I've always wanted to go watch opera at the Sydney Opera House. So it wasn't on an impulse that I braved the scorching Sydney summer heat all dressed up to make my way to town when I could have stayed home in the comfort of my air conditioned bedroom.
The result was a relaxing Sunday afternoon of ice cold beer, aromatic coffee and a 90 minute performance of best-loved opera classics. I was blown away by the power of the performers' vocals, especially the guest artiste Rosario La Spina who brought out all my goosebumps the moment he started to sing.
However, I couldn't quite appreciate the pieces played in the second half as they don't sound nearly half as romantic when sung in English. I will opt for Italian opera any time even though I do not understand a single word.
If you're interested in opera too, do check out their events calendar. A friend who also went to watch opera in that same weekend caught Carmen and was full of praises for it. I think that, or Madama Butterfly would have been more impressive than what I went for as these tell full stories with elaborate costumes and elegant choreography instead of just bits and pieces of songs as an introduction to opera.
summer sunday opera
spending a day with emperor qin's warriors
If I ever get the opportunity to do a complete tour of China, the three historical monuments top on my to-visit list in no particular order of preference are: the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and his Terracotta Army.
The moment I read that these entombed warriors of China's First Emperor are travelling to Sydney, Australia, I decided I have got to go see them. Over 120 rare objects featuring 10 complete terracotta warrior figures dug up from Emperor Qin's burial site are now being exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until 13 March 2011.
I was ushered into a little theatre to watch a short 15min introductory video on the background of this recent archaelogical discovery before entering the exhibition hall. The clip was very informative but I found the exhibition slightly disappointing; not having read the event details beforehand, I had expected to see more of an army on display instead of just the 10 lonely figures. I did not feel that such an exhibition of this scale warrants an admission fee of $20 per adult even though these artifacts had been transported a great distance.
Nothing beats seeing these grand afterlife armies all lined up in battle formation in the excavation pits over an impressive 56 square kilometres of land in their hometown in Xi'an. So it was with no hesitation at all that I entered the lucky draw upon exiting the exhibition hoping to win 2 tickets to an all expense paid trip to see these warriors up close and personal. Wish me luck!
oysters and champagne
Thanks to the girls at work who organised all the logistics, I got to spend a weekend of decadence in a mega feast of champagne and oysters. 15 dozens (=180) of freshly shucked oysters were flown in specially from Port Lincoln, SA for the occasion. Because of the heavy lunch just prior, I had difficulty fulfilling my quota of 18 oysters and had to stop at 8. It was still very satisfying though.
Extricating the treasure from within.
Photo session before the feast.
All 5 trays of 36 of them!
Here is a memento of the afternoon of indulgence.
I think I've had enough oysters for a while. Next up lobster or crabs perhaps?
symphony in the domain: midsummer shakespeare
As part of the Sydney Festival 2011, the Sydney Symphony with Bell Shakespeare and the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs presented a magnificent lineup of great live music in The Domain. I packed a huge picnic bag of goodies - lots of chips, crackers, various cheeses, assorted salami and proscuitto - and my favourite retro beach rugs and sprawled myself on the lush green grass to immerse in a selection of tunes from Shakespeare's most popular plays such as Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream under the stars.
Hugging my favourite pack of Red Rock Thai Sweet Chilli potato chips while I enjoyed my first free outdoor classical music concert.
There were thousands of other people making themselves comfortable in the park, most of whom camped there at the venue the entire day just to secure the best spot right in front of the stage. I arrived just before the start of the concert and could only get a little corner so far away from the stage the performers appeared as mere dots in my vision. The sound system was well set up though, such that I reckon everyone within a 1km radius could hear each note clearly.
It was the perfect way to spend a midsummer Saturday evening. I should look out for more of such free concerts to attend!
travel plans for the year
It's only January and I already have the below travel plans firmed up in which half of them are work related.
February
- Gold Coast
March
- Melbourne
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
April
- Florida, US
Sometime before September as I have resort vouchers to redeem
- Bali
Just thinking about all the hours in an aircraft cabin tires me although I can't say I'm not excited, especially when I can catch up with my long-time-no-see friends like Madam J (HK) and BambooHorse (US)!
father of all buns
Confession: I was one of those silly people who used to queue for more than an hour for a coffee bun when Pappa Roti first appeared in Singapore many years ago.
One would think that after investing so much time waiting in line, the most sensible thing for me to do was to buy at least a dozen buns. However, I have always been a firm believer of the famous Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility. Bun #1 takes you to heaven while Bun #2 or #3 immediately banishes you back to planet earth. In order for the ecstasy of that first bite into the so claimed 'Father of All Buns' to linger on in my memory until the next visit, I would always stop myself from buying more than one or at the very most two buns.
After so many years of missing this 'crispy, fluffy, fragrant coffee cream coated bun with buttery filling', I was extremely delighted to see this (actually I smelt it before I saw it!) when I stepped into Kingsford for dinner on a hot January evening.
I couldn't stop salivating as the aroma of these freshly baked coffee buns hit me from a few shops away.
I had to wait 20min for the next batch of buns to pop out of the oven to buy a second bun because one wasn't enough to satiate me. And indeed, the LoDMU kicked in and I couldn't quite finish it.
They also serve a whole range of Malaysian style coffee and tea such as Teh Tarik that goes really well with these buns.
I emerged from Pappa Roti a very very satisfied girl. You can bet I'll be back there very soon.
year in review - 2010
In contrast to its preceding year, 2010 held more highs than lows for me in many areas. In fact, I pretty much got all that I asked for in my year in review - 2009 entry and more. Some highlights worth mentioning as I round up the year on a positive note are:
I was welcomed into Club 30 with an entire month of celebrations.
On the work front, I experienced the longest period of extreme stress I have ever known followed by an immense sense of achievement as I finally received some appreciation and also got my duly deserved recognition.
Largely thanks to opportunities provided by work and a small part thanks to a boost in my purchasing power, I got to travel to many places new and old both within Australia and around the globe: Byron Bay, Wagga Wagga, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Turkey, Germany, and Dubai.
Somehow, I managed to find time amidst the busy work schedule to finally pursue my interest in learning a new instrument and new language after years of procrastination.
An unexpected encounter brought along a stream of sweet surprises and extravagant date nights.
Finally, in the whole month of December, I got to spend a heartwarming Christmas and count down to 2011 surrounded by everyone I love and who love me.
I had a blessed 2010. I couldn't ask for anything more. Let's hope this has not resulted in an impossible benchmark of expectations for the coming year.
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