Day 2
I woke up about 9:30a after having a great sleep, and I am excited about my opera house tour and seeing the ballet later!! First I might take the ferry through darling Harbour to see all of that area. I got the7-day bus, ferry, train pass for $44 so I may as well use it. Tomorrow I'll see Bondi Beach and do that walk to Coogee Beach.
Time to get ready!
Later that night...
I left the hostel today about noon and took the bus again to the quay. I first got on the ferry that goes around Darling Harbour. It made about four stops, but I just stayed on and enjoyed the ride. Then when we got backto the quay, I hopped on the ferry to the eastern suburbs. That ferry was cool because it was a catamaran. I stood as far forward as I could and got the wind in my face as we sped through the open water. I stayed on that boat through all of the stops as well, and when it got back to the quay I walked over to the opera house to take more photos before my tour started at 5pm.
The tour was very interesting. I had my photo taken at first against a green wall, and then we headed off. We first saw the largest of the smalle theaters which was all set up for that night's performance of Henry IV. Then we were shown a video about the history, idea and man behind the SOH (Sydney Opera House). Then we went to see the main concert hall which was just amazing. We were even allowed to take photos because there wasn't anyone there. Then we were shown another video about the history of the SOH and how everything ended up in the end. After that, we went into the Joan Sutherland Theatre, where we saw the setup for the ballet that I was going to see later that night. Then the tour was over. The hour flew by, and along the way we also heard 'backstage' stories, like why the Joan Sutherland Theater has a safety net over the orchestrapit: A whileback there was a performance with live chickens and one of them ended up falling over the stage and into the pit and onto a cellist's head! She apparently had a fit and threw it back onstage! Another story was that of a Russian opera singer. He got stuck in the lift on his way to make his grand entrance and the orchestra, while waiting for him to appear, played his intro serval times. When he finally came out, he was so flustered that instead of singing the opera in Italian, he sang it in his native Russian! (Interesting note: all of the operas performed at the SOH are performed in the language in which they were written.) There were some very entertaining and interesting stories.
After the tour, I got a sandwich and some sparkling wine at the opera bar while waiting for the ballet to start. When I got to my seat at the ballet, there happened to be a man seated beside me who wasn't much older than me. Being the only other person in my upper level aisle, it was fun to have someone to chat with during the intermissions. When the show was over, I headed back to my hostel and got back to the area around 11pm. Nothing was open except the mart so I got something to drink and some cup ramen, which I had to hurry and make back at the hostel because the kitchen was supposed to be closed. What kind of hostel closes a kitchen? This is my second hostel, so maybe that's a thing? I think it's silly. Either way, now I'm ready for day three and my final full day in Sydney before leaving for cairns on Thursday!
I woke up about 9:30a after having a great sleep, and I am excited about my opera house tour and seeing the ballet later!! First I might take the ferry through darling Harbour to see all of that area. I got the7-day bus, ferry, train pass for $44 so I may as well use it. Tomorrow I'll see Bondi Beach and do that walk to Coogee Beach.
Time to get ready!
Later that night...
I left the hostel today about noon and took the bus again to the quay. I first got on the ferry that goes around Darling Harbour. It made about four stops, but I just stayed on and enjoyed the ride. Then when we got backto the quay, I hopped on the ferry to the eastern suburbs. That ferry was cool because it was a catamaran. I stood as far forward as I could and got the wind in my face as we sped through the open water. I stayed on that boat through all of the stops as well, and when it got back to the quay I walked over to the opera house to take more photos before my tour started at 5pm.
The tour was very interesting. I had my photo taken at first against a green wall, and then we headed off. We first saw the largest of the smalle theaters which was all set up for that night's performance of Henry IV. Then we were shown a video about the history, idea and man behind the SOH (Sydney Opera House). Then we went to see the main concert hall which was just amazing. We were even allowed to take photos because there wasn't anyone there. Then we were shown another video about the history of the SOH and how everything ended up in the end. After that, we went into the Joan Sutherland Theatre, where we saw the setup for the ballet that I was going to see later that night. Then the tour was over. The hour flew by, and along the way we also heard 'backstage' stories, like why the Joan Sutherland Theater has a safety net over the orchestrapit: A whileback there was a performance with live chickens and one of them ended up falling over the stage and into the pit and onto a cellist's head! She apparently had a fit and threw it back onstage! Another story was that of a Russian opera singer. He got stuck in the lift on his way to make his grand entrance and the orchestra, while waiting for him to appear, played his intro serval times. When he finally came out, he was so flustered that instead of singing the opera in Italian, he sang it in his native Russian! (Interesting note: all of the operas performed at the SOH are performed in the language in which they were written.) There were some very entertaining and interesting stories.
After the tour, I got a sandwich and some sparkling wine at the opera bar while waiting for the ballet to start. When I got to my seat at the ballet, there happened to be a man seated beside me who wasn't much older than me. Being the only other person in my upper level aisle, it was fun to have someone to chat with during the intermissions. When the show was over, I headed back to my hostel and got back to the area around 11pm. Nothing was open except the mart so I got something to drink and some cup ramen, which I had to hurry and make back at the hostel because the kitchen was supposed to be closed. What kind of hostel closes a kitchen? This is my second hostel, so maybe that's a thing? I think it's silly. Either way, now I'm ready for day three and my final full day in Sydney before leaving for cairns on Thursday!
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