Tour of Sydney Opera House
Day 3 dawned bright and clear, perfect for touring the Sydney Opera House (of Finding Nemo fame and other honors) and attending the Sydney, Australia Temple. Nikki and I planned to leave early for our 9:00 AM tour in order to take the longer, scenic route to and around Circular Quay to reach the Opera House. Following the tour, we would part ways. I would take a train from the station included as an opening in the row of shops at the closed part of the quay, to start me on my journey to the temple and Nikki would return to the ship to finish packing her bags before catching a bus to Canberra, where she would visit a friend for three days.
After breakfast, we left the ship at 7:30 and took the walk. Soon we came to the side of the Quay directly across from the Opera House. When we got to an advantageous viewpoint, we stopped to take pictures of each other with the other’s camera (i.e., photos of me taken by Nikki with my camera and visa versa). Naturally, the Opera House had to be in the background.
Buveh and Sydney Opera House 9236
Then we basically turned around and took pictures of ourselves and the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Buveh and the Sydney Harbor Bridge 9237
There were lovely views across the Quay to more residential areas of Sydney.
Lovely view 9238
Bridge with ferry passing in front 9239
View of downtown skyline across quay 9240
Then we walked around the rest of Circular Quay until we came close to the Opera House, where I started taking pictures galore because of its interesting and unusual architecture. Especially its characteristic “shells.”
Shells 9242
Different view of shells 9243
We walked under the arcade past the Opera House shops, which included gift shops (naturally), a bar, a snack bar, a music store, etc. When we reached the tour starting point, I went back to the snack bar and bought a bottle of water. Then we sat at a café table near the starting point so I could drink it and we could rest a bit before starting the tour. A man and woman were sitting at the table, too. We began talking and to our surprise, they were from Hilton Head, South Carolina! When I said I was from Columbia, SC, we all laughed. Imagine coming halfway around the world to visit a famous spot and the first people we meet are from the same place you are! When I said that my daughter had just moved to Beaufort, the woman said, “Right in our back yard!”
Soon the tour guide came. She was a woman about my age and first told us that any bags larger than A4 size (A4 is the standard size paper used here, as compared to letter sized used in the US; it is slightly longer and narrower than letter size) had to check them. Well, my bag is quite a bit bigger than that. I actually use it for an airline carryon bag, which it is perfect for, but had to use it as a purse while in New Zealand and Sydney because it was the only bag I had large enough to put any purchases in so I wouldn’t have to carry them in my hands). Nikki’s bags were larger, too, so we obediently went to the check room to turn them over. Then we went back, to find that the guide had already starter her spiel! Not a good start, but after that, everything was great.
The Opera House was designed by Jorn Utzon, whose preliminary design won a competition over 234 entries. Work on it began in 1959. Utzon was the one who envisioned the roof “shells” that are the distinct and characteristic feature of the Opera House. Because of the unique design, many of the construction and structural challenges had never been attempted before and coping with them required creativity and time. Eventually the cost became so great that first an appeal fund raised $900,000 and a state-run lottery brought in the additional funds needed to cover the cost of the building. Finally, after 14 years of work and problems, the Sydney Opera House opened in 1979 at a final cost of $102 million. It is likely the busiest performing arts center in the world.
The famous roof shells sit on a base that is made up of several parts, including shops and cafes that face outward with glass walls overlooking Circular Quay and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Inside the lower portion are several venues for the performing arts, including the The Playhouse, with seating for almost 400, a concert hall and the Opera Theatre, which has black walls and ceiling so as to not distract patrons from the performance. There are numerous levels and numerous venues within the huge structure. During our tour, we were not allowed to take photos in any of the venues, only in the outside public areas. The woods used and the manner of their appearance is amazing.
A shot of the outer wall of the Opera Theatre, showing the lovely wood and unique design 9244
A view in another area inside the structure; the wood is artistically arranged 9245
The reception area outside the Opera Theatre has glass walls that lean outward, offering a magnificent view of Sydney Harbor, Circular Quay, the Sydney Bridge and the far side of Sydney. The architect insisted that the view had to be preserved.
Scenic views through the glass walls of the reception area 9246
View just back from the glass walls, showing the stairs leading up to that level 9247
The concrete wall components were individually cast of concrete onsite as construction took place; each is individual and made to fit in one specific location. 9249
View of the base of one of the shells, seen through the glass wall near the Opera Theatre 9250
View of one of the shells and part of the harbor from the same location 9251
View of the upsweep of one of the shells, showing the patterning of the small ceramic tiles on its surface 9253
After touring all the venues, we went to the central ticketing location. The wood used on the walls was absolutely stunning 9254
Another view of the individually cast and sized concrete ribs 9255
The main window, looking outward 9256
The stairs going down, used to get outside (or inside, if you are out); Sydneysiders LOVE stairs 9257
Closer-up of ceramic tiles, especially cast and uniquely sized for one specific place to fit. The tiles have a special coating that resists rain and mold. There is never a need to clean the Opera House’s shells because nothing will adhere to them.
