Saturday February 25th, 2012
Sydney Harbour is the world's largest natural harbour and if that is not enough it is also spectacular. The last time we were here in 2009 we arrived at 6 a.m. and missed the headlands. This time we arrived at the headlands just after 7 a.m. and the entire ship was outside somewhere for the hour and a half sail in. The day had dawned beautifully. We chose to be up on Sports Deck 9 so that we could run from starboard to port side easily as there were views on either side the entire way in.
The light was very different this time in, as the sun was higher in the sky, but we got some marvelous pictures of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Instead of the usual berth for the ship in Circular Quay we made our way under the bridge into Darling Harbour. As at most ports there is usually a welcome party, and here there was a group of bagpipers who serenaded us as we awaited custom's clearance. They were excellent and those of us on the port side listening applauded them generously for quite a while. The Australian customs procedure was the most thorough so far on this voyage. There were sniffer dogs and inspectors crawling all over the ship to start, then all over us as we disembarked. Australia has very strict importing regulations and obviously also are looking for drug carriers.
If I were a young unattached young person, I would seriously consider relocating to Sydney. It is a young person's city - we saw a lot of young, under 30 people everywhere we went. This is also one of the most expensive cities in the world with stunning real estate locations studding the many, many bays. It is also one of the busiest harbours in the world. At the height of every day the harbour is just speckled with watercraft ranging from kayaks, cruisers, yachts, sailboats, speed boats, catamarans, ships, freighters. Every cove is filled with moored sailing craft. As you approach the core of the harbour with the Opera House on your left and the bridge in front of you, the Prime Minister's residence is on the right - and she was in residence as the flag was flying.
The commercial part of the city is concentrated behind the Opera House, and a small inlet beside it called Circular Quay is really the heart of the city. Here, ferries leave for all parts, and almost 24 x 7 there are street performers; restaurants, and bars ring the area and on the right is the old quaint area of the city known as "The Rocks". Darling Harbour is undergoing a multiple billion dollar development so that all the warehouses are being transformed into condos, restaurants and shops and parks and will eventually circle around to join the Circle Quay area. There is a palpable energy here all the time. The city itself is a combination of large beautiful skyscrapers and older Victorian era buildings which are beautifully preserved. It has a lot of similarities to Vancouver, BC. but on a much larger scale. Condominiums are everywhere and as you can imagine have world class prices to go with them. The downtown core is very compact and easy to get around by bus or cab.
Karen had told us the night before that Jonathan was unexpectedly able to get off the ship today, so we all set off at around 10:15 am. and made our way to Circular Quay to get on the Hop on Hop Off bus. We sat up top, which was treetop level and went about half way around one route. Although billed as a 90 minute route, we had gone that time and only covered half the route, so we made our way to Chinatown and Paddy's Market. Here we grabbed some supplies, some lunch and then cabbed our way down to The Rocks where there was a big market of designers and crafts people. The women shopped and the men patiently waited (kudos to them). Barry, Jonathan and I went back to the ship as we were headed for the Opera in the evening and Jonathan had to go back to work.
I am not sure how to describe our evening at the Opera as I might run out of superlatives, but I will try. First of all I had made a mistake and thought our tour included dinner, but it didn't. We paired up with my watercolour instructor Carol, in the Queen's Lounge. Everyone was dressed up for our evening to see Puccini's Turandot. We arrived 40 minutes before curtain time and miraculously they had a great cafeteria style dinner area with wonderful choices - but only one seat - so I stood and ate, and we were grateful to have full stomach to enjoy the 3 hours ahead of us.
The Opera Theatre is surprisingly intimate and the sight lines are amazing. We had lucked out and were sitting dead centre. There wasn't a spare seat in the house. When the curtain rose we were swept into the spectacle. I can honestly say this was a peak experience for both of us, and we think it was the best performance of anything we have ever seen. All of us in our row were overwhelmed by what someone said was "Grand Opera" in the true sense. There were 3 sensational acts and the sets were breathtaking. The director apparently is a choreographer who also owned a dance company and that was evident by the movement of the company onstage which had the quality of floating waving unified performers. The costumes and the gorgeous finery of the Turandot character layered onto the visual beauty and of course the music was superb. At the first intermission, Janis, from our ship said to me, she had seen many, many opera's and none even close to this one, and that she had to remind herself to breathe during Act 1. That about sums it up. I couldn't believe it when they raised the curtain for the first intermission I was so enraptured. We floated out to the balcony overlooking the harbour for the intermission. To be here in this place on earth is a gift and we knew it. We met another couple out there and discovered they were from Vancouver and, oh my word, he was on Team Canada for the Commonwealth Games just finished in Tasmania. He was on the Fly Fishing team - we came 8th! Overhead huge flying fox bats flew by in droves. These critters are the size of small cats - and on our previous visit we had seen them in the daytime hanging in the hundreds from the trees in the Botanical Gardens. They have red fur and black skin and look daunting. Every animal here is daunting! At the second intermission, we stayed in our seats and the people in front of us live here and realized we were from away. They were with the woman's father who was 101 years old. We should all be so lucky to be that age AND to be at the opera. We swept out of the Opera House down the beautiful stairs to our bus, just beaming and glowing with our decision to see the opera in this amazing theatre.
