Day 52: Maritime Museum, The Sydney Opera House, and Bondi Beach

9:30 qued us departing for Darling Harbor: a short walk alongside the water with the Maritime Museum being our destination. We walked inside a submarine: the HMAS Onslow, and the USS Vampire: a destroyer that was commissioned in 1953. Although I've visited several museums with submarines, this was actually my first time venturing inside one. The cramped spaces were terrible, and imagine 64 or so crewmen in one simultaneously was all but possible. The beds seemed five feet long, and the halls were wide enough for one person. Everything overhead was just too short, and I almost hit my head ten times just walking it once. Today, I gained a monumental amount of respect for submarine sailors, and don't think I could wish that tasking job on anyone. The HMAS Vampire was similar but smaller than other ships I had previously visited, and it was still amazing. The ship was still intact from when it had last operated, and the below-deck quarters were closed off from the public. I hope one day I'm able to witness an operational ship in person, particularly an aircraft carrier. We finished up the boat tours and headed inside, where we viewed the history of ships in Australia and the rest of the world. We viewed the history of trading ships, make-shift rafts natives use, wartime ships, cargo ships, passenger liners, sailboats, and several others. The displays were incredible, and I learned a lot more than I ever thought I would. Tour complete, we made our way to The Sydney Opera House for a guided tour through one of the world's finest architectural masterpieces.

We learned about Jorn Utzon, the 218th entry into an international competition for the design of an arts event center in Sydney. The Danish architect won unanimously; however, his designs were purely aesthetic (as he had not consulted an engineer or contractor to see if his ideas were possible). The construction of the Opera House is more of a feat than the design: consisting of newly developed prestressed and post-tensioned concrete. The building took two decades to complete, as political and construction complications slowed the process to a creeping pace. The building is the most beautiful and complex I've ever stepped inside. There are no columns, and the monumental loads of the concrete structure seemed to curve down to a few points, where the curve of the sail-like roof touched the ground (like a napkin held from the center and the corners draping downwards). The shear scale of the rooms and the structure are something that one can't experience via photographs or video, and I'm sure I'll be back. There is a Shakespeare play called "Richard 3" that plays on Wednesday that I'm set on attending. After all, one can't visit the Opera House and not enjoy what it was intended for (I would attend an opera but none are available...).

Tour over, we ran home and headed for Bondi Beach, as the sun's rays were calling our name. We knew there weren't many days left for the beach, so today was it. We arrived with the sun barely out and winds in excess of 40 mph barreling through, and it was still rather enjoyable. We walked over to another side of the bay, where 10-15 foot waves were crashing against the rocks, and I snapped a photo with the groovy Bondi sign that perfectly captures the beach's vibes. We stood there, holding onto dear life as the wind bullied us, and to our amazement: saw several surfers out trying to catch the perfect wave. Talk about crazy..... We returned to the beach shortly after and found a seafood spot called Bondi Surf Seafood. Here we enjoyed the best seafood of the trip (we hadn't eaten nearly as much as I would've liked), and I got Sydney rock oysters and a thick-cut grilled salmon fillet with salad. It was superb, and I finished strong with a double scoop of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.