4363 Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Circular Quay is between the opera house and the bridge in a bay on the left. Darling Harbor is under the bridge and around the corner.
4436 This is the Rauschenberg work that epitomizes Modern Art for me. Notice all the shades of grey on the various shadows cast by the work. Amazing artistry on my part. J
4441 The costumed docent leading the tour. Anyone know who she represents?
4448 The Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Nov 10 – At Sea. Another day for me to do not much. Hit my regular spots and relaxed. Only unique item was a sunrise Veteran’s/Remembrance Day service on the aft deck of the Lido. It was set to start at 6AM and sunrise was at 6:05AM so that worked out very well. The captain gave a speech and all three of the clergy on board made presentations. Gene Young, our Cruise Director, read an entry from his father’s journal. His dad was an officer in the US Army who was about the right age to have served in Korea or Viet Nam or both. The ship distributed a red poppy to everyone, both passengers and crew, for us to wear both today and tomorrow in Sydney. Just prior to starting the evening show, Gene had all the veterans stand to be honored. Australia, Canada and New Zealand seem to take this occasion much more seriously than the US. If a certain level of gratitude can be correlated with and an indicator of the culture’s level of selflessness then, in general, the three of them outshine the USA by a mile. If I compare it to Texas alone, I’d say they might be nearly equal with just the edge to Texas. Being a veteran, I may have a jaundiced view on this issue, having lived through the nation’s treatment of Viet Nam vets. I realize that not everyone, or even the majority, called us baby killers and murderers. But then almost no one stepped forward to try to stop the people who were. That’s a memory that will be with each of us forever.
Visiting Viet Nam earlier on this trip didn’t seem to affect me that much at the time but this Veteran’s Day service had me a bit on the ropes. You probably noticed that for a few days after the 10th you didn’t get anything from me. Couldn’t write. Looking back I see that I didn’t mail anything from 11-4 to 11-12 so it must have been building up during that time. I would not have thought it was that long. It’s the 14th now (13th where most of you are) and I’m just writing about the 10th so I guess I’m catching up.
Nov 11 - Sydney, Australia. First off, “Happy Veteran’s Day” in general and to all my fellow Viet Nam vets, “Welcome home brother.” Diana and I didn’t make plans for today and I guess it’s a good thing because she’s sleeping in this morning. I’m well rested and after the very pretty sail into Sydney Harbor, I hopped off the ship very early indeed. We are docked in Darling Harbor, not at Circular Quay. I don’t care what the ship’s staff says; this is not nearly as desirable. They keep saying, “But you get to sail under the bridge!!” I’m not sure what they find so desirable about being under a bridge. No view from under a bridge has ever been good and this one is no exception.
The port offers a free shuttle that drops you off at the Marriott Hotel, just a block away from Circular Quay. The quay (key) is the heart of Sydney’s transportation system. From there you can catch busses (including the hop-on-hop-off tour bus), the subway (called railway here and to be fair only part of it is underground), ferries, shuttles and taxis and be anywhere in the greater metropolitan area in a short time. I rode the shuttle to the quay and then walked up George Street.
I wanted to see if the Daryl Lea Candy Shop was still there. They make a fresh, soft licorice that, if you like licorice at all, is the best you will ever eat. (No, that red stuff is not licorice. It may be called red licorice, although I’ve noticed that they’ve stopped using the word licorice for all of it in the US, Twizzlers (sp?) or Red Vines are just fine, licorice, NO!) This fresh, soft licorice has no preservatives so it doesn’t travel well. It comes in half kilo sealed bags but has to be sent to the states 2nd day air and the shipping costs 5 times as much as the licorice making it very expensive indeed. I had heard that the company was in financial difficulty and had been taken over. The first stage of that sort of bailout is closing any unprofitable or marginal outlets and the one on George Street is gone. Rent was probably too high in this fashionable area.
The walk was not a fool’s errand because I happened on the War Memorial at Martin Place on George Street and they were having a service there. It’s not a huge square but it was crowded with people, most were either wearing or buying a red poppy. I was glad the ship had given us one that I was wearing. It was not like the locals were wearing and I noticed people looking at it. It was a cool morning and I was dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt carrying a camera so I’m sure they knew I was a visitor.
They had a naval band at one end of the square and a dais at the other end. Along the sides of the square they had left room to stand or walk and from there in had installed temporary bleachers. The naval uniform of the day was white; the enlisted ranks were wearing a sailor’s jumper much like the US Navy wears but not bell bottomed trousers. The jumper has that flap at the back of the neck and is pullover in design. The NCOs and officers wore white slacks with a white tunic and the standard white military hat. I noticed the sailors that were under arms, on escort duty or with security jobs had on black shoes. The band’s shoes were white.
