We’re sailing on the Tasman Sea again, between Sydney and Melbourne. I’m on the back deck by the Sea View pool. It’s warm and sunny and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. Frank Sinatra is singing, people are sunbathing, a crewman is varnishing the guard rail and I’m blogging. It’s a very peaceful scene.
Our two days in Sydney were phenomenal. We got up early the first morning. Coffee and sweet rolls were promised at 6 with narration by Barbara beginning at 6:15. We discovered upon emerging from our cabin that it was raining and foggy outside and we were disappointed. So we went up to the Crow’s Nest, the lounge at the top front of the ship, to watch the cruise into the harbor. We sat with a couple of our friends for a half hour or so, then went outside and braved the weather. Regardless of the rain, Sydney harbor was a beautiful sight. Our ship got the primo docking spot, just across the bay from the legendary Opera House. As we ate our breakfast on the Lido Deck, we had a bird’s eye view of the Opera House and the city that was just waking up on this Saturday morning. In spite of the weather, we were excited. We were in Australia.
We had a tour planned for the morning. Our first stop was the Opera House where we had a guided tour of the facility. The inside of the building wasn’t as plush as I’d expected it to be; a lot of concrete and wood paneling, but the story of how it was conceived and given birth was fascinating. Not being opera lovers, we didn’t schedule a night at the opera as many of our shipmates did, but part of me wishes I could have seen a performance there as the concert halls were designed for perfect acoustics.
From the opera house we motored around the city, looking at the views and the upscale suburban neighborhoods. Our tour guide, Lynn, was telling us about real estate values and prices and said “You know what they say about real estate: ‘position, position, position’”. I got a chuckle out of that phrase.
When Lynn dropped us off at the ship she said that Murphy’s Law would dictate that the rain will stop now that the tour is over, and she was right. As we ate lunch, the sun came out so we set out for a walk around downtown Sydney. It was Saturday afternoon and the streets and shops were very busy. The streets are quite narrow so there’s a lot of traffic congestion but it gives the city a cozy feeling. Sydney is immaculately clean, quite a feat when you realize there are 4.2 million people living there. It’s a very nice mix of old and new buildings; the old ones are made primarily of sandstone which is a reddish gold color and gives a nice contrast next to a building made mainly of glass. Statues and monuments adorn Hyde Park, a huge green space in the center of the city. Since the weather was fine, people were out enjoying their Saturday afternoon. We saw several wedding parties having pictures taken in Hyde Park, then moving on to their respective receptions in their Rolls Royce processions. February is the month of Chinese New Year and there is a large contingent of Chinese in Sydney. Every day was a celebration of some sort going on and Chinese people flooded the streets for the festivities.
We had made a date with Dick and Debra to meet for dinner and our chosen rendezvous spot was the 30’ long by 20’ high woman made out of peaches, the pedestrian-stopping work of art that was perched on the grounds of the modern art museum adjacent to our ship. The woman lies on her stomach with her legs at a 90 angle and her head and arms like a sphinx. I wish we could attach pictures to the blog because she is something to see.
The four of us went to The Rocks, an area right behind the museum which is the first settlement in Australia, the one those bad convicts from England developed in 1788. There are still buildings erected by the first settlers and the area is very quaint, with lots of narrow alleys and twisting streets. We had a glass of wine at the first hotel bar ever established in Australia and settled on an Italian restaurant for dinner. We had a lot of laughs and a good time was had by all.
Sunday morning we were on our own and began our day at the Rocks Market which is a weekend crafts market just a block from the ship. A good people-watching place. After that we walked uptown to the Queen Victoria Building, the old train station that was converted into a shopping mall. It’s a magnificent building full of stained glass and wrought iron, featuring a revolving wax figure of Queen Victoria surrounded by several crowns, scepters and pieces of jewelry worn by the royals in the 19th century.
A stroll through the Botanical Gardens came next. My favorite things there were the castle-like government building, the gigantic old fig trees and the thousands of bats hanging in a grove. These are yellow faced flying foxes similar to the ones we saw in Tonga but there were many more in the Botanical Gardens and they were more active; dozens of them were flying over our heads and squawking. The bats are large enough to provide a decent sized meal and many Aussies eat them.
After the gardens we were thirsty so we went back to The Rocks and had a glass of wine while sitting in a pub window watching the people at the market. Then moved on to walk the Sydney Harbour Bridge, affectionately known as the “Coat Hanger Bridge” by the Sydneysiders. The bridge is one mile across with outstanding views of downtown, the Opera House and the ship. On the way back to the ship we stopped at another old hotel with a rooftop bar for our second glass of wine.
Had dinner on the ship then took off again for another walk At 9 we met our friends Austin and Brenna for yet another glass of wine (well, I had 2) before embarking on the ship for our departure. Austin and Brenna are staying in Sydney for a couple of days and then going to the Great Barrier Reef before rejoining the ship in Perth. We had a great day. We think we walked about 12 miles over the day; our legs and feet felt every mile.
A couple of observations about Australia: where the Jamaicans say “No problem”, the Aussies say “No worries”. And the whole time we were there, I didn’t hear one person say “G’Day Mate”.
