More than a week ago we made the walk from Bondi to Coogee beach as we also told you in a previous post. From 16 October till 2 November, you could see the outdoor exhibition “Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2008″ where artists from all over the world exposed their sculptors. Unfortunately the exposition is over, but we made a short film to give you a glimpse.

We liked the idea very much of showing the sculptures in this environment instead of a traditional gallery. Most of them fitted in the surroundings very well, like sculptures imitating big toys on a large playground, or a large bubble on the sea, or stones on the rocks, suddenly  spitting water on curious children. Another big difference with an usual gallery was that you could get very close to these objects and even touch them.  This was a kind of cultural event that you can remember for a long time.

This exhibition is organized every year at different location. The next show will be at the beautiful Cottesloe Beach in Perth in March 2009. For more information you can look at the Sculpture by the Sea website.

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Many places in Sydney are being coloured in purple-blue nowadays: it is the flowering season of the beautiful Jacaranda tree. First of all, I have to tell you a short story about me and my relationship with plants. I never felt this kind of enthusiasm about flowers, trees and other plants before. But the truth is, that this all started here in Australia. The whole year long, flowering bushes and trees make you just a bit happier when you are passing them on the street. You can not miss them if you are walking in the city. I have sent a lot of letters and pictures - many about flowers - to my family in the past few months, telling them, that the nature here is absolutely stunning and lovely. At a certain point one of my dear aunties reminded me smiling of that day (this happened a few years ago), when they were talking between each other about the flowers- growing in their gardens-, and suddenly I was wondering loudly and ironically, whether I would be interested in flowers as well in a few years time …

But let us go back to the jacaranda tree. I can say, it is one of my favorite trees here in Australia, because of its castanets-shaped fruits hanging on the branches through the whole year. But the name of this tree has been unknown for us until these days, when it started flowering so purple, so brightly, that we got curious and looked after this tree on internet.

You can find Jacarandas in tropical areas, especially in South and Central America, in India, Africa, etc. Here in Australia -according to Wikipedia - Brisbane  is very famous because of its purple avenues, as well as Grafton because of its Jacaranda Festival held in every October.

The students at Sydney University know the saying: “by the time the jacaranda in the main quadrangle flowers, it’s too late to start studying for exams”. By the way, the tree is also known as `exam tree`. If a flower falls onto your head, it apparently means, that you have failed your exam, unless you catch a falling bloom before it reaches the ground.

Finally, there is an other Australian expression as well, which says: “When the bloom of the jacaranda tree is here, Christmas time is near”.

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On Saturday we walked down again from Bondi to Coogee Beach, which is a very nice trip with beautiful views over the beaches and the ocean. We planned to see the outdoor exhibition “Sculpture by the Sea”, which was interesting, so we will write a post about that later.

Between Bronte Beach and Clovelly Bay the road goes through a cemetery. When we saw this for the first time, we were so amazed that we almost had to laugh about the situation. It is a bit absurd, if you see men without T-shirts - headphones plugged in their ears - running over the hills, showing their sweated bodies. Or happy families walking through with small children as if they were in Hyde Park.

No doubt the Waverley cemetery is located on one of the most beautiful places; on the hill sides, ending at the high cliffs that are suddenly rising out of the ocean.  The view is spectacular with only the sound of birds and the ocean.   Just a few people reach this part of the walk from Bondi, only the families in the neighborhood, the sweated joggers and the persistent tourists.

Because it was All Saints` Day  - and we could not visit the cemeteries like we are used to at home - we made a small detour from the prescribed road and we walked around a little bit on this cemetery. Most of the graves are over 100-150 years old, they look very similar in their appearance, shape or colour, and the fact that most of them have not been visited for a long while. You don’t find there colourful flowers or candles that you can see at home around this time. Either there are no flowers at all or there are tiny little yellow daisies - spread by nature - as in a `still life`.  Here, or at least on this cemetery, it is no habit to bring a visit. The sight however is beautiful, and if you have been here a few times, you will also get used to the running people.

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Last Monday I got a ticket for a concert in the Sydney Opera House. It was the third concert I have visited here in Sydney. The weather was nice and warm, the sun was brightly shining and we had a very good time with friends. The way from Circular Quay to the Opera House is always very nice and uplifting, but now -because it was really warm, or just the time of the year - you could find a lot of flies or at least they found you, and did not want to let you go. The OZ-flies stick to your clothes, to your face, and you are not able to chase them away.

Like everybody else who lives here, we could tell you a lot about the Opera House. On one hand it almost feels as a kind of kitsch, but on the other hand you only can love it. You know, I can not imagine Sydney without this building. We like it in the sunshine or in the evening in the floodlights. Either nearby or from far away, so from everywhere it is very eye-catching. The only time when it was a little bit disappointing to us, was when we had such a close look, that we could touch it. Then we realised that it is a large monument, built in the sixties and made of concrete and covered with bathroom-tiles.
Arriving at a concert for the first time also makes you a bit disappointed, when you see that the entrance is under the big stairs. It is dark there, and you can find more concrete inside too. But if you reach the lookout point and the windows, you will have a spectacular view over the city. That is the Sydney we love very very much.
So about the concert…This is my personal experience, and I really do not want to say any bad things about the Opera House. But there is a high risk that you will meet a lot of tourists wearing jeans and T-shirts, sometimes you can see a cyclist as well. It is one of the most famous opera houses in the world, so maybe a lot of people - who generally do not use to go to concerts - go to have a nice experience. Especially, if the program contains a famous work like Vivaldi`s Four Seasons.
The ensemble Europa Galante`s performance was passionate and enjoyable. I do not know why, but every time I was here, I felt that no matter how old and sad the music was, it always seemed very modern and happy in the Sydney Opera House.
The musicians played very well, and maybe it could have been a very nice concert too, but unfortunately it was not. And it happened just because of the public and the Opera House `policy`.
People who do not use to go to concerts clapped their hands when they were not supposed to, and the ensemble had to wait for them, more than what was convenient. But the thing that I really can not understand is why the Opera House ushers let people in when there is a short pause between two pieces. It is evident that they will not find their places in the dark, especially if it is so easy to sit on the wrong seat. This is what happened on Monday too. People coming late started to explain to others that they were sitting on their seats, and it was so annoying and disturbing during the concert.
But of course difficulties continued after the interval. People sitting behind us were chatting too much, too loud sometimes, but I did not believe when they started to sing or lilt the Four Seasons. That was the moment I could not be astonished any more. It was like a real parody and I almost had to laugh about the whole situation.

I think this was only an accident-concert, where also the finale was a bit weird, but hopefully it is not the trend here.  Maybe it happened because the ensemble and the public were not enough in harmony.

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