One thing that has caught on here in Australia that they’re encouraging in the US is for veterans to wear their medals on their clothing for holidays and memorials. I saw many civilians with their medals proudly displayed on their chests in anything from a sports jacket or wind breaker to a shirt. I noticed that the motorcycle police officers that accompanied the Governor’s car had their military medals on their police uniforms. Fantastic! I think I’ll start wearing mine for these occasions from now on. One other thing I noticed was that no one bugged them about what they represented or how they got them. Everyone seemed to stand just a bit straighter when they saw them. Absolutely wonderful! I wonder if they’ll accept a poor Pennsylvania Dutch boy as a political refugee here in Australia.
I arrived just as they were starting to observe two minutes of silence. In the British Commonwealth they do this on 11/11 at 11:11am. The Dutch must do this too as they were also ceasing all shipboard services for two minutes to observe silence at exactly the same time. After the silence the dignitaries started to arrive. Between arrivals the emcee discussed why the Australians wear the poppy on Remembrance Day, their Veteran’s Day equivalent
At the far end of the square, behind the band there was a trio of sailors that greeted the arriving cars with a salute and then opened the doors, front passenger side and both rear doors to allow the arriving VIPs to exit. By the time I got to that end of the square the Governor (read that as Queen’s Representative) of New South Wales arrived accompanied by the lead MP for the area and a military officer carrying a wreath that I’m sure she will lay at the memorial during the ceremony. The band struck up a tune as she moved from the car to her place of honor on the dais. All very British, don’t you know and I have to admit, quite impressive. She’s a thin woman of a certain age. I was told later that she’s a surgeon.
I wanted to get back to the ship to get Diana and head out again so I had to leave the ceremony early. It’s lunch time and I’m sure she’ll be ready to go by the time I get back. As I walked down Yale Street I saw a great sign on a shop “Kansai sushi gelato espresso”. You just have to love it here.
After lunch Diana and I set out for The Art Gallery of New South Wales reputed to have an ‘extensive’ collection of Aboriginal and NSW native art. We took the shuttle to Circular Quay and then on the advice of a tourist information person, walked a few blocks to catch the 555 city shuttle that will drop us off near the Botanical Garden in which the gallery resides. It’s supposed to run every 10 minutes. Well, let’s just say that the first three busses were invisible because it was over a half hour before one showed up. I had planned to take the subway, which actually runs every 8 minutes before talking to the tourist information person. (And everyone mocks men because they won’t ask directions. It’s because we have a much better plan, thank you very much) By the time the bus finally showed up it was crowded of course as it had 4 busses worth of riders waiting for it.
A nice lady on the bus advised us to get off at the Sydney Hospital, cut through it into the Botanical Garden and then across the garden to the gallery. This wound up being great advice. The walk between buildings of the hospital led to a small square at the back with a beautiful fountain and at the rear of the square across a narrow road was a gate into the Botanical Garden. The walk across the garden was very pleasant. There were magpies and spoonbills on the grass watching the picnickers for the chance of a purloined meal. Two guys were busy kicking a soccer ball across an open area of grass, the only interruption on an otherwise idyllic setting. This is the perfect setting or a Frisbee. Much less noise than kicking a soccer ball.
We arrived at the art gallery with great anticipation. This was to be relatively short lived however. We soon discovered that the ‘extensive’ Aboriginal art collection was in a small area in the third sublevel and consisted of works done by Aboriginal artists in the last 12 years. In plain English, Aboriginal Modern Art. Now those of you who know me know that I am not a fan of the idiocy that passes as art and especially those projects that receive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Most of the stuff is barely artistic enough to be claimed by a kindergartener. Don’t tell me I ‘just don’t understand it.’ I understand it just a well as the child who said, “The emperor’s wearing no clothes!” The great myth that there’s something to ‘understand’ about modern art is that it exists.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that art must be representative; I’m just saying it has to display some talent and artistic awareness. I love the French Impressionists, in fact almost all the impressionists in all of the countries including the little known American impressionist, Mary Cassatt. She was born in 1845 in Allegheny, PA (now a section of Pittsburgh) and died in 1926 in France. In 1866 she moved to France to study and was not successful at first. After a small exhibition she met Edgar Degas and he became her mentor. At his suggestion she joined the impressionist’s group and exhibited her work with them in 1897. Her works sold well and since she loved the style she bought many paintings by her contemporaries and helped several prominent Americans build their collections as well. This made her popular with her fellow impressionists. Later in her career she abandoned the impressionist style. Mary and Berthe Morisot, the only French woman in the movement constituted the main distaff side of the men’s club of French impressionism.
The NSW Gallery has a rule that only the permanent exhibits of the gallery can be photographed, not the temporary exhibits. I found a work on the 2nd subfloor that exactly defines the term Modern Art for me and wanted to take a photo of it. I asked at least 9 people of all types if it was a permanent or temporary display and no one knew. The last lady I talked to said that a good test would be to photograph it and see if anyone complained. Since the axiom that ‘It’s easier to get forgiveness than to ask permission.’ has been useful to me in the past I decided to give it a go. Not a word from anyone so I guess it’s permanent. It’s Robert Rauschenberg's 'Air ration winter glut' circa 1980. It’s a partly crushed, stained, metal trashcan that’s been affixed to the wall. Perfect representation and metaphor for most of what passes as modern art.
