A few days in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia."When you look at a city, it's like reading the hopes, aspirations and pride of everyone who built it."
(Hugh Newell Jacobsen)
Sydney Harbor, picture taken from a ferry ride around the harbor, yes! that cruise ship fits under the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
In hours before the dawning dims the starlight in the sky
The wan and weary faces first begin to trickle by,
Increasing as the moments hurry on with morning feet,
Till like a pallid river flow the faces in the street
Flowing in, flowing in,
To the beat of hurried feet
Ah! I sorrow for the owners of those faces in the street.
(Henry Lawson)
City life and it's existence just reminds me of how strong my local small town community is, walking down my small town streets and greeted by smiles and hellos and questions....and then there are cities, I don't think I will ever get used to it...a very hollow feeling, fun, exciting and a beautiful city, but such a hollow feeling?
Sydney Opera House roof tiles close up..I would have loved to have scrambled up and slid down the slippery slope...
The lighting and ambience of the Sydney Opera House toilets. :)
So beautiful.
RAAF planes doing some kind of fly over maneuvers..
Loneliness.. (by Rainer Maria Rilke)
Being apart and lonely is like rain.
It climbs toward evening from the ocean plains;
from flat places, rolling and remote,
it climbs to heaven,
which is its old abode.
And only when leaving heaven drops upon the city.
A monorail scoots around the main part of CBD, you can get a day pass for a few dollars and do the loop. Not a bad view, either.
Astral restaurant lighting...
A sunset...
Falling Stars.. (by Rainer Maria Rilke)
Do you remember still the falling stars
that like swift horses through the heavens raced
and suddenly leaped across the hurdlesof our wishes--do you recall?
And we did make so many!
For there were countless numbersof stars:
each time we looked above we were astounded by the swiftness of their daring play,
while in our hearts we felt safe and secure watching these brilliant bodies disintegrate,
knowing somehow we had survived their fall.
13 comments:
What a stunningly beautiful city! Gorgeous photos and excellent poetry, Pam. That is one place I would love to visit.
I have a brother who is a teacher and a few years ago he did a one year teaching exchange and was in Sydney. He loved it and travelled around Oz while he was there.
The only thing that I am hesitant about is the huge spiders you have in that place! Don't know if I could handle them, what with my arachnaphobia so well developed and all..... the snakes are no issues, on the other hand. Them I find fascinating.
As always, your photos are breathtaking, Pam!
I especially love the Rilke poem. "Loneliness." It's gorgeous.
Everything looks so incredibly sparkling there. It's hard to imagine anyone being unhappy living in the midst of such incredible beauty.
What a fantastic tour of Sydney. So many beautiful shots both of the architecture but also the landscapes and the whole sequence blew me away.
I was thinking about you because I met a friend downtown for lunch today and much to my surprise James Taylor was playing at an Obama rally in a park around the corner from where we ate. I caught the end of his show and he sounded great. In really good voice. I remembered that you liked him and I wished you were there with us. Since I'm an Obama supporter good to see one of North Carolina's stars come back to help rally support for my candidate.
Wow.
A wonder.
And no wonder Sydney a world-class city.
The poetry you include always fits with the photos, and this time is no different. Beautiful work.
Your photos are wonderful, with light and dark angles while showing off the best in each shot.
Such fantastic photos Pam - Australia is truly one of the beautiful countries of the world.
Ah, my home town! Still one of the most exciting cities in the world.
I'll be there in March Pam!
love the Rilke. I am struck by a couple of similarities to Austin. We have plaques in our downtown sidewalks commerating famous Texans. Also, there is a building with a needle like structure on it much like the one in one of your photos. Atlanta has one,too.
What great pictures! I've never seen a cruise ship that looks quite like that. You know, when Josie did her post about places you would like to go see--I should have said Australia! I used to think I would like to live in Australia on a ranch--that was when I was very young. Had sort of forgotten that dream til you came along. Throw Bryan Brown into the mix and I'm there! D
That was gorgeous. Now i must visit.
It's so NEW!
It's also one of the most expensive cities in the world! It also really highlights the importance of location, location, location. I want a monorail!
Not bad for a Penal Colony eh?
I borrowed the pic of the building in Sydney and put it with 3 others that look just like it on my blog. Check it out and I will take it down if you have any objections.
It would seem that the pulse and rhythm of Sydney was captured in the eye of the photographer. Well done pam/.
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