Hot day in Sydney

[khiemtran]

Circular Quay station has one of the best views of any train station in Sydney.



Why?



Because when you get off the train, this is what you see...



Here's the view from the other platform.



Let's take a closer look at the bridge, shall we?



If you look closely, you will often see BridgeClimb tour groups making an ascent. You can just make out one party here near the flags. To go up, you have to change into special suits and there are strict restrictions on what can be carried up - to reduce the risk of things falling on the cars and trains below.



Another thing that only Sydneysiders might notice: the arch of the bridge doesn't actually reach the stone towers. The top half of the towers serves no structural purpose at all; they are just for decoration (and, apparently, to provide employment for local quarries and stonemasons). At the road-level, you can see the free walkway that anyone can walk on. That's quite a pleasant stroll and a very nice way to spend an afternooon.



On the other side of Circular Quay, we have the Opera House. You all probably know what it looks like.



But up close, there are some very surprising details.















It's a hot Autumn day, and the whole precinct is swarming with people.





Back at Circular Quay, the wharves are where you catch the Sydney ferries. That circle in the background, by the way, is Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror. More on that later.



A ride on a ferry is a great way to see the harbour; as long as the weather's nice.





Here's one of the barriers to stop the ferries from hitting the quay.



But if you want to park your Man O'War, may we suggest you use Man O'War Steps, instead? (In the background, you can see the viewing area for a production of Carmen on a floating stage.)



On the other side of the quay, we have the Museum of Contemporary Art.



If you look closely at the picture above, you can see a more modern extension has been added on the right.



With a sense of humour...



As you can see, there's an Anish Kapoor exhibition on.



And, out the front, Sky Mirror, a giant concave, well, mirror. Of the sky.



Or is it a portal?



What you see varies every day...

Comments

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the virtual tour. It was lovely to see some blue sky and people walking around in shorts and t-shirts. You never know, we may be able to do that again here... someday.... :)

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

We've had quite a few wet days lately, so it was nice to get a bit of sun again. Some people say Autumn to early-Winter is actually Sydney's best weather - not too hot, but still T-shirt weather.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

What a lovely photo guide to the city! I'd never understood the structural details of the Sydney Harbour Bridge before - thank you!!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Thanks (but see lethargic_man's comment below. I forgot that the arch of the bridge does actually touch the towers at the very base.

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

Another thing that only Sydneysiders might notice: the arch of the bridge doesn't actually reach the stone towers.

Not so: the arch connects to the base of the tower via a hinge to allow for expansion of the metal in the heat. (I figured this out by analogy to the bridge's older brother, the Tyne Bridge, where there's a similar hinge.)

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Ah, good point!

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Thanks for those details on the opera house! I never knew what it looked like up close...and I've been to Sydney. In my defense, we were only there two days.

And that sky mirror/portal is pretty cool. :D

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It does look very interesting up close; and inside too! If you ever see a concert there, there's a great view out over the harbour through the high windows during intermission.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It's one of those buildings which is so iconic in and of itself that it's hard to remember that it actually has a purpose that it's used for--that people actually go and hear concerts there.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Truth be told, it's not actually that good acoustically (the best classical venue is actually the City Recital Hall which is shaped like a shoebox), but it's a very striking building on the inside too. They also have a lot of school performances there, so you can find lots of kids who have sung or played at the Opera House.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

What a great tour! I loved the details on the opera house. It's like it's got a spiderweb on it! And the reflective dish is awesome.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it! Anish Kapoor is best known for Cloud Gate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Gate) (aka "The Bean"), although Sky Mirror (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Mirror) has appeared in various places around the world.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Oh is *that* the name of that sculpture! I know it from the 2008 "Where the Hell Is Matt?" video, which, incidentally, also features the Sydney Opera House.