Down Under in Sydney

I traveled to Australia this past summer for a month. During that time I spent about two weeks in Sydney. I was really there to attend World Youth Day, the largest Catholic youth gathering in the world. During my time in Australia I was able to see some amazing things including koalas, kangaroos, the beautiful Sydney harbor, and of course Pope Benedict XVI. My three top favorite spots in Sydney were the Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay (pronounced key) and Darling Harbor, and St. Mary's Cathedral. These three can't be missed!

The Sydney Opera House was one of the most interesting structures I have ever seen. The story goes that when thinking of constructing an opera house a committee selected the sight for the opera house and named it after an Aborgine who was born on the sight and the first to speak English, Bennelong Point. The committee then set up a international competition for architects to submit their idea of what the opera house would look like. Danish architect, Jorn Utzon won the contest in January of 1957. Construction was only expected to take four years but was not completed until 1973. For more check out a sight all about the history of this amazing building at http://www.gids.nl/sydney/opera.html.

Tours and countless shows are available at http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/. Tours can be slightly expensive at $35 just to look around a building for an hour but it is definitely worth it. Plus you can get a reduced price if you order online!

During my tour I was able to see three of the five main performances areas. These are the Concert Hall, Opera Theatre, the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse, and the Studio. We were able to see the Drama Theatre, located below the two main halls. Then we journeyed upstairs to view the Concert Hall. The hall has 2,678 seats and excellent acoustics. Here I was able to hear the orchestra play. Then I viewed the Opera Theatre. This is the smaller of the two main performance halls. It only contains 1,547 seats. Here I saw a set change for "Our Fair Lady" being set up. In this theatre the set crew has to change the area with the aide of an elevator since both large halls do not have much backstage space. Unfortunately I have no pictures of the inside of this amazing structure since my tour was not allowed to take pictures.

Circular Quay and Darling Harbor is the place for shopping, food, cruise and ferry rides, and fun. While in Syndey I took the Coffee Cruise on the Syndey 2000 with Captain Cook Cruises to view the Syndey Harbor and famous bridge. Captain Cook Cruises offers several other cruises as well at http://www.captaincook.com.au/. It was very pretty. I also took a ferry through the harbor to a cute shopping district on the other side of the bridge. The ferry is the cheapest way to see the harbor since it is part of the public transportation system.

St. Mary's Cathedral was very beautiful inside and out. It had a gorgeous picture of the Virgin Mary or as they call her down under, Our Lady of the Southern Cross. The Southern Cross refers to a star constellation that you can only see in that part of the world. And you guessed it, its in the shape of a cross.

In a few days I'll take you a little further inside Syndey's culture with what they wear, where they shop, how expensive things are, and a quick peak into China Town.