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Published: November 21st 2008
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I literally had to drag Matt out of bed as we’d planned to do the beach leg of the hop on hop off bus tour. The weather was glorious and a couple of minutes after leaving the hotel we had to turn back to get our hats as we suddenly realised how strong the sun was.
The bus stop was next to a famous pie stall (it had sole pies to lots of celebrities and had photos on the side of the van to prove it) so Matt ended up eating a steak pie for his breakfast as the smell was just too tempting for him to resist!
Our first stop on the bus was Bondi Beach. We had a walk along to the busy sand and then had coffee sitting outside along the main street watching the masses of mostly young people flock by (many of then from the UK by the sounds of it).
We sauntered back over to the beach to do some more people watching. There was a big stretch of sand, with big surf waves. The beach was packed even though it was only a weekday in the shoulder season. I’d hate to
think how busy it would get on summer weekends, but then again it’s probably no worse than the beaches back home in peak summer.
Bondi had a great feel to it but it was all a bit manic and commercial for us, so we headed over to Bronte Beach, a few minutes away on the bus. Simon and Helen had told us about a walk over the cliffs between the two and it had sounded great, but given the heat we didn’t think we’d enjoy the journey on foot.
Bronte was smaller and more laid back. We walked along the side of the beach over to a long line of cafes and Matt took Simon’s advice and went for fish and chips. I opted for a healthier sandwich and freshly squeezed juice and we sat on the picnic tables enjoying our lunch in the sun while trying to fend off the hungry seagulls.
The final stop on our tour was Coogee Beach which my friend Clare had recommended to us. It was sheltered so the sea wasn’t full of surfers like the other two. Here we were just content to lay on the sand appreciating the fact
that we were in a hot country again.
It was a really chilled out day and so nice to experience some of the different beaches around Sydney which all had their own personailities. It was a shame that there wasn’t time to visit Manly, or to climb the Harbour Bridge, but we had crammed a lot into our two days in the city.
By early evening we were back at our hotel getting ready for our evening at the Opera House. We’d tried to book into the Opera House restaurant for a pre-show meal the day before as it was meant to be fantastic, but unfortunately they were fully booked (it’s probably just as well as that would have meant two nights in a row of eating out at expensive restaurants!) Instead we decided to try our luck around the harbour and see what caught our eye. First we had a look at a bar recommended by Simon and Helen but that looked packed out, so we headed along the waters edged and found a quiet Italian restaurant with tables outside.
Again the food was delicious, and I had one of the best chicken pasta dishes I’ve
ever had (washed down with a glass of champagne!). Matt wasn’t so keen on his - he became convinced that his beef steak must have been mixed up with kangaroo steak as it had a different colour and texture than beef.
Afterwards, we sauntered along the harbour side watching the sun go down and taking more photographs, before heading into the Opera House to find our seats.
Inside the concert hall was much bigger than it looked from the outside. It wasn’t quite as glamorous, or intricate, as I’d expected - the look was simple and plain with a modern twist, but with an undertone of 70s style lurking in the background. The light wasn’t coming from big glass chandeliers as I’d been expecting, instead the lightshades were big clear glass doughnuts. Everywhere we looked we could see lots of wood panelling - maybe that was what made me think it had a 70s vibe going on.
We were sitting in a box along side the orchestra pit and choir with a perfect view. Unfortunately, although the performance was as amazing as our seats, neither of us could get into it. It’s a bit like how one
person likes a piece of artwork and another doesn’t. Choirs obviously aren’t our thing but we‘d have never known if we hadn‘t tried it. Matt kept yawning so wide that I had to keep nudging him to tell him to stop. I felt guilty for not appreciating it but you can’t help what you like can you?
After the performance was over we went outside and saw moving lights above us. At first I thought it was fireworks but then we realised it was either birds or bats flying around. They looked like they were glowing as the light was shining up onto them. I looked over to the bridge and saw tiny dots of light flying over the lights there too. No matter how hard we stared at them we couldn’t quite figure out what they were as they were too high up and moved too fast.
We stayed around the Opera House looking out over the harbour for a long time. The day had been hot and even at 9.30pm it was still warm enough to be out without a jacket. After a stroll we called into a bustling bar for a drink. By the time
we left it was absolutely packed. Everyone was standing and sitting outside around the harbour - the tables inside were deserted.
Luckily we’d left it long enough for the post concert crowd to have dispersed so we only had to wait a few minutes for a taxi.
Back in the hotel we made the most of looking out across the city lights one last time before closing the curtains.
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