Opera House Feb 26

Three days for the admission of one (Feb 24-26)!
Friday was Helen’s last full day down-under. She visited Bondi Beach, the largest most famous public beach in Sydney. Lewis & Elsa took the ferry from Parramatta (1 hour on the River Cat) + 2 trains to reach us here for lunch. They checked out the condo before returning to Parramatta to freshen up. We have tickets tonight for the Sydney Opera House to hear Nigel Kennedy & Friends perform ‘Bach meets the Duke’ in the world famous Concert Hall. We 5 + approx 2700 others were entertained for 3 hours by 27 talented musicians + Nigel Kennedy, a spiky-haired British violinist, composer and arranger. Kennedy rose to fame in 1989 with his Vivaldi’s Four Seasons rendition and upset a lot of symphony purist with his punk look and cockney mannerism. His unconventional stage presence (and colourful language including the 4-letter f--- word) has moved classical music to a new genre. The Concert Hall is huge with great acoustics; no bad seats in the house. Thank goodness for our seats were in angel stairs territory, 4 rows from the back in the “circle”. After the performance we strolled back to the train at Circular Quay, soaking in the ambiance of Sydney Harbour, with the backdrop of the city lights and a near full moon hanging between the Harbour Bridge & the Opera House. A memorable experience.....
Thursday we met Lewis & Elsa at Circular Quay (their first full day here) for a ferry ride to Pyemont Bay & Sydney’s Fish Market. The Fish Market is a strange combination of commercial operations and tourist trap. One can purchase any type of fresh ocean product ........or eat it at a number of restaurants. We opted for fish & chips, splitting a 6-pack of beer at the wharf-side seating area (along with seagulls and obis). We then strolled through Star City (huge casino) and along the promenade in Darling Harbour. Avatar playing at the IMAX 3D, but at $27/seat we took a pass, at least for now. Helen used her day visiting the Chinese Garden (a must see), touring Chinatown and revisiting the downtown shopping area before meeting us back at the condo.... a day enjoyed to its fullest but tiring!
Wednesday we relaxed. Then around 4pm we walked around Paddington in the area bounded by Jersey, Queen and Oxford streets. This inner-city village is home to scores of intriguing boutiques, specialty shops and art galleries; rated as #1 scene to see and be seen in the Sydney art world. Queen St has a high-end quaint grouping of delis, butcheries, cafes, fruit & veggie stores. The pricing is borderline scary, especially the butchery e.g. steak $70/kilo, $20 small roasted chicken. Oxford St is the main shopping area with a mixture of designer stores, bars, groceries & restaurants. Local dress fashions, hand-crafted shoes, etc. are featured in boutiques dotted along leafy residential streets lined with old terrace houses (clad in cast iron railings similar to New Orleans) and reflect the suburb’s heritage as one of the earliest settled areas of Sydney. Thank you Bob for inviting us into your Condo and your neighbourhood...