Traffic control at the airport

(News Corporation)

I dropped Cz and Cw off at the airport this morning for their flight to Canada. Traffic at the various terminals continues to be problematic especially at peak times. Marshalls wave lighted batons in a vain attempt to stream traffic but are ignored by taxi drivers who then trap other motorists thus exacerbating the logjam.

One taxi driver somehow managed to trap four cars in one go; two kerbside cars attempting to clear the area and myself and one other car waiting to replace them.

Let the sun shine in.....

The current extended spell of winter sunshine in Sydney is very welcome.

The spirit returns

A rare sight nowadays. The Spirit of Tasmania, which usually plies its trade between Melbourne and our island State, steaming up Sydney Harbour. It has been years since there was a regular ferry link between Sydney and the Apple Isle.

I guessed the Spirit was in town for some R&R (repairs and refurbishment) and sure enough it steamed right into the Naval dockyard at Woolloomooloo.

The Eastern Suburbs

A view of Sydney's eastern suburbs shortly after take off from Sydney Airport on a sublime winter's day.

The green area upper left is Centennial Park. The green area to its right is Queens Park. The beach at lower right is Coogee with Coogee Oval the green circle to it's left. The long street running down the middle (with an angled left twist midway) is Carrington Road.

Paddington Town Hall

Hail

A sudden hailstorm today

Well, that was nice whilst it lasted

Sydney's extended summery Autumn weather - which seemed as though it was never going to end - did end quite abruptly today. Not with snow of course, Sydney just doesn't have snow, but with a sudden dip to much colder temperatures. And yet not really cold either. By some standards elsewhere it was cool rather than cold.

Will we ever see summer again!

And then there is this....

Sydney Seaplanes; joy flights and commuter flights

How the other half lives...

It's nice for some.....

Sydney Ferries

Victor Chang, named after the late Heart Surgeon, on the Circular Quay - Watsons Bay service

Rose Bay

Waiting for the ferry to arrive at Rose Bay Wharf

A night at the opera on the harbour

The stage ahead of the performance of La Boheme

Andrew kindly invited me to accompany him and his partner R to La Boheme; this year's Opera on Sydney Harbour. (It wasn't a Freebie; I paid my way.)

As with each of these Operas on the Harbour the emphasis is on spectacle rather than a traditional production of the works.

In this case the setting is updated to the 1960s culminating in 1968 following the Paris student riots. This re-setting worked reasonably well to my mind.

Apart from the primary aim to make a profit and I imagine that Opera Australia hopes these annual productions bring a new audience to Opera and apparently surveys indicate that the audiences by the harbour include significant numbers of first timers. I wonder whether they become repeat attendees and, more importantly, start to attend productions during the Opera season? In the Andrew's and R's case I believe they enjoyed the spectacle - albeit in some discomfort on the hard plastic seats - as one-off event but are not won over to becoming regular attendees.

The company taking its bows at the conclusion of La Boheme.

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Bondi Beach

Sydney Summer Skies

ANZ Tower (l) and Sydney Tower (r)

Australia Square (l), the Law Courts (c), towers on Macquarie Street (r)

Hyde Park North

The Domain (foreground) and East Sydney towers (background)

Hyde Park North, Sheraton on the Park, Stockland Arcade and ANZ Tower

St Mary's Cathedral

Climate Control

Award winning climate controlled tower building on Broadway in Sydney

New and old

The old Brewery entrance is all that has been retained at this 21st Century tower precinct

R&R for the Flying Kangaroo

A Qantas A380 being towed to a hangar at Sydney Airport for a little R&R - or maintenance? - before its next flight

Steam and Sail on Sydney Harbour

Sydney's Big Apple

Till photograph do us part....

There is this interesting little industry in Sydney - and perhaps elsewhere - catering for youngish couples travelling from Japan and China to be photographed in front of our scenic locations dressed in their wedding 'clobber'. No wedding attendants in attendance, no wedding party in attendance, no guests in attendance and no witnesses in attendance. Just the couple, the photographer and the photographer's assistant. And this takes place before the wedding.

The Sydney Opera House is a popular background as is the Archibald Fountain in Sydney's Hyde Park.

Locals go about their business, mostly oblivious to the matrimonial performance.