Sydney Opera House, Seafood Market, and Bondi Beach

We started the morning with the essential tour of the world famous Sydney Opera House.  Harley’s sister Pam and husband Hugh met us there to join the tour.  The Opera House is located in an area referred to as Cincular Quay (pronounced Key) on Syndey Harbour.  It is a gorgeous location with views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

 

The Sydney Opera House was completed in 1971 after nearly 14 years of construction and a final cost of 102 million dollars.  Way over budget a lottery fund was set up to cover the cost.  The tour guide mentioned that per capita Australia gambles way more than any nation in the world.  The inside of the Opera house was very interesting.  The carpets in the lobbies are all bright purple.  This is how the original architect Utzon wanted them.  I thought it was pretty ugly but I am certain Nicole would have loved it.   We were able to tour both concert halls which sit side by side.  The concert hall pictured below is the largest seating 2,690 and is where the majoirty of the operas and ballets take place. 

 

Following the tour, we jumped on the Hop On- Hop Off Bus to see a few more sites.  The first stop was at the Sydney Fish Market for lunch. It’s the place for getting freshly caught fish for lunch.  Harley ordered Barramundi with chips (fries) and I had Shrimp and chips.  I was surprised to find out that you had to pay for ketchup ( or tomato sauce as they call it).  Harley has been in search of good Barramundi in the US without much luck so he was very happy.

We then got back on the bus and traveled to Bondi Beach.  The word bondi is Aboriginal for waters breaking over rocks.  It is a cresent of beautiful white sand.  Along one side of the beach there is a club called Icebreakers.  To become a member you have to swim in the water every Sunday for four years straight. It looked absolutely freezing.   Needless to say it is a pretty exclusive club.  We enjoyed a nice stroll along the beach and admired the sandstone and the erosion that has shaped it over the years.

While in Sydney, their annual festival of the arts, sculpture, music and lights was taking place.  So we ventured down to the Rocks and found an incredible light show on the Customs House.  I can’t possibly describe how amazing it was and the following picture doesn’t do it justice.  We also saw a fire show in Campbell’s Cove choreographed to music.  To top it off they had a laser light show continuously on the Sydney Opera house.  It was truly spectacular.  We finished out the evening with dinner at a pizza place.