Football - Australian Style

Football in Australia refers to Rugby.  Rugby is growing in the US, but it is comparable to the NFL in the US including all the scandals surrounding our NFL stars.  Funny that no matter how far one travels, we all seem to have the same issues.

Suzan had promised me a rugby game.  She offered a chance to go to a professional game - or go and and watch her grandsons play.  I know from watching my nephew Ray play, there is nothing better than a day with family watching our kids/grand kids play football, lacrosse or rugby.

So off to football we went.  Suzan's grandsons Tanner and Carter were playing.  It was a lovely park with a nice concession area with real bathrooms (no port-o-potties) and something I think every high school sports game should have - a coffee truck serving a wide range of coffees, cappuccinos, lattes and hot chocolate.  We had it all, comfy folding chairs, umbrellas to hold back the sun, great seats on the 50 yard line and lattes.

Rugby is different in that a ball can be thrown latterly or backwards but not forward.  Someone tried to explain the difference between league rugby, which apparently we were watching, versus some other type of rugby.  Obviously I really understood what they were saying.  Apparently one differentiation is when a runner is tackled, if he (or she - girls play rugby with the boys) kicks the ball back to a team member, that means it is league rugby.  In the other type (which I still don't remember the name) once tackled, the ball goes to the other team.  Needless to say, it was fun to watch.  Tanner's team won by a significant margin.  Carter's team, which one it's championship last year, moved up to the next level so this was their first game playing different teams.  They lost - but by only two points, which their mom, Danielle, thought was pretty good.

Needless to say, it was a really fun day and felt like a day at home with my sister Cindy, her hubbie Steven and my nephew Ray. 

From there we headed home with Danielle and Brady, Suzan's daughter and her oldest grandson.  Danielle and Brady are going to Canada in June for a softball tournament, then heading south to NYC for a few days.  We had a fun time sitting on the veranda talking about New York.  Any of you who know me are not surprised that I spent my time on the computer looking up hotels and tours for them while we chatted and when we finished I emailed a long list of links to help them plan their trip.  A shout out to my sister Cindy who has taught me so much about planning and traveling, which allowed me to give Danielle lots of good information.

We finished the day by going to see the "trotters".  Horse racing.  I am fascinated by Australia's love of horse races and gambling.  I don't think there is anything the Australian's won't bet on, I find it so amazing to see commercials for betting on just about anything.  What I find the most amazing?  The clubs owned and run by the Catholic Church!  So imagine in the US walking into a club to buy drinks, eat food, play the slots, bet on horse and dog races all owned and run by the Catholic Church.  Suzan was telling me that they close on Good Friday and Christmas Day, but did not close when the Pope died, which she found surprising.  Supposedly they take a portion of the proceeds and give it to charities and/or the poor.  My comment was - the poor created by they gambling clubs?!?!

The "trotters" was a really fun time.  We sat on the lawn and there was a festival going on that reminded me of a small version of Taste of Colorado.  All kinds of food stands and trucks along with vendors selling artisan crafts.  It was the first cool night and it was just lovely as the sun went down and the lights came on.  Probably 40% of the stands were Asian and I finally settled on a Vietnamese noodle bowl and their version of crab wontons.  Quite good.  Suzan got chicken wings with honey mustard glaze.  So far the chicken wings I've had here are like double the size of our wings - so plump and quite delicious.

We watched about 6 races and enjoyed picking the horses I thought would win.  The one horse I picked that won - Picard!  How could Picard not win?!?!  The horses are smaller than the big race horses we saw at Rosehill.  Overall, what a lovely evening.  Tomorrow - day of rest and blogging.

Picard - make it so!

Captain Cook Cruise - Sydney Harbor

After a spectacular night at the Opera, we got up and headed back down to Darling Harbor for our lunch cruise of Sydney Harbor with Captain Cook Cruises.  It was a lovely morning, cooler than it had been which was a relief.

Our original plan was to take the train back to Circle Quay to catch Captain Cook there, but when we arrived on the ferry yesterday, we saw the cruise we would be taking leaving Darling Harbor.  We found out that yes indeed, we could leave from Darling Harbor, didn't have to go anywhere AND got to get on 1/2 hour before Circular Quay and hopefully get a good table.

We headed for breakfast at a little cafe because we got free coffee with breakfast.  Suzan had lovely poached eggs on toast, I had avocado, roasted tomatoes and feta cheese on toast.  It was delicious.  They also served a grilled tomato on the side with what I think was italian spices.  Quite good.

