Sydney

Today was a free day. Amy and I took advantage of it by seeing the City. We started with a 10am Coffee cruise around Sydney Harbour. The Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world. The iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge dominate the view, but along the entire harbour there are spectacular houses, pristine beaches and amazing views. After the cruise, we took a tour of the Opera House. It really is an interesting structure. Built over 16 years with $102 million, the Opera House was originally only supposed to cost $7 million and take three years to build. The architect, from Copenhagen, left half way though construction after essentially being fired for delays and increased costs, never returned to see his finished product. He was re-engaged by the New South Wales government to help design some refurbishments in 1999, but passed away in 2008 without ever seeing the Opera House. The structure is actually 3 buildings, the large concert hall, the smaller Opera House and a smaller still restaurant. The enormous sail-like spires are only the exterior of the building. Inside the auditoriums have been designed independently of the exterior by Australian architects. While we sat in the concert hall, we heard a harpist rehearsing and the sound was beautiful. The acoustics obviously are perfect.
After the Opera House we spent some time exploring the rest of the City, including watching the end of "Question Time" in the NSW Parliament. Much livelier than some of the debates in the Missouri House, a little more rude, but very interesting to watch. I think question time would have some merit in the US. We walked around much of the rest of the day. Even cheating a bit and taking in a move (Star Trek...pretty darn good).
I restart meetings tomorrow and Friday.