A night at that opera

Sarah loves the opera.  She asked me if I wanted to go watch an opera on the harbour with Lisa.  I had only ever been to the opera once years ago when I was backpacking in Austria.  I didn't enjoy it back then and I remember Chris and myself leaving after the first act.  There was a stuffiness to it all and following the story didn't help to make it more interesting.

It had been a long time though, and I admittedly enjoyed the "music" of opera, even if I didn't enjoy the performance of it so much.  On top of that, Sarah wanted to go to the open air opera which was held on Sydney harbour.  This seemed to be one of the great experiences of living in Sydney, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it.

On a nice warm evening, the three of us went out to the Botanic Gardens to watch the opera.  Most people were dressed casually, but there were some who decided to go very formal.  It added to the atmosphere and I was glad that for once, I wasn't one of the people dragging down the classiness of the place like I was back in Austria.

During my time in Sydney, I had spent almost no time in the Botanic Gardens.  It was always something that I intended on doing more, but just never got around to doing.  Being there at night was a bit surreal.  To be sitting there looking at the enormous stage, whilst having the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background didn't quite feel real.

Watching the show itself, I felt many of the same feelings that I did back in Austria return.  The music was lovely and I enjoyed it as much as I always did.  Sadly the whole package of opera is not something I enjoy all that much.  The acting was over the top and the sets, whilst impressive, didn't give me enough reason to stay interested.  There were subtitles displayed on screens for everyone so that we could follow the plot, and unsurprisingly the plot was ridiculous.  We were watching the opera "Aida".  A story about an Egyptian general fighting between his love for his country and Aida.  It all ends tragically (of course) and with pretty much everyone buried alive....

In our modern day of well written dramas and complex stories, I wonder whether it's simply the case that people in the past were a bit simpler in their tastes.  Would audiences in the past have found this silly story gripping and compelling or would they have seen this all as merely a "vessel" for the music, something to be tolerated for the true item of value?

Even without the story, it was good to be able to experience something different.  The music was indeed very enjoyable and I was able to look at Sydney is a very different light.

Taronga

One of the great benefits of working at my law firm are the free tickets to Taronga Zoo.  Years ago, the firm did some pro bono work for the zoo and in exchange, the zoo gifted the firm at set of lifetime gold passes.  The firm was nice enough to offer these passes to all of the staff and all we needed to do was book out the particular day we wanted to use them.  I'm never one to pass up the chance for a free trip to the zoo, so I decided to take Jimmy and Eva to the zoo with their family.

The trip over to Taronga is always one of the nicest in Sydney.  You can drive through the northern suburbs to get to the zoo, but personally I think a ride on the ferry across the harbour from Circular Quay is the best way to go.  Sydney is at its best when it is near the water, with its incredible beaches and beautiful harbour.  It's easy to forget about it sometimes, but these trips help to remind me of what is here.

The entrance to the zoo is at the top of the hill and away from the water.  Whichever way you arrive, you will head to this entrance at the top.  After you enter the zoo, you start to walk slowly into the zoo and down the hill until you see one of the best (and most confusing) views you can get all of Sydney. 

Seeing the whole of the Sydney skyline, with both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House from this angle is what most tourists dream of.  Not many people realise that it's actually from the zoo that you get this incredible view.  What makes it all so strange though is who actually makes up the foreground of many of these views.

One of the first big enclosures on your walk down the hill is for the giraffes.  They have pride of place in front of the amazing view.  So when you visit the zoo, you're more than likely to get your first glimpse of the beautiful harbour as you're looking at a large group of giraffes.  It's not the picture you would have had in your head of what Sydney harbour should look like!

The rest of the zoo is great as well.  There are plenty of shows where you can see the animals up close and there are even places where you can see them feeding.  It's not really a place I would regularly go to, yet a trip to the zoo never feels wasted.

Royal Show fun

The Royal Easter Show is an annual Sydney tradition.  There are Royal shows all over Australia every year, but the Sydney show always happens around the Easter period.

I love the show.  I've loved it since I was a kid.  People from overseas don't always understand it.  To be honest, I'm not sure I would understand it all that much if I didn't grow up with it.

It might be simpler than I think though.  City dwellers in Australia have a nostalgic view of the Australian bush and country.  The show gives us one of those rare opportunities to get a bit closer to the country and a different part of what Australia is.  It's a far cry from the original purpose of the show, being an opportunity for those living in country and rural areas to gather in the city to compete and to buy much needed supplies.

The closest comparison I can think of for the show is probably what Americans would call their "State Fairs".  Like the American state fairs, there's always a huge and varied amount of carnival style foods on offer.  Everything is in huge portions and frequently served on a stick.  It's kinda fun to gorge of this type of food once in a while and the show is the perfect time to do it.

From a food perspective, the more important place to go is the Country Women's Association cafe.  This is always set up inside one of the main halls and I definitely think it is the highlight of the show (from a food perspective anyway).  Every year, the old ladies with the CWA set up and start baking thousands and thousands of scones.  It's one of the great pleasures to be able to sit down for a cup of tea with some truly fantastic scones.

Of all the events, I think my favourite would be the woodchopping.  Going to the show means you also get to go to one of, if not the only, purpose built woodchopping arenas in the world.

Competitive woodchopping is a thing, and when you see it in person you appreciate incredible skill and power involved.  I think the event where they start building their own ladder up a log must the true highlight.  The show is a perfect event to bring overseas guests to.  You see enough weird and wonderful things that make up Australia and you can feed them.  It's the perfect combination.