Breakfast down we went on to our next task - shopping. A few souvenirs and we were off to the Captain Cook offices to check in. We were early, but it paid off, we got a very nice table that had  a great view.

The boat had 3 levels with dining rooms on each level.  We were on the middle deck.  There were two buffet tables on each level.  The first buffet opened when we boarded; the second opened when another group was picked up at Central Quay so the new passengers got a fresh buffet as well.

The bar had a nice selection.  Margaret and Suzan bought a bottle of wine; I got a mojito that was stuffed with mint and limes.  At home, getting mint in a mojito is like an after thought.  I have found in Australia they put MINT into their mojitos - like have a glass full, it is awesome.  It is especially nice since I like to drink my mojito then add water to the mint and lime, which makes for several glasses of really nice, flavored water.

The buffet included a chicken and vegetarian curry, rice, steamed baramundi, steamed mussels and clams, raw oysters, prawns, salad and bread.  I don't raw seafood so I skipped the oysters but everything else was very nice.  The curry was quite spicy, which was nice.  The prawns, like all the prawns I've had here, were served with the head on and were very good.  Salad was salad but very nice and fresh and the bread was delicious.

There was a dessert bar with fresh fruit and different little cakes.  The chocolate cakes (tasted like a flour free cake) was very nice.  The vanilla cake was very bland and not worth the calories.

The tour itself of the harbor was very nice.  We heard a nice commentary on the harbor area and got a nice view of the area.  We had noticed while we were waiting lots of small boats from the Captain Cook fleet coming and going with what looked like cruise line passengers.  Sure enough at the far end of the harbor were two cruise ships.  Suzan said the locations were more industrial and there was no nice area to board/disembark like at the international terminal where we boarded/disembarked, so instead passengers disembarked and boarded boats that brought them over to Darling Harbor.  The King Street Wharf #1, where we and those small boats were located, was about 30 yards from the Barangaroo Ferry stop that connected with Central Quay and the main train system.

The following is a compilation of entries in Wikipedia about Port Jackson, Sydney Harbor, the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge:

Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (part of the South Pacific Ocean). It is the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The location of the first European settlement and colony on the Australian mainland, Port Jackson has continued to play a key role in the history and development of Sydney.

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the 20th century's most famous and distinctive buildings.

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the building was formally opened on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The government of New South Wales, led by the premier, Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation.

The building and its surrounds occupy the whole of Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour, between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens, and close by the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Though its name suggests a single venue, the building comprises multiple performance venues which together host well over 1,500 performances annually, attended by more than 1.2 million people. Performances are presented by numerous performing artists, including three resident companies: Opera Australia, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, more than eight million people visit the site annually, and approximately 350,000 visitors take a guided tour of the building each year. The building is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust, an agency of the New South Wales State Government.

On 28 June 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site; having been listed on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate since 1980, the National Trust of Australia register since 1983, the City of Sydney Heritage Inventory since 2000, the New South Wales State Heritage Register since 2003, and the Australian National Heritage List since 2005. 

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of Sydney, and Australia itself. The bridge is nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design.

Under the direction of Dr John Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works, the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middlesbrough and opened in 1932.[4][5] The bridge's design was influenced by the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. It is the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m (440 ft) from top to water level. It was also the world's widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 m (160 ft) wide, until construction of the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver was completed in 2012

The waterways of Port Jackson are managed by the Roads & Maritime Services. Sydney Harbour National Park protects a number of islands and foreshore areas, swimming spots, bushwalking tracks and picnic areas.

The land around Port Jackson was occupied at the time of the European arrival and colonisation by the Eora clans, including the Gadigal, Cammeraygal, and Wangal. The Gadigal occupied the land stretching along the south side of Port Jackson from what is now South Head, in an arc west to the present Darling Harbour. The Cammeraygal lived on the northern side of the harbour. The area along the southern banks of the Parramatta River to Rose Hill belonged to the Wangal. The Eora occupied Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), south to the Georges River and west to Parramatta.

The first recorded European discovery of Sydney Harbour, was by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770. Cook named the inlet after Sir George Jackson, one of the Lord Commissioners of the British Admiralty, and Judge Advocate of the Fleet. His ship's log notation states "at noon we were...about 2 or 3 miles from the land and abrest of a bay or harbour within there appeared to be a safe anchorage which I called Port Jackson."

