Swimming Pretty in the Glass-Half-Full 2012: Day 203 - Bananas, Opera and Quail

After being picked by Steve that morning (he stayed at his place Friday night), went shopping at Woolies, saw this funny sign ...

Back to his place to chill and nap then off to City to see Opera, The Pearl Fishers, with Alan & Pieta at Opera House with dinner at East restaurant beforehand. Lovely night.

Salt and Pepper Quail - YUM!

ZARA!

Here's a shot of my adorable niece Zara climbing a tree today up on Mt. Tambourine behind the Gold Coast.

Swimming Pretty in the Glass-Half-Full 2012: Day 198 - Kookaburras, Opera ... and ice cream in winter

We get all kinds of birds landing on the balconies at work and today's visitor was that guffawing Aussie  icon, the kookaburra. He stayed put long enough for us (Tracy and I) to get some great photos - the way he stared at us with scornful disapproval whenever we got too near was hilarious - before flying back into the trees.

That night I met Steve, and friends Alan & Pieta for the opera Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City) about a man mourning his lost love in the city of Bruges and the way his inability to let go of her, even when dead, is ruining any chance he has of a meaningful life. It was beautifully sung, the visuals were lush and colourful, and the music reminded of those lush cinematic scores from the 1940s. Loved it.

We grabbed dinner beforehand at the Opera Kitchen - I had delicious fish and chips - and champagne during one of the two breaks, and after we missed the 10.56 train from Circular Quay, gelato while we waited for the next train at 11.26.

And finally got the loveliest tweets from two Twitter friends which frankly made my night.

Thanks guys!