A night at the opera...

As promised, I wanted to take a moment and tell you about the show I went to see at the Sydney Opera House last week. In spite of the title, I did not go to see an opera (thank goodness!...apologies to all you opera lovers). Instead, we went to see an Aboriginal dance troupe, the Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia’s only national premier indigenous performing arts company.
I actually purchased my ticket for the show in my first week here; Michelle had asked me if I was up for seeing a show at the opera house and I immediately said yes. We could have been going to watch singing pumpkins, I just wanted to see a real, live show at the opera house. It's one thing to spend the day gawking at the outside of the building and an entirely different thing to go inside as an audience member. And, of course, I can never get enough of the theatre.
Michelle and I set out from Abbotsleigh around 6:30pm and arrived at Circular Quay (pronounced "key") a little after 7. Since we had ample time before the show began, Michelle decided it was time to introduce me to Copenhagen ice cream. (And since dinner that evening in the dining hall hadn't been particularly satisfying, we were famished.) Now, for those who know me, I'm not a big fan of ice cream. Gelato, yes. Ice cream, not so much. I'm not sure whether it was because I was so hungry or because I was anticipating the show or just because it was really good ice cream...but it was scrumptious! Granted, it was quite blustery on the boardwalk and my fingers were not as appreciative of the ice cream as I was...
I discovered once we arrived at the opera house that since we were seeing a small-scale show we would be in one of the smaller theatres on the first floor instead of the massive opera hall upstairs. I must admit, I was a bit disappointed. But we did only play $49 for the tickets and tickets for the larger theatre are well over double that amount. (You get what you pay for?)
The performance was split into two acts. The first told the story of the Stolen Generation and the second act was an artistic exploration of different elements in nature. It was beautifully done and well worth our time and money. I'm hoping to go back and see another show at some point in the near future. Who knows, maybe I'll save up and actually go to see an opera...(maybe)
In other news, I finally made it over to Darling Harbour this past Saturday. Up to this point, I had really only been to the area around the opera house. I had visited Darling Harbour briefly before since that's where the cruise departed from, but on Saturday I got to do a little exploring. It has a beautiful boardwalk and an entire walkway of fountains and it's also where the Sydney Convention Centre and the world's largest IMAX are located (that'll definitely be a future trip). And to top everything off, we made it there just in time for a spectacular fireworks display over the water! Apparently there's some sort of month long festival going on and they're shooting off fireworks every weekend.
Which is just another thing I love about Sydney. There's ALWAYS something going on. For example, Michelle and I just registered for an event called Breakfast on the Bridge. Every year, the Harbour Bridge is shut down and covered in grass and 6,000 randomly selected indviduals are invited to come and, well, eat a picnic breakfast on the bridge. The event is part of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival which is a month long celebration of Sydney's "food lifestyle." (Check out the photo gallery at http://www.breakfastonthebridge.com/.) Seeing as how I'm never selected for anything, I'm not getting my hopes up...BUT, if I do, I promise to take plenty of pictures.
Apologies for taking FOREVER to post another entry (and that it's so rushed). If there's anything you'd like to know about life down under that I haven't covered in this entry or any of my older ones, please post  your questions and I'd be happy to answer them (or at least give it a go)! There's plenty I don't cover here, so if you're curious about something, don't hesistate to ask. I love to hear from you!
Cheers!