The day we landed in Sydney we went for a walk downtown.  They had posters everywhere advertising Disney's Mary Poppins, which was playing at the Capitol Theatre.  Having just missed Wicked (in both Edmonton and Sydney!), I was desperate to go!  And I finally did!  :)

The Capitol Theatre is stunning inside.  It sparkles with old world charm and elegance.  Grand marble staircases take you to the upper levels, and ornate carvings decorate both the lobby and the theatre.  The ceiling is painting blue, and glitters with stars that dim when the show starts.  It's a very magical place to be.

Best of all, Mary Poppins was outstanding!  I completely forgot I was a grown up and got involved with the story, clapping along with the other children.  The Broadway version is quite different from the movie, but the same spirit is there.  I only have one photo from the show (taken before it started, of couse), but I don't need photos, because it's a night I'll remember for a very long time. 

I'm not sick enough to just be sleeping, but not nearly well enough to actually do anything.  So instead I'm housebound with the attention span of an ADD flee.  (I'm not sure about the normal attention span of a flee...  But I can't seem to focus on much of anything for longer than three seconds...  I think it's the fever.)

Ah well. 

One of the prettiest parts of Sydney is an area called Darling Harbour.  It's right in middle of the downtown area (called the CBD, or central business district by locals, or more commonly, just called "the city").   It's an entertainment center with restaurants, bars, shopping, attractions, and events.  They also hold festivals here and have random fireworks, which I rather enjoy.  Of course, the best part is that this is also where you'll find the Lindt Chocolate Cafe.  Mmmmm! 

Darling Harbour is home to both the Sydney Wildlife Park and the Aquarium.  Soon it will also boast a Madame Tussauds.

(Random aside: Did you know Madame Tossaud lived through the French Revolution?  She has a fascinating history and began her famous career as basically a news agent working with her family.  Her family's wax figures were of scenes of local interest, such as the royalty, politicians, and criminals.  People could pay to "see" the important happenings.  Later she made death masks after people were killed by the revolutionaries.  Eventually she was sent to the prisons, but made it out after the revolution and moved to England where she reinvented herself.) 

One of the first touristy things we did was check out the aquarium.  While not as impressive as the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, this one here is still quite nice.  Here's a few of the things that we saw.

Okay, having gone back and re-read this post, I must admit that I've jumped around a fair bit.  But I did warn you about the problems with my attention span.  I just can't seem to concentra- ....  Aww, the cat is being cute!

I hope you are having a better day than I am!

I have a cold, and have decided that sniffles in beautiful weather is just sad.  I also just lost the cleverly written post I was working on about the various places to see some of those quintessential Aussie animals.  So over all, I'm feeling rather pathetic and sorry for myself. 

So please excuse me if I skip over the part where I re-write everything, and just get right to the pictures.  Here are some shots from Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Wildlife Park.