Eighteen years later, on 21 January 1788, after arriving at Botany Bay, Governor Arthur Phillip took a longboat and two cutters up the coast to examine Cook's Port Jackson. Phillip first stayed over night at Camp Cove, then moved down the harbour, landing at Sydney Cove and then Manly Cove before returning to Botany Bay on the afternoon of 24 January. Phillip returned to Sydney Cove in HM Armed Tender Supply on 26 January 1788, where he established the first colony in Australia, later to become the city of Sydney.

In 1942, to protect Sydney Harbour from a submarine attack, the Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net was constructed. It spanned the harbour from Green (Laings) Point, Watsons Bay to the battery at Georges Head, on the other side of the harbour. On the night of 31 May 1942, three Japanese midget submarines entered the harbour, one of which became entangled in the western end of the boom net's central section. Unable to free their submarine, the crew detonated charges, killing themselves in the process. A second midget submarine came to grief in Taylor's Bay, the two crew committing suicide. The third submarine fired two torpedoes at USS Chicago (both missed) before leaving the harbour. In November 2006, this submarine was found off Sydney's Northern Beaches.

The anti-submarine boom net was demolished soon after World War II, and all that remains are the foundations of the old boom net winch house, which can be viewed on Green (Laings) Point, Watsons Bay. Today, the Australian War Memorial has on display a composite of the two midget submarines salvaged from Sydney Harbour. The conning tower of one of the midget submarines is on display at the RAN Heritage Centre, Garden Island, Sydney.

There are several islands within the harbour, including Shark Island, Clark Island, Fort Denison, Goat Island, Cockatoo Island, Spectacle Island, Snapper Island and Rodd Island. Some other former islands, including Bennelong Island, Garden Island and Berry Island, have subsequently been linked to the shore by land reclamation. Exposed at low tide is Sow and Pigs Reef, a well-known navigation obstacle near the main shipping lane.

Darlling Harbor

Australian Navy

Australian Navy

 One of the things I've learned while in Australia is the pride they have in their military and at least for the group with whom I am staying, honoring and remember them is a big deal.  Australia played major roles in the world wars and continues to be a proud ally of the United States.  As my friends know, I grew up military, I support our military and I have so enjoyed the stories about and respect for both the Australian military and their relationship with the US Military.

Darling Harbor

Hard Rock Darling Harbor

Darling Harbor

Sail boat passing by - that's the life!

Amazing mojito

We disembarked from the lunch cruise around 3 at Central Quay and took the train back to Minto, our stop, then an Uber back to the house.  It was a lovely couple of days.

Opera on the Harbor

When I was planning this trip just for giggles I checked operas - after all it is Sydney with their amazing Opera House.  La Boheme was playing but at the Opera on the Harbor.  Since La Boheme is one of my favorites, I booked seats (orchestra center row 2) and the pre opera buffet at the Platinum club.

So today, Thursday April 12, is Opera day.  I have been excited for this day to some since I bought the tickets.  Suzan added to the trip a stay at an all suite hotel in Darling Harbor and booked a lunch cruise on Captain Cook cruises for Friday.

From Suzan's house it is a short Uber trip to the train station, about a $6 trip on my Opal card to Circular Quay which is where you can pick up ferries.  I think Suzan thought I didn't enjoy the ferry and was looking for alternatives, but once I assured her that I didn't just like riding on the ferries, I LOVED riding on the ferries, we took the train to catch the ferry from Circular Quay to Darling Harbor.

We got on the ferry just in time to see a huge Princes cruise ship coming into the harbor.  It was headed to dock near Darling Harbor so from the ferry we would watch it go under the bridge and head right towards us.  It looks like the ship clears the bridge by inches although I'm sure in reality it is feet - very few feet - but feet.  As it turns out there was kind of a traffic jam in darling harbor between the ferries, the boats from Captain Cook cruises bringing people in and out of Darling Harbor from ships docked further down the harbor and the various other commercial ships.  We had to skip one stop to get around the cruise ship and finally landed at our stop. 

A short walk past the Maritime Museum up the mall brought us to the one place I try to visit in every city:  Hard Rock cafe.  It was awesome.  Hamburgers, cucumber mojitos, pictures to add to my history of Hard Rock cafe  visits and of course a visit to the Rock Shop for t-shirts, pins and shot glasses.  Suzan had never been to a Hard Rock so she had to listen to all my Hard Rock stories (she is a great travel mate - she kindly listened to all my stories). 

