Last Day in Sydney

I swear...of all the things I've ever lost I miss my mind the most!!  Well, I've not really lost my mind and just so my friends out there know this is not up for discussion.  However, this morning I was about ready to tear my hair out as I could not for the life of me find my pictures from our third day in Sydney.  I searched and searched through my external drive and found nothing.  But...yup there's a but here...when I opened up my Picasa program I spied an 'original file' that I did not remember setting up.  Opened it up...yup...there were the lost files of Sydney.  What a relief!!  Anyways...

Bondi Beach is one of the world's most famous beaches and is as much of a lifestyle choice as a place.  So after brekkie (breakfast) we were off to the infamous Bondi Beach. "Bondi" or "Boondi" is an Aboriginal word meaning water breaking over rocks or noise of water breaking over rocks. 

Everyone has probably heard of Bondi Beach and I was looking forward to seeing it.  We finally arrived at the beach and it was gorgeous. It was my first time walking on a beach and off we went.  The sand coming from the 'boardwalk' was deep and with a sore ankle a little painful to trod through but the closer we got to the surf the firmer the sand got.  There wasn't a ton of people at the beach but there were those out enjoying themselves and the sun was shining brightly as we walked up and down the beach...not once but several times.  It had been years since I last walked on a beach and at Bondi the frequency and intensity of the incoming waves was erratic though I didn't realize that.  Natalie had warned me I was gonna get hit by a wave and I don't think the words were barely out of her mouth and wham!  Yup...I was soaked halfway up my thighs.  At least it was warm outside and I wasn't going to run into these people again so who cared?!

After Bondi Beach we headed back to the wharf and the Sydney Opera House.  The first day in Sydney had been overcast and misty/rainy so we hadn't gone all the way over to Bennelong Point in the Sydney Harbor and now that it was a gorgeous day we were headed there. 

Planning for the Sydney Opera House started in the late 1940s.  A design competition was finally started in 1955 and the winner, Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect, was announced in 1957.  According to legend the Utzon design was rescued from a final cut of 30 'rejects' by the noted Finnish architect Eero Saarinen. 

The Fort Macquarie Tram depot, occupying the site at the time of these plans, was demolished in 1958 and formal construction of the Opera House began in March 1959. The project was built in three stages. Stage I (1959–1963) consisted of building the upper podium. Stage II (1963–1967) saw the construction of the outer shells. Stage III (1967–1973) consisted of the interior design and construction.  Queen Elizabeth was at the official opening of the Sydney Opera House on October 20, 1973.

I decided to tour the Sydney Opera House and it was absolutely amazing inside and the structure itself is so unique it has been labeled the Eighth Wonder of Post-1900 creations.  I guess I would agree with that...it is just amazing but if you go be prepared for steps, steps and more steps.  It became a bit of a joke towards the end of my visit how much I 'loved' to do steps...NOT!!  Oh, as for Natalie, she kicked back and got some sun while I was on the tour...a bit too much sun as she did get a bit of a sunburn...I did too from Bondi Beach but didn't quite glow like she did that night.

Now...herever you are...have a great day!!

If you would like to see more pictures taken throughout Sydney here is a link to that photo album on Picasa:  Play slideshow