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Kangaroos are Not Kosher - Howie & Debbie Down Under

A Night at the Opera Oct 16, 2009

Friday October 16 – Sydney

A Night at the Opera

10 sails. 25 yrs. in the making from conception to opening; 11 of them fighting over the design; the other 14 of them actually building it. A Norwegian architect who came up with the idea; quit the project 9 yrs. from completion; and then agreed to come back 26 yrs. later to oversee renovations. The No. 1 most visited place and photographed place in all of Oz. Yes, I’m of course speaking of “the Pyramids” (you know I refuse to call it by name any further).

Groucho and I paid it a visit tonight. But that’s tonight. Let’s deal with today first.

Yesterday was spent looking at things that want to disembowel you on land. This morning we visited the Aquarium in Darling Harbour to check out the ways we can be fatally poisoned or eaten alive while innocently swimming in the various waters inland and offshore. Perhaps even in the rooftop pool, I don’t know, these creatures are apparently everywhere!

And it’s not like they play down the idea either. Every 10 steps there’s another tank of water with a skull & crossbones label plastered on it and a big yellow sign reading “Certain death”. Don’t believe me? Check out the accompanying photo.

Blue-ringed octopus; Stone fish; Cone snail; Shark, Shark, Shark; Saltwater crocodile; Freshwater crocodile; Mostly salty but somewhat fresh water crocodile; ‘nother Shark; Manta Ray (but only if the stinger gets you right in the heart – yeah, tell that to Steve Irwin!).

I was brave, however, and stuck my hand right into the kiddy ‘hands-on’ tidal pool exhibit; touching all the little bitty things that were in there. It only took the little kid next to me 10 minutes to convince me to do it. I survived.

Debbie has developed a fascination with the crocodiles. I think she sees her chance to do me in. “I don’t know what happened, officer. One moment he was there next to me leaning over the railing and the next thing I know, I gave him a gentle nudge and, oops, he’s overboard and in the middle of a death roll with a saltie!” I plan on sitting in the middle of all boats to thwart her nefarious scheme.

We shared our fish & chips takeaway lunch with the seagulls on the dock. They are patient and will not swoop to snatch a stray French Fry until they are certain you are not looking directly at them. Never look directly at them; it only makes them mad.

Pat & I visited the National Maritime Museum while Debbie & Elaine broke loose for a visit to the Harbourside shopping centre. The complex and setup of Darling Harbour reminds us of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (no “U” in that spelling – it’s ‘murrican) only way, way bigger and more expensive – just great!

Pat is very tall. 6’10”; maybe even 6’12”. This doesn’t match up well with the headroom on the Oberon-class submarine “Onslow” that we visited. Frankly, it didn’t even do great on the Royal Australian Navy’s warship “Vampire”. For fun, I made him try to fit into one of the bunks lining the side of the submarine. The upper bunk; just for that much more fun.

It’s always fun touring navy vessels on guided tours ‘cause all that people mostly want to know from the guide are two things: “How many torpedoes can she shoot in a minute?” and “Exactly how do the washrooms work?”.

And so, on to The Met to take in tonight’s performance of “The Mikado”. A Gilbert O’Sullivan operetta. I’m sure that you will recall the hit song from the show: “Alone Again, Naturally”.

To get into Carnegie Hall, you first have to climb the monumental staircase, approximately 2,387 steps (but who’s counting?). Architect Jorn Utzon (his actual name) said he was inspired by the stairs leading to the sacrificial pyramids at Machu Picchu, which symbolize the journey from one world to the next. Approximately 26 tourists have heart attacks climbing the stairs each day and make their literal journey to the next world.

I learned another new word today but I don’t think it’s Australian. A subtitle appears below. A surtitle appears above. Thanks to the surtitles I was able to follow along with the storyline.

It turns out that “The Mikado” is actually a somewhat convoluted British farce involving places and names like KoKo, Yum Yum, Pish Tush, and Poo Bah; all of whom live in the fictitious city of Titipu (okay – you say it with a straight face; I can’t).

This was my very first brush with Opera or things Opera-like. It was very enjoyable. That said, there will be no need to repeat the experience anytime soon. Mind you, if that Gilbert O’Sullivan fellow ever comes up with another hit song maybe I’ll change my mind.

La Scala is pretty spectacular on the inside, too. During intermission you walk out into the foyer and onto ledges which are just a foot or so from but not actually connected to the massive windows which, at night, make you think you are hovering high over the water in Sydney cove without any kind of railing.

Debbie gave me a nudge; just to test the theory (and for practice, I’m pretty sure) but I just fell into the slanted, albeit transparent window. She was disappointed; I left a noseprint on the window.

Our Games accreditation allows us to use the Sydney transportation system for free. All trains, planes and automobiles are included. Ferries too.

We like the ferries but we always seem to miss them by just that much, so instead of waiting for the next one this time we took a train back and had dinner at Golden Century Seafood restaurant. Some soup and noodles at midnight hit the spot very nicely. The place is open until 4am every day/night for the after, after, after Opera crowd.