This is my "catch up" blog. The average cost for "free" internet in these hotels I'm staying in is about $0.55/minute so you'll pardon me if I'm a little hasty.
Right now I am in the Hilton in beautiful downtown Brisbane, Australia in Queensland. The Australian Open is on the telley, the wife is sleeping until 11:00 pm when she can finally order late-nite room service, and I am fighting a losing battle to upload photos from my camera onto my laptop. So no photos just yet, dear readers. Sorry.
As for the rest of our time in Sydney, let me rattle off our events since last we spoke:
We spent the last couple of days really relaxing. We spent a day at Bondi beach where I got my first sunburn since I was 16 or so swimming in crystal clear water with nice breaking waves and a bazillion other people all clamoring to soak in the sun. But surprisingly, there seemed to be plenty of room for everyone. We ate dinner on top of Ribisi's, a swaaaaaannnnk bar that overlooks the beach. We got the recommendation from an Aussie girl named Penny we met on the plane ride down here. Thanks, Penny. Great recommendation. The day after that, we spent cruising around the Sydney Aquarium and the Sydney Wildlife World. The Aquarium was pretty cool for the underwater tube walk through shark infested waters.
The Wildlife World was where it was at though: home of the largest living crocodile in captivity. 700 kg. 5 meters long. Only 30 years old so it's still growing. This thing makes you realize how primitive man could consider such a creature a god. It was... massive. I took a photo with my iPhone but it doesn't do it justice.
Oh hey! I forgot to mention; I witnessed my very first religious persecution rally held right here in the center of the CBD. The coptic christians were wanting freedom. And when did they want it? Now, of course. I don't know what a coptic christian is so feel free to google them. I'll do the same and we can compare notes. Needless to say, that was pretty interesting to wake up to.
What else, what else..... hmmm.... oh yeah! We went and saw the Sydney Opera House.
You've all seen the Opera House on postcards and in magazines and the like. It's absolutely nothing like that in person. When you walk down the street and see it in the distance, it doesn't seem real. In fact, it seems like it's still posing for that postcard photo. But when you actually stand in its shadow and soak in the fact that you are in the shadow of a living heritage list site, it can truly blow you away. The inside is like every drama kids' wet dream come true. The main hall is breathtaking. I wish I could show you pictures but they are very strict about copyright laws so no photography is allowed. Again, google the interior if you feel so inclined. Now imagine a stage that is so interchangeable and malleable that they were actually able to fill the bottom floor with living trees, fill the hall with smoke machines, and turn the hall into a real life forest for peole to walk around and get lost in. As a former drama kid myself, the possibilities of what you can do with a stage like that begs for a script to be written, a monologue to be recited. It was phenomenal.
I'm literally running out of adjectives to describe my experience in Sydney. I wish I could take each and every person I know there to experience it for themselves. It's been a truly fascinating and awe-inspiring trip to a city that defies description. And I didn't even get to see all of it! I've lost count of how many times I've started a sentence with the words, "The next time we come back here..." because it's true: I WILL be back here. How could I ever stay away?
-d@n
No comments:
Post a Comment