scintillating - adj. - sparkling, brilliant
Although I featured it in an early blog from 2021, I could not think of a more appropriate word than scintillating to describe the Coral Princess's most recent destination, Sydney, Australia. Luckily, the ship got a great parking spot at a dock nestled between the famed opera house and the upbeat, quaint section of the city known as the Rocks so that I could have toured by foot.
However, I opted for the hop on, hop off bus, the red and blue lines, that took many of us on a complete tour of the entire city in about three hours time. Prerecorded information was conveyed to us via a set of ear buds. I enjoyed a seat on the second floor of the convertible, double-decker bus. As it was quite warm and humid, the constant breeze made for a comfortable ride. Two facts that stayed with me were that Sydney, a combination of Vancouver, London, Boston, and maybe even L.A., is young, having been established by British convicts in 1788. The second was that Bondi Beach, a destination for surfers, was one of the first to utilize lifeguards regularly. Oddly enough, I saw two homeless people about two miles apart who, compared to those in L.A., seemed to be living quite well on the sidewalks with their clean, white sheets, queen-sized mattresses, and "gated" rooms made by well-organized crates.
After the bus tour, I explored the opera house but was unable to score a ticket for a tour of the interior spaces as they were sold out. However, based on what I observed inside the box office area (and on the internet), I'd say the space is very similar to the Disney Center in Los Angeles. The woodwork looks to be about the same although the architecture of the Sydney Opera House is more original, modern, like a piece of modern art. It is, to say the least, sculptural. To me, an opera house should be elegant, but as there are so many performance spaces in the Sydney, I'd say that it is much more of a performing arts center than a traditional opera house. The exterior and interior designs are appropriately rustic given the nature of Australia itself.
After strolling around the botanical gardens and wharf area, I headed into the modern art museum to witness some inexplicable art installations. One included footage of O.J. Simpson's white Broncho, a closeup of his face after hearing his acquittal, and Kim Kardashian revealing her mother's grief over the loss of her best friend, Nicole Simpson. What the artist was trying to convey via the medium of video was beyond me, but I was impressed to see a portion of Los Angeles history in Australia.
One last standout had to do with the wildlife in scintillating Sydney. Amidst the packs of uniformed secondary school children lined up on lawns awaiting tours were flocks of wild, black and white ibises and white cockatiels. At that moment, I was reminded that the species of creatures are very different from what we have in the Western Hemisphere. Maybe before leaving Australia, I'll have to visit a zoo so that I can see kangaroos and koalas.
Next stop? Burnie, Tasmania. Until then, good day, mates!
#Sydney, #Australia, #blog, #blogger, #travel
