Day 20 - Sydney Harbor

Theresa - We had a late start this morning because we have finally adjusted to Australia time (now that we only have about 10 days before we come home), and we finally got decent internet access. So we spent most of the morning blogging to catch things up.

Sydney's rail system was supposed to be pretty good, so we decided to purchase a rail pass instead of renting a car. We took the rail to the Circular Quay which is where the Sydney Bridge and Sydney Opera House is located. The Opera house is a magnificent sight from afar and even more beautiful up close. We decided that instead of taking a tour of the Opera house, we would try to see a production. Unfortunately, the tickets to Pericles (the only production we wanted to see that night) were sold out because it was opening night. The ticket box told us if we wanted to come back at 6:30, they might have no-show tickets to sell.

It was several hours before 6:30, so we walked around the Harbor and then took some ferry rides to see the Harbor from the water. Several of the travel books I read said the best way to view the Bridge and Opera House was to take lots of ferry rides which were included with our rail pass. The books were right. We rode several ferries and got to see the sun set over the bridge. With the cool air and then the breeze coming up from the moving ferry, it got cold standing outside the ferry, but we got some great pictures.




At 6:30, Pericles was still sold out. We figured our only chance to get tickets was to wait until closer to show time, so we came back around 7:15. Unlike the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, no one seemed to enter the theatre early. Everyone was in the lobby eating and enjoying some drinks until finally they started making curtain calls. We also couldn't find anyone scalping tickets either. Luckily, with Clint's keen eyes and attention to detail, he noticed a guy who had been standing around for a while. The guy went up to the ticket box and then left. Whopee!! He just returned two tickets which we immediately bought 5 minutes before showtime. The seats were excellent and we enjoyed the production of Percules. An abreviated version of the 3 hour show was that Pericles traveled the ocean and faced many obstacles. He was ready to give up at the end when his fortunes turned around. One of the things I liked the most was the music which was played on stage by members of the acting company.