It was to be a day let loose in Sydney and once again the sun shone and a clear blue sky greeted us as we waited for the bus into the city centre.
We had noticed the previous day that a shop in the city centre was undergoing a very quick make over. A hive of activity was going on and then all was revealed. The sign, quite simply, said One Direction. The shop was to be a merchandising emporium, a complete money making machine for Mr Cowell.
As soon as we got off the bus we could hear the screams. What an opportunity to see mass hysteria in action. As the noise increased we eventually found ourselves across the road from the Intercontinental Hotel.
The queues were forming, as the crowd of teenage girls looked up from where they were corralled to glimpse the boys peeping out of the penthouse windows. Tremendous ear shattering screams ripped through the air and quite a few girls were sobbing, why? don't ask me. After ten minutes of this, enough was enough and we walked down to the Quays and towards the Rocks.
Now the Rocks is a gentrified area of Sydney, it was once a run down, rat run, of small interconnecting streets that butted up the the docks. Plenty of guidebooks will relate how rough and ready this place really was, but now its full of quaint independent shops and bars with the ever present eateries.
The International Terminus, which is adjacent to the Rocks, is impressive and is even more so when a cruise liner is docked. We were lucky as a very large old style ship was in port.
After a good stroll around we headed back into the city to take in the Botanical Gardens for one last time. We sat on the grass and chilled, taking in the views down to the harbour and back up into the city. The high rise skyscrapers of the Business District flanked the area and seemed to enhance actual size of the buildings.
We walked down towards the harbour after deciding that this was the day we were to take in the Opera House tour. No matter how many times you view this structure you're always impressed. The tour provided was very informative and well run and took in both of the major auditoriums . We were fortunate to be able to watch a rehearsal for a ballet that was due to performed and it was delightful to see the principle dancer and ballerina going through the routines.
The internal structure of the building is unique and the actual supports for the building have that industrial look which confirms its skeleton is of a massive scale.
Two different views of the Opera House, plus the normal snapshot.
Great value for money and very impressive. Its something that will always last in our memories, its one thing to walk around it and cruise passed it, but to be inside the interior completes the experience.
Two minutes walk from the crowds around the Opera House and back into the park, the wildlife is just there on show.
The Ibis are a common sighting, they scavenge all over the parkland in quite large numbers, but its always good to see the Kookaburra, a personal favourite of ours. Good wildlife photos from me as well.
So there it was a day of contrasts, major sights taken in and the emergence of One Direction as a major music force in Australia. Well I know in ten years that the birds in the park will still be there, but the lads from Britain, ...........well............................ who knows.
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