Tiles on shell 9259
Stairs leading up to one of the venues; note the wood 9260
One final view of the wood and how it was used 9261
Attending the Temple
After the tour, Nikki and I went downstairs and stopped in the gift shop for a bit and then left and went to a snack bar on the lower level to claim our free orange juice using a small portion of our tour ticket. We sat at a café table and enjoyed our juice and then got up and started walking back along the Circular Quay. When we got to the entrance to the train station (the train ran on overhead tracks; we could see the waiting platform on the upper level and trains coming and going), we parted ways. I went to buy a train ticket to Epping and Nikki headed back to the ship to pack and leave for a 3-hour bus trip to Canberra.
Once I had my ticket, I put it through the barriers at the entrance. It popped out partway along the structure and when I pulled it up, the entrance doors opened and I walked through into the station. I asked an employee how I could reach the correct train platform and was directed up some stairs – of course. I walked up, up, up, turned and walked up, up, up again. At the top was the platform and, fortunately, some benches. I lowered myself onto one of them that was within sight of the TV screen monitor showing which train would be next, which stations it would stop at and in how many minutes it would depart. I needed the train that went to Town Hall and it was due in just a few minutes.
When the train came, I got aboard and was surprised to see that there were three levels of seating, the one on which I’d entered, one down stairs and another upstairs. I sat on that level since the Town Hall stop was either first or second. It only took a few minutes to reach the Town Hall station. I exited the train and the next train I had to catch left from the track across a walkway from where I was. There was a longer wait for that train but when it came, I again sat on the entry level and watched Sydney pass by as the train traveled toward Epping. I didn’t take any photos because I had my back to the window and was looking out the window on the other side of the train.
The Epping Station was larger than those we’d stopped at along the way, almost as large as the Circular Quay station. I got out and went to the information booth to inquire where I needed to go to catch the bus to Pennant Hills. She made a phone call, wrote down a bus number and a street number and pointed across a street to my left. I walked over the station’s pedestrian bridge and found myself on the other side of the street. I didn’t see any bus stop shelters on the street so I started walking up and down and finally realized there were quite a few bus stops, each indicated by a bench for waiting and a pole having a rather small bright yellow sign with a number and a name on it. I walked almost the entire length of the block looking for the bus number I’d been given but didn’t see it.
Finally I walked back to the one that said Pennant Hills and sat on the bench. Eventually a bus drew up to the next sign and stopped. I walked over and asked the driver where the Pennant Hills bus stop was and he pointed to the one I’d been sitting at. He said that the routes had changed recently and now that bus was the one going to Pennant Hills. I thanked him and went back to the stop to look at the timetable. Apparently I’d just missed the bus and the next one wouldn’t be along for about half an hour. Grrr! There were many small cafes along the street and I walked up and down looking at them since it was lunch time. I finally bought a hot dog of some sort from one of them and took it back to the stop and ate it while sitting on the bench. When I looked at the hot dog after I’d bitten into it, I almost panicked. It was partly black, partly pink and partly green but I was so hungry I ate the whole thing anyway, thinking that maybe because I was trying to do a good thing by going to the Temple, I’d be blessed not to get sick from it. And I didn’t, thankfully!
Eventually the bus I was waiting for arrived and I verified with the drive that it would get me near the temple. I showed him a picture of it and the address. He said, yes, he could drop me off near it. I paid the fee and sat down. The town was mildly interesting and the bus route went through mainly residential areas once we’d left the street where the bus stop was. I did notice, however, that there were frequently very small bright yellow signs with our bus number on it on telephone or light poles everywhere the driver needed to turn on the new route. Finally we got to a spot – at the bottom of a hill, of course – where the bus stopped and the driver told me this is where I needed to exit. He told me to walk to the traffic light (at the TOP of the hill!) and turn right. I got out and walked a few yards to a traffic signal and waited to cross the street (vehicles drive on the left there and in order to get on the side of the street I needed to be on to turn right, I needed to cross.
Once across the street to where a huge shopping center was and started puffing and panting my way uphill, grateful for a bit of shade from tall flowering trees along the way. At the top of the hill was a major road that crossed the one I was on and formed a T intersection. I turned right and the shopping center was still on my right. I soon realized that it was the shopping center the missionaries had told me about that was “right across the street” from the temple. Then I came to a bus stop with a sheltered bench and realized that the former bus route had probably stopped there. No longer, alas! By this time it was about 1:10 PM and since a temple session started at 1:00, I knew I’d missed it and since it is not possible to join in a session late, knew I’d have to wait for the 3:00 session.
