Botanic Gardens and Harborside Opera

(I find it funny that I was good at updating my blog while actually traveling, and now that I've been in one place for the last four weeks I've completely neglected it again.)

Friday morning of my week in Sydney found me availing myself of the spa at the hotel I'd been staying at (I was a fan) before checking out and moving to stay at the apartment of Wellington acquaintance (who wasn't in town) in the Pyrmont district. After a lunch, where I tried kangaroo (it was delicious!), I walked through the Darling Harbour area and continued on to the Opera House to check on tickets for something that night. What was available for the ballet that night was much too dear, so I wandered over to the box office for the current opera offering - which, at that time of the year, is held outdoors on a stage on the harbor. The opera for this season was Aida.

By sheer dumb luck I arrived just a few minutes before the box office released rush tickets for that night's performance, and scored an amazing seat for $45. Not wanting to hike all the way back to Pyrmont (2.3km/1.4m), I spent the time before curtain wandering through the Sydney Botanic Gardens.

It's odd for me to walk through parks here in New Zealand or over in Australia and not see any squirrels, though the Sydney gardens totally make up for the lack of squirrels by having cockatoos.

 They would perch on people with the slightest encouragement. (I did not encourage them.)

The cockatoos have no fear. I bent down to take a close up of one, and it immediately came over to see if my phone was edible.

There were a lot more birds.

 

The garden itself was gorgeous, with lots of statues and the requisite impressive plant displays. I took a non-small amount of pictures of these things, so this is your cue to wander off now if such things don't interest you. (Or skip to the end for some opera-y pics).

The following photo was taken to highlight how the gardens actually in the middle of a large metropolitan area, despite feeling quite peaceful and removed.

I think this sums Sydney up pretty well, actually, tropical goodness and a gorgeous blend of old and new. 

I loved this school of music, just on the edge of the gardens.

The Government House (below) was closed when I wandered by, but it looked interesting and I ended up going back another day.

 

My phone battery was almost dead by the time doors opened for the opera, but I was still able to take a few pictures. Here's a view of the stage from across the other side. The middle section rotated around during intermission.

The night is treated like a destination event, and the doors open well before curtain and there are quite a few themed dining options and some roving entertainments.

The camel was quite friendly.

It was, initially, a lovely night.

The stage was spectacular.

For a good twenty minutes before curtain, it rained. Having not at all intended to have been out this long, I was in no way prepared for this. Fortunately for me, a wonderfully kind Aussie couple lent me an umbrella, and the front of house staff soon broke out rain ponchos for the entire audience so no one would feel the need to have an umbrella up during the show itself. Despite being damp and cold, I enjoyed the opera immensely. It was an fantastic spectacle - gorgeous costumes, a stunning set, and some truly phenomenal voices. It was lovely to listen to, though a bit weird to have one line of text on a teleprompter while someone sang for a good deal longer.

This was the view from my seat. Rush tickets are the best!

I took a cab back to Pyrmont post-show, to catch a bit of sleep before my audition the next day.