Today was a 'free' day - no included or optional excursions... so we set our own itinerary.
We'd got the Sydney BridgeClimb booked for 09:25, so we were up and breakfasted and off the the starting point.
Very slick organisation - safety and equipment briefing with 'stations' where you got breathalysed, into your jumpsuit, harness and were equipped with headset, jacket, went on the 'simulator' (set of replica ladders) etc. etc. - took about 45 minutes, then onto the bridge!
First picture stop.
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| Nice outfits! |
As we climbed, the guide was great - pointing out points of interest and telling us about the history of both the bridge and Sydney.
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| Apparently the headsets make us look 'cool'... |
Great views from up here... you can really see how spread out the city is.
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| It's the SOH baby, yeah! |
Shot from near the highest point, I think the top of our hotel is just visible behind my head - the one with the triangular bit on it (roof, not my head!).
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| Top of the world! |
Crossing from one side of the bridge to the other to come back down (you don't go all the way from one side to the other), time for a quick smooch...
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| Get a room! |
On the way back to the hotel (the quick way, nit the way Brian told us to go) we passed these steps. The old buildings have gone but left some of the interior walls and dummy furnishings have been put in place.
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| Inside, outside |
We had a fantastic Italian sharing platter for lunch (we are going to be such porkers when we get home) then wandered down to the SOH to book a tour for later in the afternoon.
Then a stroll through the botanical gardens, where we saw one of the Extreme Sailing Series catamarans 'doing laps' of a couple of marks and putting the crew through their paces.
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| One in, one out. |
Botanical gardens were very pleasant but not exactly riveting. Some interesting specimens and views though.
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| Due to prevailing winds? |
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| Lovely park view from these offices |
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| Think this was some kind of government building. |
Cup of coffee and a cake in the cafe and then it was time to head back to the SOH for our tour. Initially the guide was a bit tetchy handing out headsets and trying to get them all working, but once that was sorted we were off!
Went into the Joan Sutherland Theatre, where we saw The Sleeping Beauty - in the intervening time it had been used for a lecture and had now been set up for the ballet to practice.
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| Stage |
Tried to get a shot of where our seats were but it didn't really come out.
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| Photo fail |
I just loved the rawness of the interior - inspired by Le Corbusier it could be described as 'a symphony in concrete'. These radiating ribs are what form the structure that supports the roof. you can see all the marks from the moulds used when they were cast.
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| Concrete |
You can see the ribs and roof here. Each side of each roof is supported independently - if you removed one, the other would remain in place.
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| Mmmm... ribs |
You also get fantastic contrasts inside of materials. A lot has been renovated and much use of light wood and light itself has been made to make everything feel open and airy,
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| Wood, concrete, steel |
So raw - 'bolt this bit here...'. You also often see woodgrain in the walls - not a design feature, just the imprint of the planks used as shuttering when they were poured.
A tour of the Opera House is a must and was one of my favourite bits of the trip.
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