Sydney's Circular Quay.

After some prior plans fell through, I found myself sailing into Sydney with no idea of what I was going to do. I usually like to find some place of interest or some restaurant or SOMETHING to check out when I get into a new port. Today however, I had nothing. I had no idea of what to do in a huge city like Sydney. I figured I’d just get off the ship, keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. I packed my camera, grabbed some cash and headed out.

            As soon as I got off the ship, I saw the impressive skyline. A metropolis city with gigantic glass buildings, and a train that wraps around them like a toy locomotive around a Christmas tree. I found the luck I was looking for. The ship was docked in an area called the Circular Quay, which is actually the train station but the whole area is filled with restaurants, ferry rides, street performers and artists. On the one side of the harbor, you have the Sydney Opera House. On the other you have an area that is called “The Rocks” which is a European influenced neighborhood that has plenty of shops, restaurants and nightlife that attracts the youth of Sydney and tourists a like.

Sydney skyline.

To my immediate right I had the Museum of Contemporary Art in a modern style building with some cubism influences. On the front lawn area of the museum, they had what looked like a 40 foot stainless steel contact lens. It was tilted upward so that the lens could reflect the sky above it. Today, being an overcast day, it reflected a greyish color that really made no enhancement in the piece. I could imagine though, on a sunnier day, it could reflect a blue-ish color that could give the piece more of an impact.

Museum of Contemporary Art.

Walking further along I found some street performers. This one in particular, was some aboriginal tribes men singing some music to a pre-recorded CD and in nothing more than loin cloths. They had their bodies painted with crude, primitive designs that they had done themselves. The artwork appeared to be of some aboriginal significance but I couldn’t tell either way. It’s not like I’m an expert on the subject or something.

After hanging with the Aboriginals for a while I decided to walk on. Walking past the very congested ferry terminal, I managed to squeeze by and make it to the next area that was mostly high-end shops and restaurants. It was a nice area to be in and the outside seating for the restaurants gave me a little peek on what each one was like. Very important looking people in suits drinking wine and eating bread on white cloth covered tables. A more glamorous insight into the local Sydney lifestyle.

The Abo's.

The further I walked, the closer I could see I was getting to the Sydney Opera House. I decided to get cut to the chase and head straight there. After walking past some more street performers and stores, I get to the opera house. To get the front doors, you have to walk approximately fifty million tiny stairs to get there. The stairs were small enough where taking one at a time seemed like it would take a life time but skipping by two’s was just awkward enough where you didn’t want to risk an embarrassing fall. So I decided to just jog up the stairs so it didn’t take forever. Running up there made me feel like Rocky in the Rocky I and when I got to the top, I almost raised my fists in the air but decided not to as there was probably a hundred people around me who would probably think I was crazy.

The Opera House was closed because it was Good Friday so I was unable to get inside. The outside though was still impressive. These giant oblong arches that stuck out in seemingly random directions. The arches were massive and stood maybe a hundred feet high. They were so large that I had to go half way down the steps again just to get a decent picture of them. They had stained glass inside the arched that reflected the light from the dark luminous sky above it.

The dark Sydney Opera House.

Getting a few photos of the opera house in, I headed back. Along the way, I saw an artist drawing on a massive canvas on the ground. He was using pastels and creating a religious piece that was impressive. He had a small group of people crowded around him. He had a sign next to him that basically said that he does this for free. He doesn’t sell his works but donates them to charitable organizations. He only asks for tips to supply him with his materials so that he can keep creating his art. Whether it was a B.S. story or not, I wasn’t sure, but he was talented to I put whatever spare change I had in my pockets and put it in the tip basket in support.

Walking by the Museum of Contemporary Art again, I found myself back to the sip. The street life here in the Circular Quay area was exciting to participate in. It reminded me of the promenade in Santa Monica but with an Aussie twist to it. I would of liked to spend a week there just hanging out and trying all the shops and restaurants; but that’s just nature of my job. You only get the time you get where ever you may be. Who knows, I may be back another time. If I do, I will be more prepared and I’ll at least know there will be something to do at the Circular Quay.                   -DB

The "stainless steel contact lens"