However, I could not see the temple anywhere! I decided to just keep walking and if all else failed I could wait at the nearby bus stop or go back to the one across the street from the one I’d just used. Soon, to my great relief, I saw a long white spire with a statue of the Angel Moroni on top and knew that I was on the right track. My next challenge was crossing the extremely busy street having 2-lanes in both directions with a median strip in the center and no traffic signal anywhere close. I waited patiently and finally caught a gap in traffic both ways and crossed the street.
There was no way to approach the temple from the front. The only access was from the side, so I walked down an intersecting street a few yards and entered the beautifully landscaped temple grounds. Since I had plenty of time, I started taking photos.
First photo, from an angle, showing temple’s name 9263
Then I walked outside the grounds and around to the front of the temple to photograph the sign that faced the street. The grounds were somewhat close to the road so I couldn’t get back far enough to take a shot of the entire temple
Temple with sign in foreground 9264
View showing Angel Moroni statue atop the spire 9265.
House of the Lord; Holiness to the Lord sign on temple 9268
Cornerstone 9275
Apparently, as at many other LDS temples, Christmas lights are strung on the grounds at Christmas time and lighted at night. Usually a manger scene is placed on the grounds as well and sometimes choirs sing or pageants are held. I realized that this temple was getting ready to do that when I saw lights strung all across the vibrantly green shrubbery and on the lawn near beds of beautiful flowers. I took pictures to prove it!
Lights on the shrubbery 9270
Lights on lawn near petunia beds 9271
Then I put the camera away and walked to the entrance and went into the cool, beautiful, quiet temple. A discrete sign on the reception desk requested that cameras be checked so I dug out mine and did that. After I’d shown my documentation, I was directed inside and pointed in the direction I needed to go. Some very lovely and welcoming women showed me to a comfortable place where I could wait the hour and a half until the next session started but cautioned me that on a weekday there was a possibility that there might not be enough people at 3:00 for a session but there were other services I could participate in and I told them I’d be happy to do whatever. As it turned out, there were enough people at 3:00 and so I enjoyed a spiritually uplifting and refreshing session.
Because there were fewer people than capacity, however, the session was somewhat shorter and I was finished in time to get a slightly earlier bus than I’d anticipated. After thanking everyone who’d been so helpful and chatting briefly with the workers, I went to the Reception Desk and retrieved my camera and went back out into the bright sunlight and the noisy, fast-paced world. The time in the temple had been a nice respite.
Crossing the street this time was a two-stage process because traffic was into the rush hour mode. Finally, and with the help of a kind driver in a left-turn lane who waited to allow me to cross in front of her car rather than move up in line, I made it to the other side of the street. I wanted to get a photo of the entire temple but cars kept getting in the way and the sun was behind the temple (temples always face east). Here is the best one.
Sydney, Australia Temple 9283
I started retracing the steps I’d taken from the bus stop. I’d realized that the name of one of the nearby shopping center’s anchor stores was Coles, I took a photo of it for Cole, my choo-choo loving grandson.
Coles 9277
I passed Coles and the shopping center parking lot on my left and then made a left turn at the corner and started slowly making my way down the steep hill I’d climbed up earlier. I crossed the little intersecting street at its light and walked a bit more, trying to find where the bus stop was that the driver had vaguely gestured to when I was getting off the bus earlier. Soon I saw a bright yellow sign with the bus number on it. I doubled checked the paper timetable I’d gotten on the bus and saw that one was due. So, either I’d just missed it or it would come very soon. I waited, wondering, and glanced across the street. There was a wonderful, tall, tall tree that I had to photograph.
Tall, tall tree 9286
Top of tree, with pine cones (I think) 9287
Very soon, the bus came and I got on and bought a ticket to Epping Station. We retraced our former route exactly because as well as recognizing places we passed, I saw the tiny bright yellow signs with the bus number on it affixed to various poles along the way. The last stop was at the station and I knew exactly where to go. I walked to the pedestrian walkway over the street and into the station, using my return (round-trip) ticket to get through the barricade. When I got to the platform, I saw on the monitor that the train to Town Hall (and many other stops) would be there in two minutes. Sure enough, it did and I boarded it. When I got off at Town Hall station, I went to the platform for the train to Circular Quay and only had a short wait. Soon I was back at the quay. I descended the seemingly innumerable stairs and used my ticket to go out through the barriers. This time it kept the ticket but the barriers sprung open and I walked through.
From there, I walked outside onto the quay itself, turned left and headed back, through The Rocks, to TSS, arriving in time for dinner.
It had been an informative, pleasant, spiritual and refreshing day.
O
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