Sydney!
Trip Start
Jun 03, 2008
1
18
23
Trip End
Sep 22, 2008
Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia
Monday, July 28, 2008
sydney
. That night was a heavy night at a backpackers bar in town, but I was annoyed that when I got back to my hostel.. someone else was sleeping in my bed! So they transferred me to a 4-bed dorm free of charge that night, though I decided to move to Ewan's hostel the next day as it was cheaper and seemed better. I didn't do too much in Sydney, just chilled out and did lots of exploring / walking about Sydney and going out at night. I went to Sydney aquarium which was cool, saw all sorts of sharks, penguines, seals, and all sorts of tropical fish from the great barrier reef (including nemo). Also went up the Oz tower at night, where there was a good view of Sydney, though again not overly impressive. I also went to see the harbour bridge and Sydney Opera house, which I was really interested in. The tour of the opera house told me about its history, how it was such an engineering masterpiece and how the architect's design was made a reality through elliptical geometry. It took way longer and cost tons more than expected, and its maintainance is paid for by the government because it doesn't actually make a profit. We saw most of the performance studios during this tour, which seemed cool but had lots of acoustic problems due to how the building is shaped. Overall, it was no wonder it was Sydney's main performance venue. I decided I wanted to watch the opera since I've never been before.
sydney
. and managed to get a 'standing ticket' for only $40, which I was told had a better view than the cheapest $99 seated tickets at the back. In the end, it wasn't packed out and the door lady so kindly let me sit down - in a $160 seat I think! It was the oipening night of Lucia di Lammermoor, it's set in old Scotland and is about a woman who's in love with some guy from the enemy family (a bit like romeo and juliet) but her brother is making her marry some next guy. It was in italian, but there were surtitles so people could understand what was going on. The singing was beautiful, their voices amazing... holding such high notes with a lot of power and passion into it. A lot of people were all dressed up to go to the opera and it was a great atmosphere, giving them a well deserved standing ovaition at the end.. it was an engaging three-hour performance which was over before I knew it. I also checked out Sydney's two main streets - Pitt St and George Steet.. which will take you from one side of Sydney to another. Paddy's market was cool, just a load of stalls that sold cheap stuff really. 
