April 14, Last Full Day in Sydney

Morning in Sydney:

Just as yesterday, we were able to sleep in a bit and start the day quite leisurely. This being our last full day – tomorrow, we board the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas – we wanted it to be meaningful. The evening schedule was already set. We had planned and prearranged a guided tour of the Sydney Opera House, dinner at one of the opera house restaurants, and tickets for a performance of Madam Butterfly. The real question before us was what to do with the morning and early afternoon. Last night we had thought we would go to the famous Sydney Botanic Gardens, if it was not raining; rain was in the forecast, but we were hoping. Well, the rain did occur, although not as hard nor, as long as we had been led to believe based upon overnight weather reports.

We opted for Plan B, to visit the Museum of Sydney, and boy, were we glad we did that. The Museum of Sydney was extremely informative and interesting. It was both a museum dedicated to the history of the city as a European settlement, AND a history of the treatment and interactions of European (English) settlers with the Aboriginal peoples, the First Nations people.

It has been refreshing, to witness the degree of candor Australians have developed about the atrocities and mistakes of their past, as well as to observe the many ways in which they are trying to chart a better, more inclusive, and equitable course for their future. Every tour guide, every performance, every public event begins with a statement acknowledging the lands where trod were and remain the lands first inhabited by the Aboriginal First Nations tribes. Each public statement and acknowledgement names the specific tribe or tribes of First Nations people who lived in the particular lands, rivers, and forests. Many public signs are written in the Aboriginal dialect first, before the English one. Frequently, commentators will speak in the Aboriginal language, before switching to the English language.

I don’t know how many people honestly and authentically feel remorseful for the country’s past sins. I don’t know whether the First Nations peoples themselves feel these efforts are meaningful or whether the efforts are merely window dressing. However, what I am certain of is that many young Australians will grow up thinking about their history and their nation in a very different way than their parents and grandparents before them did – in a healthier, more inclusive, more honest way about how Australia came to be as a nation and as a culture, and what future prosperity owes to the tragedies of the past.

God, I wish we could even talk about this in America. I believe there will come such a time, when the nation begins to honestly acknowledge its prosperity has been built on the land taken from Native Americans, developed through the free labor and creativity derived from the forced servitude of black and brown people, and through the continuing enforcement of systems of white male supremacy, at the expense of all other peoples. I just hope I live to see that time dawning.

Suffice to say that we were delighted that we took the opportunity to visit the Museum of Sydney.

After the museum, we went shopping at a nearby “arcade” for some additional items: deodorant for me, toothpaste for Patrise, a white blouse for Patrise, and a couple of other minor things. By the way, their word “arcade” describes a group of retail and commercial offices often located in the interior of their heavy rail and commuter rail stations. Imagine every MARTA station having a mix of food courts, women’s and men’s clothing boutiques, a grocery store, a pharmacy, a nail salon, a hair or barbershop, a travel agency and more: not just at the street level, but underground in proximity to where the trains are. That’s what an arcade is in Sydney: and not just at one station, but at every station we have visited or passed through. It is a ubiquitous concept and apparently works extremely well.

After the shopping, we purchased some soups in the food court and returned to the hotel with our meals. We ate and then we relaxed for a bit, before taking our showers and getting ready for going out this evening.

Evening in Sydney:

Tonight, was the opportunity for us to tour the Sydney Opera House, enjoy dinner at the restaurant located at the Opera House, and experience an event in the Opera venue. The tour was exceptional, and we learned that the Opera House is designed to mirror the sails in the harbor, and it is more than one auditorium. It is two large event spaces and two other smaller venues, much like the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The exterior that is the iconic shape is actually a shell which encases the performance venues which are separately contained inside the sail frames. The design is phenomenal. However, the history of the Opera House is a tragic story. For very political reasons, the Danish architect conceived of the design, Jorn Utzon, eventually left the project and Australia, because a new public works commissioner refused to pay the architect's people. Although there was some reconciliation between the country and Utzon over thirty years later, he died having never seen or stepped foot in his incredible creation.

(The larger of the two performance halls -- with seating capacity of 2500 --is for the Australian Symphony Orchestra and for live music concerts.)

(Utzon called this space between the two major buildings "The Cleavage". He felt the most beautiful natural form in the world was the shape of a woman's two breasts as she is lying down. He wanted this view tof his project o summon up that image.)

(The Opera House shell tiles are not totally white, as they appear to be from a distance. The architect realized that all white tiles would create a glaring visual. So the tiles are actual a mixture of white and beige.)

(The world-renowned opera diva, Joan Sutherland, popularized the art form in Australia. Therefore, the smaller of the two performance halls (seating capacity 1500) is for opera and ballet performances.

(The opera and ballet performing hall. Our guide Suzanne was just amazingly enthusiastic and proud of showing us the ins and outs of the Sydney Opera house.

(The smallest of the three performance spaces seats only about 150-200, for very intimate performances and special events. This artwork is call "Ode to C.P.E. Bach. Apparently, the architect, Jorn Utzon, had synesthesia: that is, he saw colors whenever music was played. It's a rare, but not unheard of condition. This piece are the colors of the music he saw, whenever someone played C.P.E. (Carl Philippe Emanuel) Bach, the son of the great composer, Johann Sebastian Bach.

The restaurant that we enjoyed our dinner is named after Bennelong, one of the Aboriginal Native People who befriended the initial Governor of Australia, Thomas Philips. The chef here is an excellent food artist and our meals were fantastic culinary creations. Doug had the Fatoush salad as his starter and I had XO Squid with fried eggplant.

(Patrise's XO Squid Salad. It really was a fantastic, well-prepared, creatively conceived dish.)

Both of our meals disappeared quickly. The sauce on my dish truly was special and made the dish come to life. This was the best sauce that I had ever eaten, and it makes me want to come home and focus on the creation of various sauces to enhance a meal. Our Main Dishes were just a good as well. Doug had a roasted pork dish, and I had a sauteed Pink Snapper with another excellent lemon butter sauce.

We shared some roasted baby potatoes and some very fresh green beans. For dessert, we had a local favorite Cherry Jam Lamington. This dish paired a sponge cake with coconut cream, chocolate ganache and cherries in the center of this creation. The chef then made coconut ice cream with dry ice and placed ice cream curls around the cake square. This was the first time that I experienced this type of desert, and I can’t wait, until I have another opportunity to enjoy one of these.

The last activity was watching the Australian Ballet’s performance of Don Quixote. We were sitting in the Sydney Opera House’s Opera venue listening to the acoustics and witnessing a show. We both had to pinch ourselves for how blessed we were to be here experiencing these events. We left the ballet and came home to settle in for the evening.

Final Sydney Photos for the Day:

(A view of the Harbor Bridge, once the iron work was completed, but before it opened. This old photo was taken from the city archives and it was one of a collage of images that were placed on the outside of a large construction site.)

(Sydney Opera House under construction. The project took 16 years to complete.)

(The Harbor Bridge right after it opened.)

(View from our room)

View from our room)

View from our room)

View from our room)

(A newly wed couple, as seen from our seats in the Bennelong Lounge, the primary restaurant of the Sydney Opera House. A lot of young couples include the Opera House steps as a part of their wedding celebrations.)

(Inside view of our restaurant)

(Final night view of the harbor, as seen from our seats in the restaurant. It just doesn't get much better than this.)

Good night!