Sydney

It had been an intense several days in Bali - the scary night of the Ogoh-ogoh monsters, the restrictions of the Nyepi day of silence, packing up all our belongings for the move to the new house, and saying goodbye to Sanctuary and to Wayan, whom the girls had grown very fond of.   We were ready for a change of scene and looking forward to our spring break trip to Australia.  The day after Nyepi we boarded the overnight flight to Sydney.

We arrived tired from a night without sleep, but eager to explore.  We stayed in a boutique hotel a couple of blocks from the Sydney harbor and from the Opera House and across the street from a large park and botanical garden.

Our first excursion was to hop the ferry across the harbor to Manley, a beach-side town a half-hour ferry ride from downtown Sydney.  The ferry ride provided a great view of the Sydney Opera House and the harbor and fresh air to keep us awake.  We strolled the few blocks from the ferry depot to the wide, expansive beach, past a college jazz band putting on an open air performance, and farmers giving away as samples a tractor-trailer full load of tinned beetroot - apparently "you've never had a hamburger until you've had one with a slice of beetroot."  I haven't yet confirmed whether this is true.  After a delicious breakfast in an organic cafe, we took the ferry back and checked into our room.

on the ferry

After a brief rest, we headed back down to the harbor for dinner at a harborside restaurant.  It was a pleasant evening, the harbor bridge was in the background, and the view of the harbor was great.  It felt good to be back to a familiar Western environment, comfortingly similar to DC yet with much that was new for us to explore.

We spent the rest of our time in Sydney exploring the museums, the parks and the various neighborhoods.  One day we visited the Powerhouse museum (Harry Potter exhibit! Wiggles exhibit! (the only three guys in an early childhood development course start a band and become gagillionaires), many cool science exhibits).   We strolled through the Chinese Friendship garden, an oasis of beauty and harmony in the center of the city.  The kids then played on a big outdoor playground.

at the Powerhouse museum

we ate lunch in the atrium of a trade union building

the Chinese Friendship Garden

a fun spot for taking photos

loving the robes

The next day we walked from our hotel through the botanical gardens, past informal games of rugby, an exercise boot camp for office workers, and many professionals stretched out on the grass enjoying their lunch.  We made it to the Grand Synagogue just in time to join a tour with a group of schoolkids only to be told that it was a private tour and that the synagogue was only open to the public two days a week at noon (too late for us to visit) so that was a disappointment.

We continued on to the Australian museum.  It had an exhibit about the Aboriginals that revealed the horrible treatment they had suffered until quite recent times at the hands of the Europeans, including massacres and the mass stealing of children from their parents for "civilized re-education" in large boarding houses.  For a community that depends on passing the culture orally from one generation to the next, this stealing of the next generation came close to destroying their culture.  That policy was only officially ended in 1969.

The Australian government has now officially apologized to the Aboriginals.  Australia is belatedly learning to treasure and celebrate Aboriginal culture.  Galleries of aboriginal art were everywhere we traveled in Australia.  The risk now appears to tend in the other direction, destroying Aboriginal culture by co-opting it into Western consumer culture.

There are efforts to maintain the integrity of the Aboriginal cultural vision.  In Brisbane, the large, public museum (gallery) of modern art had an extensive exhibit of modern Aboriginal art that showcased a blending of traditional and contemporary artistic approaches.  Our last evening in Sydney, after a tour of the Opera House, we happened upon on outdoor performance of aboriginal dances.  It was apparently the first time that a performance of aboriginal dance had taken place on the grounds of the Opera House.  It seemed to be an emotional moment for the Aboriginal speakers to have their culture recognized and appreciated at the symbolic center of high culture in Australia.

The Australian museum also engaged the girls with exhibits of dinosaurs and one of the best collections of minerals and gems in the world.  Charlotte in particular was intrigued by the varied colors and shapes that the earth could produce.

in the botanical garden

strolling through the park

Alexa meets her match

a display from the mineral exhibit

Our last day we visited the aquarium where the highlights were underwater tunnels where we watched large sharks and rays swam overhead, and immense Lego constructions of sea creatures and other nautical themes.  The Legos may have been the bigger hit.

Charlotte and sharks

fortunately not taken in open water

they grow 'em big in Australia

wall art courtesy of Lego (tm)

detail of the Moby Dick mural

In the late afternoon we returned to the Opera House for a guided tour.  We learned how the winning plans were rescued from the discard pile by the late arriving judge Eero Saarinen, and how the challenges of building the seemingly impossible design added years to the project and caused monumental cost overruns.  The famous scalloped outer shells are separate from the interior.  We enjoyed walking through the building where the angles and perspective keep shifting, so it appears that a new building is constantly taking shape in front of you.  After the tour ended we stayed on to watch an aboriginal dance performance.

you can walk the top of the bridge - you can barely make out some people walking the bridge

showing the two toned color tiles

there were a mix of Westerners and aboriginals performing the dances

The main negative shock of visiting Sydney was how expensive it is.  That the Australian dollar, normally worth much less than the US dollar, is now worth more, didn't help.

Having become accustomed to the modest prices of entrees in even the nicer tourist restaurants in Bali, we weren't prepared for prices that were nearly ten times higher in Sydney.  In Ubud, a nice-quality Margharita pizza will set you back $2-$3.  In Sydney, a similar pizza is $22.  Cab rides of a few blocks were $10.  A small side bowl of strawberries at breakfast cost $8. 

Other than the high prices, we found Sydney to be a very liveable city that offers a rich civic life.  The city clearly makes a priority of investing to make it appealing for both residents and visitors. 

Photos:  Lynn and Nat