Saying Goodbye

After cleaning, packing, turning in my key and moving to our hotel, my mom and I went back to the city to have one last day of spontaneous activities in Sydney.  We took the train from the station near the hotel to Central station and then took a monorail tram to Paddy's Markets, a great spot for souvenirs and awesome, kitchy, touristy things.  Of course, Tuesday is the only day of the week that the markets aren't open, so that idea was scrapped quickly and sadly.  We continued on the tram line to the Sydney Fish Markets where we quite literally followed our nose to the warehouse of fresh fish, prawns, oysters, squids and lobsters...there was even a sign for "Bugs" but we didn't feel like finding out what that meant..  For lunch we fought off the seagulls outside while we split half of a grilled lobster that was covered in garlic butter..It was fresh and delicious and made me realize again how much my taste in food has drastically changed in the last few months.

Opera House Barbie; Although this is clearly
a "must-have" we just didn't think we had
enough space in our luggage...

Making our way to Circular Quay at the Sydney Cove harbor, we went to the Opera House to have a guided tour inside.  With some time to kill, we had some wine and people watched, then perused the Opera House gift shop, which has everything you could possibly want to own with an Opera House on it...including the one of a kind collector's item: Opera House Barbie!

During the tour we learned a lot of really interesting things about the Opera House, and I will now try to remember as many as I can:
-There are 2 large main shells which house the Concert Hall (for orchestras and concerts) and the Opera Hall (for operas and ballet) and a few small drama theaters and 1 small main shell which houses the restaurant
-The Concert Hall is the largest of all of them and is made of only Australian timber
-With over 1500 events a year, and open 7 days a week, there is always something happening at the Opera House
-2 out of every 3 people in the world can recognize the SOH
-The seats in all the halls and theaters are specifically designed to reflect sound when empty exactly the way they would if a person were seated there, allowing for perfect acoustics that are consistent from empty rehearsals to packed opening nights

In front of the 2 main shells of the Opera House

-The Grand Organ in the large Concert Hall has over 10,000 pipes ranging from pinky size to 3 stories tall.  It took 10 years to build and 2 years to tune.
-The outside "sails" are made of ceramic tiles of 17 different shades of beiges and creams and are self-cleaning.  The inside ceiling is made to look like the bottom of an upside-down boat and the windows in the shells are ideal for views of the harbor
-The architect (whose design was chosen from a world-wide competition) estimated that the construction would take 3 years and 7 million dollars...it actually took 16 years and 152 million dollars, which was paid off within the first 3 years of its opening
-Since his estimates were so wrong, the architect, Jorn Utson from Denmark, was removed from the project and left Sydney before it was finished
-Utson, who died a few years ago, never saw the final Opera House in person

While we were being shown the main Concert Hall, we got to listen to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra rehearsal...it was amazing and I don't even particularly enjoy orchestras.

Pizza and drinks at Manly Wharf Hotel

After our tour we took the ferry to Manly and walked to the beach.  Since the weather was taking a turn for the worse for the first time all week, we didn't stay long and went back towards the ferry docks to Manly Wharf Hotel where we got some unique and yummy pizzas (pumpkin, spinach, feta cheese, onion and sauce) and drinks and watched the clouds change colors with the sun as it set.

Back at Circular Quay, we met up with my best Aussie friend, Ben, to say goodbye.  We went to Oyster Bar right on the water with a great view of the bridge and chatted for awhile, trying to avoid the inevitable.  Eventually we had to part ways, promising to see each other sometime in the future, not knowing when that might be.  Waiting at the train station to go back to the hotel, I said my goodbyes to the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, but I think it will take some time to come to the full realization that this city I have fallen in love with will soon be much further than a bus ride away..