Touchdown in the down and under - Aussie! I was more than thrilled to be landing in Australia after waiting 6 months! The bright blue skies were such a refreshing sight after dealing with 3 days of straight rain in Singapore. It was the perfect day for adventure and to start my Sydney adventure by foot.
My flight was an overnight flight and I knew I could not check in until 2pm so I had quite some time to kill. It was about 8:30 am by the time I arrived at the hotel and I realized how bright and sunny it was already. I could not get over the sky in Sydney. It was so clear! I think it's because I haven't been able to see the sky in Mumbai for months. While most of the world is in the midst of winter, summer has just begun in Australia and it was so warm! Everyone was wearing shorts and dresses and I only wished I could change.
I was staying at Glenferrie Lodge which was across the harbor. It was tucked away in a cute neighborhood but I realized it would also mean crossing into downtown quite frequently.
The first thing I did after dropping my bags off was set out by foot to a viewpoint near my hotel. The Lady Gowrie Lookout offered amazing views of the Sydney skyline. Right across the water was the Sydney Opera House right next to the skyscrapers and the harbor bridge. It was such an incredible view! I had waited so many months for this and now I was finally here.
For breakfast I went and sat down at a little cafe near my hotel. It was a cute place with an elderly crowd sitting down for breakfast on a Thursday morning. The first thing that shook me was how expensive everything was. After being in Asia for the last two months, it was a slap in the face back to reality. I mean why does a piece of bread with an avocado on it cost $20? Welcome to Australia. The minimum wage here is around $22 per hour which also means everything else is expensive.
To get across the water there are two options - take a ferry or the metro. I wanted to take the ferry across as it is the more scenic route. Plus it allowed me to see Sydney from the water. The Sydney skyline was even more gorgeous from the water and the ferry took us under the harbor bridge to the side of the opera house.
I got off to see the opera house and walk around the grounds before I returned in the evening. The Sydney opera house resembles the sails of a ship and was constructed to look like shells paying homage to the area it is built upon. It was built in 1956 as the result of an international design competition. There are 14 different shells and 3 main theaters. I walked around the grounds taking in the amazing view not only of the opera house but of the harbor bridge as well.
The Royal Botanic Garden of Sydney was situated right next to the opera house so I strolled through that next. It was a peaceful place in the midst of the busy city. There were so many different gardens to admire from the Asian garden, palm tree grove, succulent garden, floral garden, and more. My favorite had to be the floral garden. It was refreshing to see so many flowers blooming in January. I even caught sight of a beautiful large butterfly on one of the bright pink petals. Many of the plants in the Botanic garden were from around the world but there was an entire section devoted to Australian native plants. I was most fascinated by that as Australia has many of its own species and the Australian government is very strict about what foreigners bring into the country. Most of these plants were big leafy tropical plants from the East coast.
The art gallery of New South Wales was located just at the end of the park so I visited it to kill some time. Like the museums in the UK, museums in Australia are all free so I figured I might as well check it out. This museum was filled with paintings throughout the ages. It had a lot of European renaissance and romantic period art as well as modern art. I loved looking at European art that was beautifully framed in large golden frames. There was even a large collection featuring Australian artists who had painted sights in Australia. One painting in particular was of the fjords in New Zealand which I immediately recognized as I had most recently added to my itinerary.
I wandered past St. Mary’s cathedral to where another museum was - the museum of Australia. I had expected it to be about the aboriginal people and the founding of Australia but rather it was a natural history museum. It had many exhibits on dinosaurs and how they came and went extinct. There was one exhibition on the aboriginal people of Australia and the rituals they practiced. It had a lot of displays of canoes and traditional headdresses. Probably the scariest exhibit in the museum was the “Surviving Australia”. In this exhibit all of the Australian animals were displayed as well as fun facts. This included how many humans were killed a year by Australia’s most dangerous animals such as crocodiles and snakes. Australia is home to the largest crocodile in the world! The Kangaroos were too cute and I learned that all Kangaroos are from the macropodoidea family and are given different names. The large species are called kangaroos, medium sized ones are wallabies, and smallest ones are potoroos. I had no idea there were so many different species.
The Queen Victoria Building is an ornate Victorian style building near the heart of town that has been converted to a shopping mall. Inside, hundreds of designer brands have their shops. It was a luxury mall set-up. There were even cute tea shops serving high tea in the middle of the shopping mall. I stopped to grab a sandwich before heading back to check-in to my hotel.
Evening came and I finally got to do one of my most awaited activities - going to the opera! I had seen the opera house numerous times in the day but now it was time to watch a live performance. I had bought tickets in advance for Orpheus & Eurydice and was super excited. I got all dressed up and hopped on the ferry to cross the harbor. The Sydney Opera House has an iconic shape and is very modern. That modernity is maintained inside as well with a minimalist interior. I was actually surprised it wasn't super fancy inside but it matches the exterior.
Orpheus & Eurydice was performed by exactly two singers plus a chorus and dancer group. This adaptation of the show was set in an asylum and follows the Greek myth of Orpheus losing his Eurydice. Orpheus has gone mad over the death of Eurydice and will do whatever it takes to bring her back. The set was simple- all white with bright lights to bring the asylum setting to life. The two singers were good and I particularly liked the countertenor who sang the role of Orpheus. I think I have a soft spot for countertenors since they sing the same role as mezzos. Even more impressive than the singing was the dance. This show was more of a dance performance than anything else. There was a group of hired contortionists who throughout the opera were constantly hanging from aerial silks or walking on top of one another. At some point they were even walking on one another’s heads! The scariest moment was when there were three people standing on top of one another and they leaned so far as if they were going to fall, and then rolled off one another. The dance was just insane! I guess it was to bring out the insanity of Orpheus’s mental state. People were constantly people thrown in the air and caught. It was more of a dance spectacle than anything else.
I left the opera feeling like it was less of an opera and more of a dance show. At times Orpehus would be singing but there would always be something going on with the dancers so my eyes were transfixed on them instead. Therefore, the singing was a little overshadowed by the constant moves of the dancers. It was incredibly impressive, don't get me wrong, just maybe a little much for an opera.
I enjoyed the show and was grateful for the experience. I even got to see the opera house lit up at night as I boarded the ferry back to my hotel.
Comments