Our two days in Sydney were phenomenal. We got up early the first morning. Coffee and sweet rolls were promised at 6 with narration by Barbara beginning at 6:15. We discovered upon emerging from our cabin that it was raining and foggy outside and we were disappointed. So we went up to the Crow’s Nest, the lounge at the top front of the ship, to watch the cruise into the harbor. We sat with a couple of our friends for a half hour or so, then went outside and braved the weather. Regardless of the rain, Sydney harbor was a beautiful sight. Our ship got the primo docking spot, just across the bay from the legendary Opera House. As we ate our breakfast on the Lido Deck, we had a bird’s eye view of the Opera House and the city that was just waking up on this Saturday morning. In spite of the weather, we were excited. We were in Australia.
We had a tour planned for the morning. Our first stop was the Opera House where we had a guided tour of the facility. The inside of the building wasn’t as plush as I’d expected it to be; a lot of concrete and wood paneling, but the story of how it was conceived and given birth was fascinating. Not being opera lovers, we didn’t schedule a night at the opera as many of our shipmates did, but part of me wishes I could have seen a performance there as the concert halls were designed for perfect acoustics.
From the opera house we motored around the city, looking at the views and the upscale suburban neighborhoods. Our tour guide, Lynn, was telling us about real estate values and prices and said “You know what they say about real estate: ‘position, position, position’”. I got a chuckle out of that phrase.
When Lynn dropped us off at the ship she said that Murphy’s Law would dictate that the rain will stop now that the tour is over, and she was right. As we ate lunch, the sun came out so we set out for a walk around downtown Sydney. It was Saturday afternoon and the streets and shops were very busy. The streets are quite narrow so there’s a lot of traffic congestion but it gives the city a cozy feeling. Sydney is immaculately clean, quite a feat when you realize there are 4.2 million people living there. It’s a very nice mix of old and new buildings; the old ones are made primarily of sandstone which is a reddish gold color and gives a nice contrast next to a building made mainly of glass. Statues and monuments adorn Hyde Park, a huge green space in the center of the city. Since the weather was fine, people were out enjoying their Saturday afternoon. We saw several wedding parties having pictures taken in Hyde Park, then moving on to their respective receptions in their Rolls Royce processions. February is the month of Chinese New Year and there is a large contingent of Chinese in Sydney. Every day was a celebration of some sort going on and Chinese people flooded the streets for the festivities.
We had made a date with Dick and Debra to meet for dinner and our chosen rendezvous spot was the 30’ long by 20’ high woman made out of peaches, the pedestrian-stopping work of art that was perched on the grounds of the modern art museum adjacent to our ship. The woman lies on her stomach with her legs at a 90 angle and her head and arms like a sphinx. I wish we could attach pictures to the blog because she is something to see.
The four of us went to The Rocks, an area right behind the museum which is the first settlement in Australia, the one those bad convicts from England developed in 1788. There are still buildings erected by the first settlers and the area is very quaint, with lots of narrow alleys and twisting streets. We had a glass of wine at the first hotel bar ever established in Australia and settled on an Italian restaurant for dinner. We had a lot of laughs and a good time was had by all.
Sunday morning we were on our own and began our day at the Rocks Market which is a weekend crafts market just a block from the ship. A good people-watching place. After that we walked uptown to the Queen Victoria Building, the old train station that was converted into a shopping mall. It’s a magnificent building full of stained glass and wrought iron, featuring a revolving wax figure of Queen Victoria surrounded by several crowns, scepters and pieces of jewelry worn by the royals in the 19th century.
A stroll through the Botanical Gardens came next. My favorite things there were the castle-like government building, the gigantic old fig trees and the thousands of bats hanging in a grove. These are yellow faced flying foxes similar to the ones we saw in Tonga but there were many more in the Botanical Gardens and they were more active; dozens of them were flying over our heads and squawking. The bats are large enough to provide a decent sized meal and many Aussies eat them.
After the gardens we were thirsty so we went back to The Rocks and had a glass of wine while sitting in a pub window watching the people at the market. Then moved on to walk the Sydney Harbour Bridge, affectionately known as the “Coat Hanger Bridge” by the Sydneysiders. The bridge is one mile across with outstanding views of downtown, the Opera House and the ship. On the way back to the ship we stopped at another old hotel with a rooftop bar for our second glass of wine.
Had dinner on the ship then took off again for another walk At 9 we met our friends Austin and Brenna for yet another glass of wine (well, I had 2) before embarking on the ship for our departure. Austin and Brenna are staying in Sydney for a couple of days and then going to the Great Barrier Reef before rejoining the ship in Perth. We had a great day. We think we walked about 12 miles over the day; our legs and feet felt every mile.
A couple of observations about Australia: where the Jamaicans say “No problem”, the Aussies say “No worries”. And the whole time we were there, I didn’t hear one person say “G’Day Mate”.
2 comments:
You didn't mention that the peach lady is nude! What happens when the peaches get over ripe?
You didn't mention that the peach lady is nude! What happens when the peaches get over ripe?
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