A flight in March: Sydney and Armidale

Well work has been hectic and time seems to be flying by.  But  it was finally time to take a break and so it was off to the airport Tuesday 27th March.  I had bought a  ticket see the new production of "La Traviata" in the Narda opera season  at Sydney Habour. The flight was a slightly unusual one in that I was able to get away early at 1130 and fly to Adelaide then connect to Sydney allfor the same price as the direct flight.  Arrival in Sydney at 8 pm  was so much better than 10 pm by the direct flight. The flights were great, Qantas business class (using points to upgrade) and I had the same cabin crew for both legs although we changed aeroplanes.
A quick taxi ride to the hotel (Travelodge) near  Martin Place and a good night's sleep and the first day of holiday was over.

Wednesday morning was great with a leisurely start, a short walk to buy The Australian paper and then a cooked breakfast in the hotel bistro.  I called some friends (Kate and  Jeremy) to sort where we would meet before the opera and then wandered off to look at  shops and a few sights  before grabbing  the odd coffee and a snack. Then the rain came! This was very bad news as the performance was in the open air. Happily by about 4.30pm the weather started to clear up and  I set off to walk to the opera; passing by the Cathederal

 and by 5 pm when I reached the gates of the opera it was a cloudy, cool but clearing evening.  As I walked through the Botanic Gardens there were glimpses of the  Opera House and  Sydney harbour Bridge which were the back drop to the set.

At 5 pm my friends arrived and we met by the front gates  - and took pictures of the Mazda SUV - sponsor of the Opera gets the prime advertising spot!

Jeremy. Kate and Kate's cousin and the Mazda SUV

The location of the stage was incredible with an enourmous chandelier and a sloping stage set on a diagonal - all very different. And that view of the harbour with the iconic structures and a sunset peeping out under the lifting clouds.  This view is from the general area of the north terrace bar where we sat and had a sort of tapas and fish and chip supper and  some bubbles before the show began.

As the sunset developed  the light on the trees behind us was really good...

 ...and the sunset provided a backlight to the Opera House and the Bridge...

Then it was time to  move to our seats with the great view of the stage .

The show was super and the weathet was perfect. Apart from the odd helicopter flying by the setting was great and we had a very good time. At the interval we had access to the lounge with free drnks which was very nice!
The show over we walked back across the domain and then I went off to the hotel.

Thursday had been meant to be a day of pottering and shopping but after breakfast I got a message from son Michael to say he was ferrying the "new" Citation 7 back to Armidale so I could have a lift if I was at the Netjet terminal at Mascot by 1700.  So a few calls to reorganise with Qantas and then the hotel and I was off to the airport  to meet up with Michael and the fastest flight to Armidale - 34 minutes only!. 

VH-LYM is very comfortable and very fast.  It looks very sleek with the swept back wings.

 Once we landed there was the usual  business of cleaning up and then fitting the plane in the hanger- fortunately one was away so the fitting in was relatively straightforward.

So I was in Armidale for a couple of days  with Michael and his girlfriend Billie.  M and I just hung out and looked at his new car  - a recent Falcon turbocharged ute in dodgy metallic green.  We had dinner at the Indian restarant after a Thai lunch and a bit of shopping. At dinner M got a phone call, as is often the case. And the usual result... Michael had to go to work on Saturday. A 0545 start but de;lays with the Qantas flight departing  Arrmidale to take him to Sydney and the aeroplane he was to fly meant it became a long day. Billie and I went up ti the airport to open up the hanger, see M land and then help put the aeroplane away etc.

M then set to to cut the grass and show me his new turbocharged ute.
Saturday evening we were on our way out to dinner with friends when we saw this great cloud formation at susnset

We all took pictures and BIllie had hers on Facebok in no time where it was much admired!
Sunday was a leisurely breakfast in town and then a run through the countryside to see the trees changing for autumn

 Lunch at a local winery with free tasting of some locally brewed beers and wines  waa the perfect end to the weekend. All too soon it was off to the airport and the Qantaslink Dash 8 flight to Sydney and then across the airport for the Qantas 737 flight to Darwin. We arrived late, often the case with QF flights nowadays it seems, and then a taxi  home. All in all a very good break from work.