Opera House

On our trip to Sydney a few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to see a show at the Opera House.  It was an afternoon concert by the Sydney Philharmonic, and it was a fantastic chance to see the Opera House from the inside, and to get a little bit of culture in our lives. 

Mini-concert

It was really fun to see a show in the afternoon.  We felt like young retirees!  There were a number of other, young(ish) tourists like us, but the theatre was full of seniors who were having a great time!  The wine was flowing and lots of people were really dressed up.  It was great at the intermission to look out over Sydney Harbour and then look around the mezzanine see everyone enjoying themselves.  We even saw a future musician practicing on the steps!

Inside the Opera House

The theatre we were in was nice, but it was more impressive just to be there than by anything in the theatre.  It was really nice and the acousitcs were great, but once the lights go down and the musician start, a person could be anywhere.  Still, we really felt the energy from the artists and from the crowd, that we were in a world class place.

Inside the theatre...apparently photos aren't allowed.  Oops.

We have seen a number of shows here in Brisbane.  We are constantly going to live jazz sesions at the Powerhouse, Era Bistro and, this past Saturday, at the Jazz Club.  We have been to numerous musicals at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and we recently saw The Mikado at a smaller stage within Griffith University.  For all those great events and the fantastic acoustics and setting of each theatre, there is just something really special about seeing a show at the Opera House.  We will definitely try it again.

French Festival

Brisbane is a great city for festivals.  It seems like there is something going on almost every weekend and we try to get out and sample whatever is happening, as often as possible.  This weekend, nicely coinciding with Bastille Day, was the French Festival.  It advertised French music, cuisine and a celebration of French culture.  We really enjoyed the Greek Festival in May and decided that we needed to give this one a try, too.  It turns out that we aren't really "festival people".

It had rained almost all day on Thursday and Friday, so the grounds at the festival site were soaking wet and mucky.  No one could easily walk or stand on the grass, so almost everyone was stuck on the concrete area around the sales tents.  The few tables on the grass were taken and we think people had to get there at 10 am to secure a seat.  We stopped for a glass of champagne, walked the food tent lines and decided to cut our losses and go to a real restaurant.  All was not lost for our Bastille Day celebration however, we did go to a French cafe and follow it up with some late afternoon jazz.

French Festival

Food line-up at French Festival

The wine tent...we liked it here

We're not done with festivals but we really need to look a bit harder at where the festivities are and what else is going on that weekend.  If it was a sunny day and there were lots of other things going on, this would have been okay but, with the crowds the way they were, we just couldn't enjoy it.  We can't win them all!

Winter Mornings

There is something just so refreshing about needing to wear a jacket to walk in to work in the morning.  We have had the coldest weather in Brisbane in four years and we are really feeling like it is winter.  It takes us about 10 mintues to walk to the pathway along the river.  The first 5 or so minutes after we leave our house are all in the shade and we walk quickly until we warm up.  By the time we get to the pathway we are nice and warm and the first stretch is all in the sun.  In the summer this is way too hot for us but now that it is only around 10ºC when we are walking, the sun is very welcome.

Beautiful morning on the Brisbane River

The William Jolly Bridge and City Cats

We find that most restaurants have heaters outside but very few have any kind of heater on the inside, so it is actually warmer to eat outside, under the heater, than it is to eat inside.  If we ate indoors we would need our jackets and toques, but outside we are fine in our shirts if we are right under the heaters.  We have used this colder weather as a good learning experience in the Aussie language.  After gales of laughter about what we were saying, we found out the Aussies call toques "beanies".  Now that is funny!

Sydney Aquarium

Another thing that we did last week in Sydney was go to the Sydeny Aquarium.  We found another great half-price internet deal and decided to check it out.  We have been spoiled in the past by going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California and, unfortunately, the Sydney Aquarium just didn't compare.

Sharks

Shark Tunnel

The Sydney Aquarium is in Darling Harbour, near the Wildlife Centre and all of the really, really touristy attractions.  There are some impressive Great Barrier Reef displays, but nothing that you can't see in other aquariums.  The one really neat thing about this aquarium is the shark hallway, and it really is the only reason that we can think of to go to this aquarium.  The shark hallway is a plexiglass tunnel that  runs under the shark tank and you can watch the sharks swim above you as you walk through the tunnel.  It really is a fantastic experience, although probably not suitable for anyone with claustrophobia.  The sharks don't seem too bothered by the crowds or by having their photos taken.  There is a second feature glass tunnel in another part of the aquarium with sawfish, and that was even more impressive because those guys don't seem too interested in swimming around, they just sit on top of the glass ceiling.

Yikes!

Sawfish (waiting for a Hammerhead Shark, perhaps to team up and do some home improvement?)

Today is Canada Day so we had a pancake breakfast outside and then had a drink in the afternoon at a pub.  It was pretty quiet but that is probably what we would have done in Canada, too!  Weather here had a high of 23ºC so not too different from the Prairies (although we are in the dead of winter down under!)