We packed our bags as much as we could the night before since we needed checked bags outside our door at 7:30 a.m. We finished the packing and went to breakfast. Joyce finally has the hang of the toaster and we are leaving. The first day here she started a small fire in the toaster. The bread is placed in a sort of shoot and as the metal grid moves, the bread in fed into the toaster. Joyce didn't notice the bread didn't transfer to the moving grid until it was black in one corner. Not sure what to do, she moved it enough to have it begin moving through the toaster. As it came to the back, just before the bread dropped off the moving grid and into the shoot to send it back to the person wanting toast, she looked inside and the bread was on fire! Anyway, this day was uneventful in the toast department.
Neither of us were very hungry, so we stopped at Hungry Jack's just outside the CityRail station and got burgers to go. As we walked around a corner, we saw the Opera House ahead of us and the Sydney Harbour Bridget to the left across Circular Quay. Both were impressive. The walkway was lined with shops and sidewalk cafes. Large and small boats were coming and going. Alan went to the box office to pick up our tickets and Joyce sat on a bench with our dinner to watch the boats, people and seagulls.
"Suddenly Last Summer" was in the Drama Theater. When we entered the auditorium, it wasn't particularly noteworthy. The seats were comfortable, and the room was rather plain. Across the stage was a floor to ceiling white screen. We wondered if we were seeing a movie or a play. It turned out that we were seeing both.
This interpretation was an interesting mix of theater and video. Some of the action took place in front of us on the stage and in front of the screen. On one side was a small door and on the other was a small window. Behind the screen was set as a lush New Orleans garden, where most of the action took place. What was happening in the garden was then projected on the screen, courtesy of three video cameras that were in use in the back.
At one point, we learned that the stage had a huge turntable in the middle, and what was behind the screen came to the front, though the video on the screen continued. The story itself is at once strange, mysterious, outrageous, and genteel. The play is an extended one-act play. Joyce was not sure how she felt about it, but it still created discussion afterwards.
After the play Alan took stunning pictures of the Opera House at night. We browsed a couple souvenir shops and started back to the CityRail. Just outside the station we found a small gelato stand. We shared a Belgium Chocolate gelato which was absolutely delicious.
When we got back to the hotel, it was time to repack and get ready for the Sydney city tour tomorrow and then to board the Marina.
After breakfast we went to the lobby to use the internet to upload some pictures. The internet here hasn't worked reliably. The bus came, the luggage was loaded, people boarded the bus, with Alan the last one on in order to get as many pictures uploaded as possible. It was a bright, sunny day so the drive to Cairns was breathtakingly beautiful. To the left we saw the ocean, with several small islands and to the right the rain forest covered mountains.
Group check-in for the flight was a new experience. Our boarding passes were already printed and handed to us. The luggage was taken from the bus to the check-in counter by GoNext staff. When your name was called, you identified your luggage and the airport staff took it. We could get used to this! The flight was delayed to Joyce had some time to work on her Bible Study Fellowship lesson. When we boarded the flight we found we were seated in the same seats as our Sunday flight from Sydney to Cairns. This meant we had the same seatmates, but this time we knew them by sight and knew they were also on the GoNext tour. Alan and Joyce had aisle seats so we had pleasant conversation with the others in our respective rows.
We arrived in Sydney, glad we were not getting on a plane for a couple of weeks. We were met by Ann, our GoNext guide. Ann welcomed us and told us the local time was one hour ahead of Queensland were we had been. She then went on the say, "Queensland is an hour behind on the clock, and twenty years behind everything else."
Queensland certainly did seem laid back in comparison to the bustling city we drove through to get to our high rise, downtown hotel on Darling Harbour. Our room was spacious. By joining a travel club we received free WiFi and two bottles of water - a real Alan deal!
Alan was very interested in seeing a live production at the Sydney Opera House. He checked with the concierge and settled on a Tennessee Williams play, "Suddenly Last Summer". There were tickets to the opera, Madame Butterfly, available, but the cost was nearly $200 per ticket, and Alan was pretty sure he wasn't going to enjoy the experience enough for the both of us for that amount of money.
We took the Sydney CityRail two stops to the Circular Quay (Key) and then walked about 10 minutes to the Opera House. There were a few tense moments as we figured out how to get tickets and find the appropriate train. Those of you who know us well know that translates to Joyce was tense. :-)
We took the Sydney CityRail two stops to the Circular Quay (Key) and then walked about 10 minutes to the Opera House. There were a few tense moments as we figured out how to get tickets and find the appropriate train. Those of you who know us well know that translates to Joyce was tense. :-)
Neither of us were very hungry, so we stopped at Hungry Jack's just outside the CityRail station and got burgers to go. As we walked around a corner, we saw the Opera House ahead of us and the Sydney Harbour Bridget to the left across Circular Quay. Both were impressive. The walkway was lined with shops and sidewalk cafes. Large and small boats were coming and going. Alan went to the box office to pick up our tickets and Joyce sat on a bench with our dinner to watch the boats, people and seagulls.
"Suddenly Last Summer" was in the Drama Theater. When we entered the auditorium, it wasn't particularly noteworthy. The seats were comfortable, and the room was rather plain. Across the stage was a floor to ceiling white screen. We wondered if we were seeing a movie or a play. It turned out that we were seeing both. This interpretation was an interesting mix of theater and video. Some of the action took place in front of us on the stage and in front of the screen. On one side was a small door and on the other was a small window. Behind the screen was set as a lush New Orleans garden, where most of the action took place. What was happening in the garden was then projected on the screen, courtesy of three video cameras that were in use in the back.
At one point, we learned that the stage had a huge turntable in the middle, and what was behind the screen came to the front, though the video on the screen continued. The story itself is at once strange, mysterious, outrageous, and genteel. The play is an extended one-act play. Joyce was not sure how she felt about it, but it still created discussion afterwards.
After the play Alan took stunning pictures of the Opera House at night. We browsed a couple souvenir shops and started back to the CityRail. Just outside the station we found a small gelato stand. We shared a Belgium Chocolate gelato which was absolutely delicious.When we got back to the hotel, it was time to repack and get ready for the Sydney city tour tomorrow and then to board the Marina.
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