Sydney Opera House

On Wednesday, I finally took the Sydney Opera House tour. The opera house was designed by a Danish man and took 16 years to build (2 of which were choosing a design). Also interesting...The Australian government wanted it to be finished in a couple of years and for 7 million dollars. In actuality, it cost 102 million dollars...but have no fear, the debt was paid off in 5 years with gambling profits.
Architects were able to achieve the roof's design with cutting sections from a mold of a sphere. The roof was constructed by lifting up and securing sections (or "ribs") like these.

These are the tiles that cover the opera house (over 1 million in total).
I probably know more (the tour was an hour long) but those are the only fun facts that I can remember right now...sorry!

Goodbye Homebush...HELLO Milson's Point!

As our time in Sydney is coming to an end...we moved. At first, I was really sad to leave the place in Homebush/Olympic Park. We had a great view of the bay and could eat our meals out on the balcony...very nice. Well my sadness did not last long. As soon as we stepped foot into the new apartment, I forgot all about my Homebush woes.

We are truly blessed. I can't believe this place. This is the view to the right:

To the left:

Off the balcony:

And at sunset:

Now I really don't want to come back!

Don't Look Up!

Sometimes it's better not to know what's around you...
Don't know what you're looking at...How about a closer look...
Fruit bats! Hundreds of fruit bats (or flying foxes) spend their days in a couple of trees in the Botanical Gardens downtown. These bats awaken around dusk and spend their nights flying over the Sydney harbour.

And in the mangroves, there are dozens of Golden Orb Weavers slinging their webs over the biking/walking trails. For a closer look at these spiders...check out Nathanael's blog http://righthanddrive.blogspot.com.

Needless to say, some days I just look straight ahead.