G’Day from Australia – Day 8

 

 

What a full day!  We were out and about early today to tour the Sydney Opera House.  Opened in 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II, the Opera House was designed by the architectural genius, Jørn Utzon, who was the winner of the International design competition in 1957. The two largest theaters are the Opera House with a maximum seating capacity of 1,507, and the Concert Theater with seating for 2,679.  This “theater in the oval” is the venue for the Symphony as well as touring contemporary music artists.  The three other theaters are quite a bit smaller, and tomorrow night we have the treat of seeing Our Town in the Drama Theater.

Next we toured Sydney’s Eastern suburbs with the most expensive homes.  This church sat up on the hill with a fantastic view of the city including the bridge and the Opera House.

 

After a bit of a rest, we headed out to discover Sydney on our own making our way to the shopping area.  This is a picture of Queen Victoria at her finest.  During a local festival, artists adorned many of the statues around town with fancy costumes.  This was one of our favorites.

 

It may be a few days before I am able to get post another update.  Big events for tomorrow are the Sydney Harbor boat cruise, and then, of course, our play.  We head to Christchurch, New Zealand on day 10 (Oct. 6 for us, but Oct. 5 for you).