The Rock reflected one thing I have heard people talk about - the cost of living in Sydney.  A cheese burger and fries at the Darling Harbor Hard Rock was $26.50.  Drink like $16 and appetizer $13.  For us from the U.S., drop the price about 25% to reflect the currency exchange.  I have found some things in grocery stores (like Australian produce, meat and poultry) is pretty reasonable.  But as an example, I had to replace an eye brow pencil - $7.99 at home.  $16.50 AUD. 

Stomachs full and pocket books lighter, we headed off to our hotel.  About a 10 minute walk in 90 degree plus weather with about 80% humidity and I was really happy when we found our hotel and its wonderful air conditioning.  Shower and fresh clothes and we were off to the Opera.  Suzan had been scoping out how to get from our hotel to the opera and as we walked out to the street I said my new favorite word in Sydney - Uber. 

We had a lovely driver who took us right to the ticket office where our tickets for dinner and the opera were waiting for us.  They had our tickets for Opera, nothing for dinner but not an issue - I had a confirming email.  Gotta love online purchases and confirmations.

We walked towards the Opera, Suzan got us programs, and as we turned the harbor stretched before us.  An absolutely gorgeous site.  Down the hill and through the gates and the stage was right in front of us.  It was spectacular and HUGE.  We scoped out our seats - dead center in front of the stage - another plus of online purchases - then headed off to find the Platinum Club. 

Front view of the stage

Stage just prior to the opera starting

The man monitoring the club's entrance was not quite as taken by my confirming email in lieu of a ticket, but my best American accent I told him it had been confirmed, I had waited for this for months and I was just sure they had my name on the list for dinner.  Guess what?  They had my name on the list for dinner!

Early once again, we got a table in the very front over looking the harbor.  We discovered wine and champagne were included with our dinner and so we had some while we waited for the food to be ready.  They advertised it as a tasting menu, but they had a potato dish (like a potato gratin) traditional ratatouille, coq o vin, what looked like knockwurst with sauerkraut, salads, anti pasta and bread.  So much more than I expected and oh so very good!

Dinner concluded and we walked to our seats.  They had stands where you could buy wine in an ice bucket to take back to your seat with wine glasses.  Reminded me of when Cindy and I went to Park City Utah for an Earth Wind and Fire Concert.  Instead of smelling everyone lighting up (pot), we heard everyone popping the cork of their wine.  I settled for a lovely bottle of sparkling water and a lemon tart to share during intermission.

The Opera was spectacular.  I love La Boheme so it was impossible for it to be anything but good.  But this was great!  Many of the cast came in on the sidewalk and walked up a ramp to the stage - right in front of us!  The stage was huge as were the props.  There were balloons and a basket that came down to carry off one of the characters (hooked to a crane).  When Rodolfo and Mimi kissed fire works went off - literally.  Fireworks went off at  the end of the first act AFTER the characters came on stage with torches - real torches with fire!  One character arrived in a police bugger that drove right in front of us then returned during the second act to deliver more characters.  Two overturned cars - real cars - were on the stage for the start of the second act - one of them on fire - literally.  The singing was wonderful, the staging was breath taking and of course the story of La Boheme is just wonderful.

The only sad note of the night was a 30 minute delay when an older lady on a cane fell backwards on the cement steps.  The paramedics came and actually put her on a backboard then into an ambulance.  Suzan and I agreed that no matter what country you are in, paramedics always seem to be young, very handsome men.  We both agreed the ambulance driver could drive us to the hospital anytime!  But in all seriousness, we watched as they cared for their patient and they really were wonderful in how they talked with her, cared for her and made sure she made it safely onto the ambulance and off to the hospital.

Getting home proved to be more of a challenge but Suzan found us a water taxi that got us back to Circle Quay where there were no ferries - Suzan said there were, but I stuck to my story so - you guessed it - Uber back to the hotel.

Over all, what a spectacular day.  I felt bad at first about missing an opera at the Opera House, but I overheard more than one person talk about how surprised they were that the interior of the Opera House had not been updated recently and how close the rows were which led to sore knees by the end of the opera.  Not a problem at the Opera on the Harbor so La Boheme led us to the right place!

Ocean Cruise versus River Cruise

Now that I have had the chance to do both river cruises and an ocean cruise, I thought I'd share how I think they compare.

