A Few Australian Observations

Tonight, it is Saturday night for us (that means it is in the wee morning hours of Saturday for you).  We have had two very packed days here in Sydney.  

Yesterday, they put us on buses to tour the city and to learn some of the history of this town. For those of you who are history buffs, this city began as a penal colony a little over 200 years ago.  Seems Great Britain has a pattern of exporting all their criminals to their colonies to get them off their mainland.  It is what they did to Bermuda as well.  Anyway, what the motherland thought would be a penal colony and a way to rid themselves of "lower society" has now become a major city in the Commonwealth.  

This tour of the city included the famous Sydney Opera House.  I have to admit that this icon has been something I have wanted to see in person but never thought I would see it.  It was fascinating and not anything like I would have expected it to be. Yes, it is a venue for theater and concerts (among other performances) but it is smaller than the pictures make it look.  Don't get me wrong, it is a huge building with five performing venues.  For those of you who are into architecture, the design story is fascinating.  The designer used the concept of the sphere in his creation; however, it took numerous mistakes to get the design just right and the building completed.  If you are into design and math, it would be worth your time to read about it.  Interestingly, as we stood in the main concert hall and listened to some musicians warm-up/rehearse, I began to ponder how secular man has influenced the arts since the fall of man.  My thoughts wandered to how God created music......have you really thought about this?  Music is very complex - it is a language all of its own and very mathematical.  The tones are unique and the way they relate are either pleasing to the ear or not. Additionally, music speaks to the soul of man.  It also allows for expression in a form that combines the lyrical voice with the written word.  Deep thoughts, I know, that occurred in a matter of moments.  But I was struck by the awareness that many are wandering in the dark in the arts, looking for something/someone to fill the void in their soul that was made to be filled only by the Creator.  

We finished the day by having dinner on the wharf overlooking the Harbor and the Opera House.  Both are beautiful at night.  I wish we could post pics but we are using macs and cannot download our pics to this computer to be able to put them on the blog.  I guess we will have to do that when we return.  

Saturday (today) was spent up in the Blue Mountains.  I will do a separate post about it later.

Thanks to all of you who are standing in the gap for us and helping with our children and being on standby for Mrs. Hoosier. We have been able to enjoy this trip knowing that they are in good hands!