The Sydney Opera House

It's actually two houses, side by side, as you can tell from this picture from the previous post. The larger one is used for symphony concerts; the smaller one, for opera.

The white shells of both are made of concrete ribs covered, on the outside, with tiles:


The actual performance halls, done up in Scandinavian-style modern wood (the original architect was Danish), sort of float inside the shells:


Both ends of the shells contain lounge/bar areas with lots of natural light:


And here's the inside of the concert hall, which has 360-degree seating around the stage:


They wouldn't let us take pictures inside the opera hall because workers were setting up for a performance, but it is arranged traditionally, with boxe and rows of seats facing a stage at one end.

A really small stage.

Really REALLY small.

I wish I could have taken a picture of it, but let's just say that if you're used to the Met, or the Opera Garnier, or the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, or most of the major houses in Italy, you'll be shocked at how small it is.

But then again, Sydney isn't really known for its opera company.

Just the opera house, which suffered from huge delays and cost overruns, but was worth every penny nonetheless.

Sailing Into Sydney

Few people get the chance anymore to arrive in Sydney by sea, but it is truly dramatic. Here's how it goes.

You awake to find yourself passing by Bondi Beach, with the downtown skyline distant beyond it:


Then, while still in the open ocean, you get a peek at the Harbour Bridge:


The harbor entrance is guarded by cliffs and lighthouses:



And the city gradually reveals itself as you wind through the harbor:



And then you dock: right in between the Opera House (from where this picture was taken) and the Harbour Bridge:


It just does not get any better than this.

Gardens, Again

And before we leave Melbourne, how could we skip the botanical gardens?

These were actually the nicest of the trip, I think:

Long Black, Flat White (updated)

In both New Zealand and Australia, the Pacific Rim coffee culture seems to have won out over traditional English tea-drinking. But they do it their own way:


A "short black" is an espresso, served with a pitcher of hot water to dilute it. A "long black" is a double espresso, also with hot water.

My favorite was the "flat white," which turned out to be espresso with some steamed milk in it, but not as much as a cappuccino or a latte would have. It turned out to be very similar to the French "cafe creme."

UPDATED TO ADD (3/10): I forgot to mention earlier that while every major city Down Under has plenty of cafes, it is almost impossible to get a cup of coffee after 4 p.m. in New Zealand, and difficult even in Melbourne and Sydney. I don't know whether this is because the Aussie and Kiwi culture frowns on caffeination after lunch, or whether it has more to do with the general lackadaisical attitude toward retail in these countries.

Gay Nightlife in Melbourne

We were in Melbourne for only one night, and it was a Wednesday. So not a true test of the nightlife.

A local club promoter did throw a party for us in the gayish South Yarra neighborhood, so we went. The low-rise neighborhood of small detached homes and townhouses was buttoned up tight even on the main commercial streets. Downtown Melbourne feels like a city; this did not.

The club, called Boutique, was nice and the party was fun, even if (as expected) most of the people there seemed to be from the ship. We did chance on a strategy for meeting Australians, though: hang out on the smoking deck. They were a friendly and interesting crew, not just Melburnians but also people from the surrounding countryside.

From them, we learned that this nightclub (which is quite nice inside) is actually not a gay club, except on occasional holiday weekends. So chalk this one up as Melbourne's version of Fresh or Alegria: in other words, they don't do this every night, or even every week. But I'll post a couple of pictures anyway since they came out well:

Yes, They Exist

During the financial crisis, the term "black swan" became popularized (in a book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb) as a synonym for something that couldn't happen or was very rare.

Well, I'm here to tell you they do exist:


This family, including several cygnets, was living happily at the Melbourne Botanical Garden, but we also saw black swans in Sydney. Apparently the species is native to Australia.

Purely coincidentally, the Australians escaped damage from the financial crisis far more easily than most other rich countries ...

Philadelphia? Or Toronto With Palm Trees?

Much more so than anyplace in New Zealand, Melbourne feels like a big North American city. (Not surprising: its population of 3.5 million makes it more than twice as big as Auckland, and puts it in the same range as Seattle.)

The building heights, densities and grid pattern of the sometimes-narrow streets reminded me initially of Philadelphia, especially because Melbourne also has far fewer of the sidewalk roofings so characteristic of New Zealand (I don't know if that is because of the climate or architectural taste):


Where Melbourne differs from U.S. cities is its mix of Victorian rockpiles and ultra-modern constructions. (And while Sydney too has its share of rockpiles, aside from the Opera House the ultra-modern is in far shorter supply there.) Here's a sampling:



In the "ultramodern" department, the Federation Square arts and shopping center was particularly striking:



Ultimately, I came away mentally comparing Melbourne to "Toronto with palm trees," and I'm not quite sure why.

It has been nearly 20 years since I was in Toronto, and while I remember it having typically New World architecture, I don't remember either the old or the new being taken to such extremes. Certainly Toronto has trams, just like Melbourne (although Melbourne has many more of them); certainly both cities are flattish, ethnically diverse, and divided into distinctive neighborhoods.

There are, of course, big differences in the Canadian and Australian personality. Melbournites in particular seemed jovial, cheerful and informal (quite a contrast to the New Zealanders, who deployed a bit more distance and a much drier, British-style wit, though they weren't as reserved as people in the mother country).

But both Melbourne and Toronto seemed to lack a certain edge, which Sydney, more like the United States, has in abundance. Both cities are the kind of place where people go about their lives in an orderly way and where the shops close just a little too early.

Comfortable places to live (except for the Torontonian weather). But maybe not exciting.

Then again, I was only in Melbourne for 24 hours. Which is not enough to get under its skin.

Check back on this blog in a few years for updated impressions.