We had tickets for Madame Butterfly at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday. We have a matinee planned so we get moving mid-morning. I took this picture out of our hotel window showing our final destination.

Again, we take the City Rail. Here is a shot while we are waiting for our train.

As we change trains, I took this shot of an exit. Notice how clean these places are?

The train to Circular Quay (where we get off for the Opera) requires us to go above ground and wait for the next train. Many of their trains are new and here is a picture of one of them. Most are only 8 cars long. During non-eak times, they run trains with only 4 cars.

As we exit Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House is on the point.

We decided to pick up our tickets and then have lunch. They have several restaurants within the Opera Complex, but we decided to eat at the bistro Mozart.

As we wait for the Opera to begin, we go outside and take a picture of the Royal Botanical Gardens, which buts up against the Opera grounds. Notice the little train that you can ride to go around the gardens?

Another item we found outside was a model of how the designer came up with the shapes for the Opera House. They are nothing more than segments taken from a circle.

We wait a few more minutes for the Opera to begin. This time, we wait on the second level.

The actually construction of the Opera House is concrete. You can see massive concrete beams as they arch to the top.

I wasn’t able to take any pictures inside the theater until the opera was finished. This is the picture of the insides when I was allowed to take a picture. I have to say that the opera itself was tremendous.

As we walk back towards Circular Quay, we noticed this old stairway we had both previously missed.

We noticed several brass plaques embedded in the walk. These are all tributes to different authors. This is the one for Rudyard Kipling.

After eating at an open air restaurant in Circular Quay, we make it back to our hotel. This is the entrance.

One last picture of the Sydney Opera House shows the Carnival Spirit funnel in between two of the sails as it leaves for New Caledonia. How poetic. When we are near the Bridge or Opera House, it does not seem that there is any smog. However, from a distance, the smog is quite predictable and noticeable.

Another great day in Australia comes to an end.

I must be off!