Sydney, Australia

Sydney, Australia

During a few more sea days, we were faced with saying good-bye to some of our good friends who were getting off in Sydney, including three members of my Trivia Dream Team (so called because we won the Trivia contest again and again). Ronnie organized a special dinner for our team members and spouses, and we had a blast with them (including giving Dream Team certificates to the departing members). Of course, we also were quite sad to see them go as we had become a cohesive team and knew each other well. Other good friends including our rental car driver Nigel, his partner Carole, and another group we had enjoyed on Bora Bora and afterwards (Don and Maureen from Charleston, SC, and Mary and David from the UK), as well as Charles and Neville from Toronto and finally our Assistant Cruise Director, Handre, were also disembarking. As much as we knew we would get to know others, these were people we had bonded with and really could not be replaced.

We were actually up at 6 a.m. the day we arrived at Sydney because we heard the sail-in was not to be missed. Unfortunately it was still dark so we didn’t get the whole effect, but it was still impressive. We docked right downtown in an area called Circular Quay, right across from the Opera House. I am not a big fan of modern architecture, but this building is truly a masterpiece. I never got tired of looking at it, and it is different from every angle and vantage point. I also photographed it from every angle and vantage point so I have more photos of the Sydney Opera House than anything else on the trip so far (except, of course, the Ronnie and Don photos).

What can I say about Sydney except that we were ready to move here (if only it weren’t so far from the states!). And we weren’t the only ones. A number of our fellow passengers said the same thing. It has everything you can imagine. It is surrounded by water, with incredible beaches, a vibrant downtown, all the arts and entertainment you could ever need, a fascinating native Aborigine culture, many shopping districts and trendy harbor areas, excellent restaurants, great and efficient public transportation (including a ferry system that works like clockwork), an abundance of sports and professional teams, a warm climate, and I could go on and on. I guess we were lucky because it was sunny both days we were there, but we heard it does have quite a rainy season.

Our first morning we took the on-off bus again, where you sit on top of a double-decker. It was exciting to get an overview of the city from this high vantage point, but unfortunately our driver drove the bus hard and we were constantly swaying back and forth and starting and stopping sharply. This gave Ronnie a case of motion sickness, especially since she had gone without her patch for a while. She was feeling so bad she had to go back to the ship and lie down. If you know her, you know she did not want me hanging around when she wasn’t feeling well, so at her insistence I went back on the on-off bus and got off at the Opera House. I walked around and picked up our tickets for the opera that night (which we had booked on line) and scouted out restaurants for the evening.

I met Ronnie back near the ship in early afternoon and she was feeling well enough that we walked (yes, walked – no way she was getting back on that bus) a mile or so down George Street (main shopping corridor) to the Queen Victoria mall, which is housed in a stately Victorian style building. Then we walked across a pedestrian bridge (which obviously used to be a draw bridge) to Darling Harbor. Lots of attractions in the harbor. We walked back through an underground mall area and down George street to the ship, stopping at optical and electronics stores. Ronnie saw a couple of pairs of glasses she liked but did not buy anything. Back at the ship we changed for the opera and met several friends from the ship to walk to dinner and the opera. We walked by all the ferry terminals of Circular Quay (they form the base of the harbor with the ship on one side and the Opera House on the other). We passed some Aborigines playing the didgeridoo, the long carved log instrument that makes a low droning sound, and took some time to find a restaurant where all felt comfortable with the food and the price.

After supper we walked to the Opera House and found our seats right front and center. Could not be better. We could see the supertitles quite well also (even though the opera was sung in English). Just being there was amazing, and when the opera (Lady Macbeth) started we realized the harsh music of Shostakovich was going to be a challenge. The story line also was quite dark, with even on onstage rape scene. Ronnie and I whispered to each other that it seemed pretty awful, but it did improve with each act. It was not until we had digested the opera the next day that we realized how well done it was, and could appreciate the quality of the over all production, from the scenery to the singing.

The next day was Thursday and we were out early again to go to Paddy’s market, which was only open Thursday to Sunday. They had recently expanded it from weekends only, and it was all the Victoria Market in Auckland was not. It was huge (100+ stalls) and offered everything you can imagine at bargain basement prices. Since I was still dealing with the paltry amount of clothing I had brought, I bought a truly nice pocket polo shirt for $10 (about $7.50 US), a decent backpack for the same price, and a hat for $5 ($4 US). Oh, oh, we couldn’t pass up a couple of Australian boomerangs for $5 each (but really, they are made of light weight wood!). We spent a couple of hours at the market and then took the bus back to the George street mall.

We split up, and I high-tailed it back to the optical store where we had been the day before so I could surprise Ronnie with the glasses I knew she wanted. Well, not really high-tailed since I got on the wrong bus, apparently an express, and it just kept going. I kept pushing the button to get off, and finally about 8 blocks later it stopped. So I had quite a ways to walk back and I knew Ronnie would be waiting and did not want to be late. I was. It took me a while to find the optical store, and then had to take another bus to meet Ronnie. She was not a happy camper, and asked “What was so important you had to buy?” As much as she pushed I told I would show her later. We bought a sandwich and caught the ferry across the harbor to a section called Manley (the all day combined ferry/bus/train pass was only $17).

Manley was an unexpected treat, with a large pedestrian mall lined with shops and restaurants leading from the ferry to the beach. And the beach: wow! Large, wide and sections with large waves which the surfers loved. However, I dipped my toe in the water only to have it freeze on the spot! Seriously, it was much colder than the ocean in Florida in the middle of winter and this was the tail end of their summer. I went not further in the water, but we really enjoyed just sitting on the beach for a while. The ferry back to Circular Quay was part of the original reason for going to Manley, since we saw the view of the harbor that we missed on our early morning sail in. It was quite worth it. It was starting to sprinkle, so we went back to the ship to dump our stuff and eat.

However, it stopped raining and the sun came out so we decided to put off dinner and walk through the Rocks (the quaint neighborhood near the ship) to the Harbor Bridge. You can climb to the top of the bridge for a hefty price ($150 or so), but you can walk across it for nothing. We took the stairs up to the bridge deck and as we walked across the bridge we were amazed at how many people in business clothes were walking across going home from work. Great views of the harbor and Opera House from the bridge, and we thought we would take the train back since we had our all-day passes. But the neighborhood we came to was so picturesque that we walked around a bit.

Some one told us that a ferry for Circular Quay left from a dock a few blocks down by the harbor. So we walked down to the dock which was located in front of Luna Park, a brightly lit amusement park on the harbor. The rides were closed but we strolled through the park, laughed at the fun house mirrors, and watched people arriving for a Jewish wedding reception. After the ferry back, we were famished and had dinner back on the pool deck of the ship. Yes, I finally gave Ronnie her glasses (actually frames), and yes, she was surprised and yes said she would never wear them. Ok, finally she admitted she really did want them just did not want to spend the money. We were truly sad as we sailed out of Sidney, wishing we could spend many more days there. The days we did have there were magical. In case it wasn’t clear, we would go back in a heartbeat.