Sydney- The Opera House

Our trip to Sydney was great! I think a large part of it was being in a service apartment rather than a one room hotel. We stayed at the Medina Grand Harbourside right across the street from Darling Harbour. In the picture below I made an arrow pointing to our hotel. We had a separate bedroom for Toby and I, and then we had a dining table, lounge area and a kitchen. It was great. Toby and I could actually stay up and read or watch TV with the light on while the girls were sleeping. Plus we had room to spread out. This made everyone happy.

I brought cereal for us for the mornings and after we arrived we were able to go to a supermarket and get some basics. I found out after we got there that you could have them do your shopping for you so it would be all set for when you arrive. Very cool.

Our hotel was also in a good location. We were right next to the Aquarium, Wildlife World, the Maritime Museum, a ferry stop, and a bunch of restaurants. Plus we were walking distance from a train station and other attractions. (do I sound like an ad?)

On our first day we decided to take the ferry to the Opera House and explore the area around Circular Quay.

Us on the ferry with the Harbour Bridge in the background. (A is in the carrier- asleep). The Opera House and the Harbour Bridge (I took a lot of pictures of these structures. They looked different depending on the light... I'm becoming a photo geek)

A close up of the tiles on the outside of the Opera House.

We decided to take a tour of the inside. It was a very informative tour and it was cool to see the inside of such a famous structure.

We got a lot of information but here are some of the basic I remember:

• It was designed by Jorn Utson who didn't have specifics on how it was going to be built- just a sketch. It was originally rejected


• It was supposed to take about 3 years and cost 7 million dollar but instead took 14 years and cost 102 million


• It was paid off in 18 months with a lottery- the lottery was one by the richest man in Australia at the time


• Utson wanted all exposed material - unstained wood, rock floors, exposed concrete etc.


• Utson left the project and never saw it completed


• You can tell what was under Utson's design and how they changed it by what the material looks like -carpet, stained wood etc.


• They didn't know how they were going to construct the "sails" even as the foundation was nearing completion.


• The tiles used on the outside are self-cleaning- things don't stick to them.

There are some of your fun facts :) It was pretty darn cool.