Sydney - The Last Full Day & On Our Way Home

It looks as if the master plan, devised over months of hard work, has been brought to a successful conclusion. This portion is being written on the plane as we prepare to leave Sydney.{and posted on the return to New York}

On the last full day we again went through the Botanical Gardens on our way to the shopping arcades of central Sydney. Once again we saw the cheeky cockatoos and some horticultural extravagances. Emma managed to find yoga pants at David Jones department store but nothing was found at the famous Strand Arcade aside from its antique beauty.

Note: I can boast that I made it through two weeks in New Zealand and five weeks in Australia without a single dollar in my pocket. Emma handled the money and all transactions, thus insuring there was no carelessness in financial matters.

The day finished with a stunning preview performance of Brecht's "Arturo Ui." It was mesmerizing both in the acting and the production. Hugo Weaving, one of Australia's leading actors, who I recall as Agent Smith in "The Matrix" and Elron in "Lord of the Rings,"played Arturo UI.

The staging was noteworthy because it combined conventional stage performance with live video taken by four cameramen moving about on stage and projected on a large screen at the back of the stage. The details shown by the video closeups greatly enhanced the dramatic effect.

Locations in green, hotels in orange, flights with NZ or QF prefix, some restaurants circled.

Except for taking one day away from Bundaberg and adding it to Sydney in the last week, we kept to our original plan.

This does not do justice to the flower displays. They were still in summer bloom. Intermittent showers did not interfere.

The cockatoo's yellow crest has many feathers which can make a splendid display but usually look like a single horn.

This wall used plants to beautifully spell "pollination," the theme of a special exhibit.

Magnificent tree.

The Strand Arcade

Civilized touch: Construction site has screening printed with plant imagery. We saw this practice in many places.

Some products provide the frisson of eating shit with Australian ecological connections. I can confirm the accuracy of the shape of the kangaroo poo and the koala poo because we saw them on some of our hikes.

Souvenirs

The cast takes a bow after an electrifying performance of Brecht's "Arturo Ui." It's full title is "The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui." It was Brecht's 1941 depiction of Hitler's rise in the tale of a vicious, charismatic gangster taking over the vegetable trade in two cities.

Final view of the opera house on the walk back from the theater.

For the last breakfast in Sydney I eliminated the chorizos, the cheese, the avocado and the tomatoes. I just had scrambled eggs (to which I added baby capers) toast and baked beans. In addition I had honeycomb, kiwi fruit and lychee.

The Sydney airport, like many others, has been turned into a shopping mall obstacle course. I saw some monks practicing the contemporary version of Buddhism at a souvenir shop.