Let’s shortcut all this and say that I was upstairs in the café in about 15 minutes. Diana is more methodical that I am so she didn’t get up there for about another 30 minutes. While I was waiting I had a very nice cappuccino. It should have been nice; it was $12 for about as small a cup as I got at the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo. That is to say tiny! The foam on top was as thick as whipped cream so it was also delicious.
Just after Diana arrived at the café we moved to a bench at the base of the escalator from the first floor. What do I see coming down, a group of children led by a young lady in costume. I would have said that it was Xena the Warrior Princess, but I’m sure that it was not. I’ll just say that she was resplendent in black and silver. A black mini-skirt with a mostly silver tunic and shirt with silver arms, silver tights with silver knee high boots. Her face was white makeup like a mime. She was carrying a silver staff with a large silver ball on top. All this was topped off with a silver cape. A group of small kids (8-10 year olds) were directly behind her with the parents bringing up the rear. When she saw me pointing the camera at them she waived and said, “Say Hi kids!” which they did, grinning and waiving. Kids all over the world love to have their picture taken. In under developed countries they love it when you turn the camera around and show them the picture. I wish it was easier to carry a printer around so I could leave them a copy. Here in Australia the kids are way too affluent and technologically savvy to be interested in seeing the picture but they still love to have one taken.
Diana said that she could use something cold to drink and after my cappuccino experience I suggested we change venues first. On our walk across the garden to the gallery I’d seen a small kiosk in the park that seemed to have sodas. We walked over and sure enough they did. Diana got a Coke and I picked a bottle of water. An item on the menu board caught my eye, passion fruit yogurt. I asked the clerk about it and he said it was plain yogurt with passion fruit puree on top. I thought it sounded good so I bought one and asked for two small spoons. You have to understand that I think yogurt is something you eat when you want to balance your digestive flora, not for pleasure. I think frozen yogurt, not actually yogurt at all, is an abomination that should be banned all over the world. That being said, this yogurt was the nectar of the gods. It was creamy, smooth and absolutely delicious. The passion fruit on top was great but actually a distraction. I love cheesecake and this yogurt was every bit as good as the best non-chocolate cheesecake I’ve ever had. I do not have the words or the space to describe how absolutely outstanding this yogurt was. This is one of the reasons I keep trying different foods in different places. I knew the ice cream was great down under, I now believe that the yogurt is as well.
We decided to avoid the vagaries of the bus system and ride the train back. Since we hadn’t come on the train I wasn’t sure exactly where the station was located. I knew it was in Hyde Park but since it’s a subway in that area the station is not readily available to see. Speaking of Hyde Park… The tradition in London’s Hyde Park is that if you go to speaker’s corner and stand on a box you can vent your views in public to your heart’s content. Maybe the same was true of Sydney’s Hyde Park at some time but the tradition has been moved to the Botanical Garden in the area of the kiosk. There were even city supplied boxes to stand on to speak. As we enjoyed our yogurt we were regaled by speakers on a wide variety of subjects, from the Bible to health care.
On the way to Hyde Park we passed Saint Mary’s Cathedral. This large Gothic Revival structure is impressive in scope with large rose windows in the transepts, a tower and finial topped crossing and twin spired eastern façade. The transepts are as tall as the center nave and the clerestory windows are almost as large as the windows on the main floor. The clerestory walls are supported by flying buttresses that extend inward from towers on the outside wall of the side aisles. I wish we’d had time to go in.
In the center of Hyde Park we came upon a fountain with a statue of the goddess Diana with her trademark bow, hunting dogs and deer. I always document the statues of Diana if photos are allowed.
Just on the other side of Hyde Park, right on Saint Elizabeth Street we found the entrance to the subway station. We entered, bought out tickets and waited only 7 minutes for the train and off we went to Circular Quay. It was only about a five minute ride, the bus ride over had taken almost 20 minutes after waiting 30, so in 12 minutes we were off the train, down the stairs (the station at the quay is elevated) and on our way to the ship’s shuttle. A 50 minute trip reduced to 12 minutes.
Our entertainers for the evening were Desendance an Australian traditional dance show. The performers and their performance drew from Aboriginal and Prince of Wales Islanders’ traditions. It was a fun evening of lively dance and music. They did an emu dance that they invited some women from the audience to try to do and Diana hit the stage and gave a credible account of herself during the dance.
All it was a great day in a great city. I love Sydney.
Very cool!! Thank you so much for the info. Nice snapshots too!
ReplyDelete-Gloria Karmanites
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