Sydney 2

First came the Rocks, an old neighborhood of Sydney with some narrow lanes, small shops with some temptations, ibises with the nerve of city pigeons and disappointing aboriginal art. Then, Surrey Hills, a somewhat tony section with a store that sold me a t-shirt printed with koi fish and wrapped it in the Japanese style. Next the Victoria Building, a fancy shopping mall with a piano player playing classical music and some odd shops aside from the usual suspects. Late lunch at the Fish Market before returning for the by-now regular late afternoon nap. Finished the day with a lavish, first-class performance of La Traviata at the very impressive and civilized Sydney Opera House. The Australian soprano Nicole Carr gave a wonderful performance as Violetta.

Lane in the Rocks section of Sydney.

I could see myself in this.

Urban ibis

Aboriginal craft store, alas, no better than MOMA's application of Matisse to coffee mugs.

Old and new in the Rocks

Old

More old and new.

How a t-shirt is wrapped in a shop in the Surrey Hills section of Sydney.

A luxurious shopping mall is inside the Victoria Building in central Sydney

Impressive, complicated clock. Three levels of shops, cafes and restaurants.

Clock detail with scenes from Australian history and ship moving around notable bays.

Mosaic tile floors

Glass dome.

Store selling exquisitely detailed toy soldiers, each in the multi-hundred dollar range. This window displayed the 1917 charge of the Australian Light Horse against the Turks at Beersheva, Palestine.

Live classical music of a high quality.

Stained glass window

This represents the lunch we had at the Sydney Fish Market

Two Divas

Upper bar at Sydney Opera House with wonderful panoramic view of the harbor.

Pre-opera drinks were enhanced (aside from the Japanese snacks thoughtfully provided by Emma) by the departure of a cruise boat.

The opera bar has a very accommodating procedure by which you can start a bottle before the opera and finish it during an intermission - or "interval" as they say here.

For early arrivals the opera also has a photographer offering free photos and posting them on line for you to download.