P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney

*fulfils popular tourist attraction

After two months of living in and traveling through Australia I’d seen (and photographed) more than I’d ever dreamed of but until this past weekend one important destination had been missing.  Almost every country has that one spot you have to go, that thing you absolutely have to see, that spot your trip just isn’t complete without.  These popular landmarks are the things that come to mind when you think of the country and this past weekend I got to visit Australia’s.  That’s right I’m talking about the Sydney Opera House.

As anyone who’s seen Finding Nemo a couple hundred times knows (aka most people my age) the only thing Dory remembers is one address in Sydney--the place where they will finally find Nemo.  This address doesn’t exist (trust me I google mapped it there is no 42 Wallaby Way) but even without a visit to this fictional Disney address, Sydney is well worth the trip.

The weather for the weekend was supposed to be dismal and rainy and when Saturday morning rolled around the rain kept its promise alternating between drizzling, pouring and no rain at all (in typical Australia fashion).  But the weather didn’t stop us.  We only had three days in Sydney and we were certainly weren’t going to spend them sitting around our cramped little hostel room.  Determined not to a little rain ruin our weekend, we pulled our rain jackets tight around us and headed out the door of our hostel into the rain.  We were going to see the famous Sydney Opera House.

When we were wandering the city the day before we’d seen that you could go on a tour of the Opera House.  It was the perfect way to stay dry while still taking in all Sydney had to offer.  Lucky for us, the short walk to the harbour was mostly sheltered by overhangs so we managed not to get too drenched.  

Before we knew it the white shells of the Opera House loomed in the distance, shining even in the rain.  From the looks of the umbrellas dotting the steps, the other tourists weren’t deterred by the weather either.  Everyone had braved the weather to see this unique building for themselves.

Ready for our own Sydney Opera House experience, our group of five counted to three and dashed across the road in a hurry to be out of the rain (which of course had just picked up again).  We hadn’t known what times the tours were and we barely made it in time but as we walked though this famous landmark I began to feel giddy with excitement.  Standing there inside the Opera House, looking through the glass at the Harbour Bridge was the perfect reminder of just how lucky we were to be in Australia. 

Our guide led us through the various halls where we marvelled at the sets for the upcoming ballet. We got to sit in the audience, just for a couple minutes, and really take it in.  No pictures were allowed in the halls due to copyright, but that almost made it better.  Without the distraction of trying to capture the moment in a photo we were able to really appreciate the architecture.  The shells towered high above us their insides purposely ribbed to allow for the best sound quality possible and tiered balconies ringed the walls over head (believe it or not those were the cheaper seats).  Everything except for the upholstery was original, untouched since the Opera House opened in 1973 (13 years later than originally expected).  As someone who’s danced since high school I could have sat there in the plush chairs admiring the hall for hours but all too early we were ushered out of the Opera Hall and back into the foyer for the rest of our tour.

Touching the Opera House

During a lull in the rain we even got to go outside and touch the shells for ourselves.  The tour was the perfect combination of historical facts and sightseeing which for me at least this involves wandering around taking crazy camera lady tourist pictures of anything and everything imaginable (My friends and I have literally held photo-shoots in front of signs that say keep left).   This I should mention is exactly what happened.  We took countless snapshots posing in front the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge (after all we were tourists and you can only keep me away from my camera for so long) before heading back inside to find the perfect souvenirs to commemorate the trip.