Minus 5 & Sydney Symphony

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Today we started off the day, making our way across Hyde Park, past St Mary's Cathedral and the government house to arrive at the spectacular Sydney Opera House. The first must see activity within the city. We had a 1 hour tour inside the two theatres, and were fortunate enough to see the Sydney Symphony rehearsing, with Gary Burton on the vibraphone and Chick Corea the jazz legend. Ellie was disappointed not to see the Australian Ballet rehearsing in the next theatre! Unfortunately no cheap tickets available - maybe next time! The Sydney Opera house took 14 years to complete and cost a mere 102 million dollars - which was slightly over budget & extended the estimated time-scale. Each theatre has been constructed in order to maximise the acoustics & have been very cleverly and artistically designed. It certainly lived up to our expectations, Sydney one of our favourite cities so far.

After we visited Circular Quays to take a short ferry trip across to Manly - the cheaper option. We did a short coastal walk, taking in the views and looking at the various artistic sculptures. As we arrived back in Sydney harbour we gained some great views of the Opera House, and listened to live didgerdoo playing on the harbour front.

Next we visited the Rocks, and did a short self guided tour around the area, visiting the oldest house 'Cadmans Cottage' built in 1816, and visiting the local museum 'Rocks Discovery Centre' - very informative. The Rocks is one of the oldest areas in Sydney, however we only noticed a few cobbled streets! This area was home to the Aboriginal Cadigal people and was the site where the First Fleet mariners stepped ashore and then established British settlement on 26th January 1788.

We decided to treat ourselves by visiting the Minus 5 ice bar for a cocktail, wrapped up in winter gear. This bar is a surreal experience as the entire bar area is made from ice, such as ice sculptures, ice tables, ice chairs etc - even the glasses are made of ice. It was like being in a giant freezer, except you had views of Sydney harbour on your doorstep. We had a maximum of 30 minutes within the bar before we had to exit for safety reasons! It was freezing - even we were not tempted for another drink!

Then to finish off the day, we walked to Darling harbour, which had a lively night atmosphere, with a lots of restaurants serving a variety of cuisine overlooking the waterfront. We decided to enjoy a main course at 'La Cita' a Latin American restaurant - delicious spicy polenta. Lovely views of the attractive harbour lit up by night.

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