Sydney Sightings

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Harbourside
June 30th 2008

Published: July 22nd 2008

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wandering Lawless

Cheers

To Living the good life

When in Sydney- See the sights

Experience the Vibrancy that is
this Gorgeous City by the Sea,
Also Known as Sydney

Sydney is undoubtedly the most well known place in Australia and for good reason. It's a mixing pot of ingeneous and classic architecture, diversity amongst its inhabitants, and an encoumpassing friendly demeanor. The natives say things like bloke, skull, cuppa, pips, prawn, cheeky, and the list goes on and on. Practice enough patience, listen long and hard and eventually instead of asking what in the world people are talking about- you just get it.

My Tour de Sydney begins wit a multimillion dollar boat, docked in the harbour, awaiting passengers to be paraded from Bondi beach to circular quay. The backdrop is a bustling city scape colliding with the tranquil ocean; both being smoldered beneath blue skies and a blinding sun. A perfect day.

Whilst on the boat I had the opportunity to peruse the entire harbour, in style =). The opera house is more than amazing, but up close and from a front-facing position one can truly appreciate the architect, Utzon’s, masterpiece of architecture. To say the least, the opera house is really a

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very strong, prominent work of art in this city. It reminds me of the sailboats upon which surround the harbour on a daily basis.

Utzon’s design, which was initially cast from the compilation of finalists for the opera house’s design, is one of the youngest in history to be recognized for its ingenious architecture that so obviously envelopes it. I find it fascinating that Utzon has never once returned to Sydney to lay his eyes upon the completed masterpiece after the altimatum he was given that lead to his resignation. I can only imagine that he must have been a character and a half to not only dream up the structure but to not have desired enough to come back here and witness its compeletion.

Now just think- the opera house looks microscopic next to the Harbour Bridge- which is colossal in comparison The Aussie flag flies high and proud amongst the clouds dead center on the bridge. The wind blows it, waving to its followers below.

Now in the opera house is another story. They won’t allow you to take pictures due to copyrights (ridiculous, right?) but the most impressive room by far was the concert

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hall. The organ alone was about 10,000 pipes and went a solid 15 feet back into the wall. In order to create a seamless venue for acoustic sounds the room has a high vaulted ceiling and is streamlined having no corners thereby making it ideal for acoustic performances.

The coolest thing in the entire room? Definatley these oddly placed glass rings that hang from the ceiling. The reason they are there being that the concert hall is so big by the time the sound reverberates through the room and back into each composers ear they will have lost their place in the song. The glass rings counteract that effect and push the sound waves back down at a much faster rate. Neat, ay? Well I thought so at least!

Another landmark in Sydney is the Sydney tower, offering 360 degree views of the entire city. A must see at sunset and a good place to learn your bearings of the city.

Enough talking out of me- check out the pictures they should speak for themselves. And feel free to comment!! =)

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