two days we kept checking back with the Concierge with no luck and slowly lost hope of getting tickets.  However, 1pm on Jan 4th, we found out we got the tickets for the same night at 7:30pm!  We were super stoked to go to the Opera even though the tickets where a bit pricey at $150/person.  And then we realized we had nothing to wear!  People here seemed to dress fairly casual, like back in Seattle, but we figured that our wardrobe of t-shirt & nylon pants probably wouldn't do.  We heard we didn't have to wear suit & tie / cocktail dress attire, but 'upscale casual' would do.  So, the rest of the day was spent shopping for clothes.  4 hours later, after combing the streets for outfits that were somewhat reasonably priced, we managed to find something to wear, that we could hopefully also use during the rest of the trip.  Bit more of sticker shock - Frank's outfit cost him more than his Opera tickets. He did look smashing, though!

Huge Crabs at the Fish Market

That evening, the Opera was packed - it was a sold out show.  Most people dressed casually.  But some people dressed all out in full length evening gowns and tuxedos!  It was our first Opera date (Franks treat), and we really enjoyed the performance of La Boheme.  Shari also enjoyed the frozen cranberry daiquiris on the balcony overlooking the Sydney Harbor.  We would definitely see an Opera again!

We were also lucky as the following day, as it was the opening celebration for the Sydney Festival 2008. They had a First Night celebration full of music and performances.  This First Night was a kickoff for a month long celebration of music, theatre and dance.  For First Night, there were at least 5 stages around the downtown area that had different performers.  The first stage we visited featured New York's own Spanish Harlem Orchestra!  They had a short hour-long performance. The streets were packed full of people, so packed that there wasn't any room for anyone to dance salsa!  The surrounding streets were closed to traffic but there were still tons of people everywhere! It was a fantastic event, I wished we could stick around to catch more of the festival. 

Relaxing at the Chinese Garden of Friendship

We would definitely love to visit Sydney again!  Or a matter of fact, live there for a while! However we'd need to make some good money to afford the cost of living (and exploring) in Sydney.  We also didn't have time to explore the rest of Australia, shame on us! Oh well, maybe another time...

Downtown Sydney from the Harbor Cruise

The Gap at Watsons Bay

Bondi Beach

The Opera Bar before the Opera

Daiquiris at the Opera

Waiting for the Opera to Begin

Sydney Opera House at Night

Sydney Festival 2008

Spanish Harlem Orchestra

St. Mary's Cathedral