Australia; Day 2 - July 5, 2001 - Opera house, Home Bush Bay Mall, Olympic Stadium
Landscape of the Opera house and Harbor Bridge
Opera house
We took the tour of the opera house today. We got to go backstage and see the scenery and sets.
We saw:
The Play House
Concert Hall
Opera Theatre
The Play House was like a college lecture room. It was much smaller then the Concert Hall and Opera Theatre, but it has a stage shaped as a big circle so it can spin to do change scenes.
The top and sides of the inside of the Opera house rooms are made of wood to get sensational acoustics.
The Opera Theatre had an orchestra pit. Did you know that the seats high on the side walls are the cheapest seats? I didn’t. It’s because you can't see the stage very well, but wealthier people used to buy the seats because other people see them. They are the "not to see, but to be seen" seats.
The Concert Hall was the best. It was huge! The stage was big and was risen from the floor with seats going all around it in a big circle. There was a giant organ in the wall with pipes of all sizes. Above the stage were plastic circles and rings to help with the acoustics by relaying the sound vibration into the audience.
I wish we could have seen a play there, but everything was sold out. Too bad. If I ever go back again it’s something on my list to do.
Me and Airam in front of bridge & opera house
Home Bush Bay Mall
After the opera house we went to the Home Bush Bay Mall. I was surprised that many of the stores carried the same products as back home (but at different prices). Almost all the stores had stuffed koalas and kangaroos as well as aboriginal trinkets and boomerangs. To my surprise there were many different nationalities of people here. We saw asians, blacks, hispanics, and whites all working together. It was just like back home, but with a British accent. There was a nut shop that made the whole area smell like roasted nuts.
For lunch I had minced meat pie, it was difficult to eat with a fork - the way the business people were eating it - so I ate it like a sandwich, which was way easier. The french fries "chips" were very salty. I think people here like salt a lot.
Olympic Stadium (2000 games)
Photo of the stadium from the outside
After lunch we proceeded to the Olympic Stadium of the 2000 summer games. "Stadium Australia" is going through some very big changes. they have taken the running track out and made it all grass for rugby and cricket. It looked a lot different when it was on TV for the Olympics. We got to go down to the changing rooms. here they still had the winner's podium from the Olympics - with the bronze silver and gold stands.
Then we went to the Sydney Super Dome. The guide said they had motor cross and bull riding here as well as opera singers and other entertainment. It was impressive. The first level of seats folded up under the stage to make room for different show's needs. The basketball court is assembled like a puzzle with the floor being different pieces for easier storage. The floor of the dome has a mural on it so as you walk through the spectator areas you see different pictures. I think this was my favorite part of the Dome.