Sydney Part 3: Opera House and Botanic Gardens

Whoa - it's been a while since I last updated this space! Well - today I've got quite a long post to share.

One tick off my bucket list - I visited the Sydney Opera House - finally! I've always wanted to visit this beautiful landmark (mainly because of my strong ties to music of course)...and when I was in Sydney, this was the main highlight of my trip.

Some views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the surrounding areas, as we walked along Circular Quay to the Sydney Opera House. Our hotel was very near the Sydney Opera House - and that was a bonus indeed.

We took a walk around the building before we headed inside (the building was built on Bennelong Point) - and that gave me lots of photo ops of the Opera House from the north side. One day I'll come back to Sydney to catch a classical music performance in the Sydney Opera House! Oh yes - and one of the performances was in the Joan Sutherland Theatre. Needless to say I had to have a picture of that bit!

Some fun Opera House shots - I just winged it and went all out. Also - some pics of the detailing on the roofs. The glazed ceramic tiles were arranged strategically - and so uniformly - I had to zoom in to get a picture of the details.

The Sydney Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon (who won a competition with his groundbreaking design), and was constructed between 1959 and 1973. The shell ribs created a massive challenge - as people were cracking their brains to figure out how to make that possible. If I'm not mistaken, there was a major breakthrough when they realised that the shells could be conceptualised as fragments from a sphere. Lots of effort put in to make Jorn Utzon's dream come true, including cutting edge technology, plenty of funding...and plenty of planning. By the time it was opened, Jorn Utzon had left (he resigned from the project in 1966) - and ironically he wasn't invited for the Opening Ceremony. However, he is still honoured as one of the best architects of all time. And today - the Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic buildings in the world.

How the Opera House was constructed - using the concept of a sphere. Pretty amazing! This probably sums up the major breakthrough that made construction of this beautiful icon possible.

When I saw the words 'Joan Sutherland Theatre' - I knew I HAD to do the opera house tour. And so I did! And yes - I did get to go into the Joan Sutherland Theatre - that was the best part of the tour.

Of course I had to take a pic of this portrait of Dame Joan Sutherland - on the way to the Joan Sutherland Theatre! Dame Joan Sutherland's one of my idols - and she is definitely my favourite bel canto opera singers. Her voice is just...legendary. And her repertoire? Well - the word 'impressive' is an understatement. She is just amazing - and lives up to her title of La Stupenda!

Views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and part of the Opera House from near the Joan Sutherland Theatre. We did go into the Joan Sutherland Theatre too - and at that time a set had been constructed for a performance. Also - Dame Joan Sutherland herself actually sang in that theatre! She retired in 1990 - the year I was born, so I have never seen her live. But I know of people who idolise her AND have seen her live - gosh I am jealous of them! One of my friends is also a big fan of Dame Joan Sutherland, and her mum is an even bigger fan. According to my friend's mum, she wrote a fan letter to Dame Joan Sutherland, and Dame Joan Sutherland replied! How cool is that?

The interior design of the Opera House - check out the details! The first two pics were taken outside the Joan Sutherland Theatre, while the others were taken along the way while we walked through the building.

The construction of the Opera House was an epic feat, and it required plenty of planning, creativity and of course, time. We did manage to see the main concert hall too, and that's been voted one of the most beautiful concert halls in the world, alongside a number of others. I'm so glad I managed to take the tour of the Opera House - and I purchased some souvenir pictures myself too!

As I went up the stairs to the Sydney Botanic Gardens, I took these pics of the Opera House.

The Government House of New South Wales, opened in 1845. I heard the inside's really nice - but because it was the Easter weekend, the grounds were closed. I managed to get a picture of it from the main gates. Perhaps another visit to Sydney might be a good plan!

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music - of course I had to visit this place! One of the top music schools in Australia - and also a place I wanted to do research in. My chemistry tutor from junior college did tell me about this place - and I immediately put this on the top of my list.

Some of the heritage buildings I spotted in the precinct - if I remember correctly, one's a hotel, and another's a government building.

The Intercontinental Hotel - together with a bar not too far away.

The Justice and Police Museum - another place I hope to visit in the future.

Government buildings side by side - one of them houses the Department of Education. The other one has sculptures of historical figures on its facade. These buildings weren't too far away from the hotel we were staying in.

I also passed by the Museum of Sydney (different from the Australia Museum - which houses a different collection altogether). The Museum of Sydney is built on the ruins of the first Governor of New South Wales, and preserves the archaeological remains of Sydney's history. I hope to go back to Sydney to visit this place - we didn't have time to visit it this trip.

Spotted this sculpture on the way into the Botanic Gardens. The Conservatorium of Music can be seen vaguely behind the sculpture.

Rose Garden in the Botanic Gardens - our first stop. I think I went completely overboard when I saw all the beautiful roses around. Also - it had rained the day before, and the roses were pretty fresh! I've definitely included lots of pics of the roses here. Look at all the beautiful colours! I don't really have a 'favourite type of rose', though light pink is definitely my favourite colour when it comes to roses. I love to be around rose gardens - the scent is just amazing...and I get to take lots of pics of course.

I went to Araluen Botanic Gardens around 2 weeks ago, but unfortunately there weren't roses around. Apparently roses will start blooming again sometime in October - time for me to make more trips to that area in the near future!

Some of the sculptures around the Botanic Gardens. Pretty interesting! We also spotted a beautiful fountain near one of the exits, and also passed by a couple of greenhouses. The variety of plants in the Botanic Gardens was pretty impressive. I focused a lot on the roses though - those were so beautiful.

One of the gates of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney. We exited the Gardens for a bit, before entering through another gate.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales - not too far away from the gates. We didn't have time to go there, but I managed to capture a few pictures of it.

Back into the Botanic Gardens again, where we enjoyed views of the harbour. From here we could see the skyscrapers of the CBD, Point Macquarie and a few other islands (Fort Denison included) in the harbour. It was nearing sunset by then - and the Gardens were closing, so we had to move on pretty quickly. Fortunately I managed to get all the photos I wanted, before dinnertime.

And that's it for today's super long post! I'll be posting more Sydney photos in the future! Stay tuned! Meanwhile - back to PhD-related work...