River cruises are an average of 120 passengers with about 40 crew.  Uniworld, which is my favorite cruise line because of the way they treat singles, is my favorite cruise line.  They offer a variety of routes where they waive the single premium.  Granted they are usually during the down season in the spring, I enjoy it because it is generally cooler and easy to get flights from the US.  Even on the cruise that had a single premium, I paid about 1/3 more as a single and I was allowed to upgrade to any level and room type I wanted. 

My first river cruise included wine and beer at lunch and dinner and all the tours, but it did not include tips for the crew and for the tour guides.  Since then, Uniworld has gone 100% all inclusive so all of these things are included (including wifi).  On  both cruises I upgraded to the top level and had a room by myself.  The cabins on a river cruise are about 2/3, maybe even 1/2 the size of a cabin on an ocean cruise.  There are daily tours that are included in the cruise plus there are periodic additional tours that are an extra cost, but those generally are under $75.

My favorite things about a river cruise:

• Number of passengers
• Size of ship
• Quality of food
• Lite lunch option in bar
• All inclusive bar, food, tours
• Daily tours
• Gentle walker, Regular Walker and Active Walker (bicycle) tours
• Local talks and/or entertainers both during tours and on board

My least favorite things about a river cruise:

• WiFi in and out (not anything anyone can control)

Ocean cruising is new for me so I didn't know what to expect.  We were on level 6 out of 15 near the middle of the ship.  We had a room with a nice balcony, two single beds, a couch, chest of drawers, TV, closet and nice sized bathroom.  It was really quite a nice room and very comfortable for two people.  What I learned during the cruise that being mid range on decks and in the middle of the boat reduced the impact (feel) of waves.  Since we skirted a cyclone, there were a couple of days I was very thankful for our location.

The ship had about 2,200 passengers so there was a huge buffet area along with a snack bar on deck 14, a "healthy" restaurant on deck 12, three specialty restaurants on deck 5, a nice coffee shop on deck five and two dining rooms on decks 3 and 4.   

The buffet was open for all three meals plus late night for "after the bar" snacks.  The food was on a buffet, which really tells it all.  Breakfast was nice because there were eggs to order.  Lunch was OK and I only ate in the buffet once for dinner and that was enough.  

The snack bar had hot dogs and hamburgers that had been cooked until they were like cardboard.  They advertised hamburgers cooked to order - as long as they were cooked well done.  Their argument was the risk of food borne illnesses and the supervisor finally told me no hamburgers to order.  My comment was - if you don't intend to do it, don't advertise it.  The hot dogs weren't too bad, but the hamburgers were just plain terrible.  French fries were fried ahead and held and tasted it like it.

The coffee shop was my favorite place - great coffee and lovely snacks although I only ordered one time - donuts filled with custard.

We ate at two specialty restaurants and they were very good but they were not good enough to warrant how much extra we paid.  I also was put off by the hard sell to go to the restaurants.

The main dining rooms were open for menu service breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Suzan ate breakfast in the restaurant the day I went snorkeling and said it was only OK so she ate breakfast he rest of time at the buffet.  Neither of us tried it for lunch and we ate there most nights for dinner.  The service was good during dinner but somehow they kept forgetting our after dinner coffee.  I think once we were served the focus was on the next service at 8:30.

I ate once at the "healthy" restaurant.  Apparently they considered healthy just smaller portions of things served at the buffet but pre plated along with fresh fruit.  It would have been nice to include a small salad bar.  Over all a disappointment.

There were bars scattered all over and essentially offered the same thing.

Excursions were offered daily and all were extra.  Even the shuttle bus into town had a charge, anywhere from $20 to $28.  For all the excursions I selected my cost was about $1,100 and I didn't do an excursion every day.  The most expensive were the snorkeling of which I did three.  The excursions were very nice but booked up fast and were from 60 to 200 people.

Entertainment and lectures were offered throughout the cruise.  There was also a casino.  I went to several shows but I have to say that except for the Oz Boys of Motown, the shows were OK

I enjoyed being on the ocean more than I thought I would and it was beautiful to look out over the ocean.  Looking out over the water to see squalls ahead or the sunrise/sunset was quite beautiful.  I really enjoyed watching the waves especially when the weather was rough, they were just amazing.

My favorite things about ocean cruise:

Nice sized room

Excellent service

Variety of bars and restaurants

Coffee shop

My least favorite things about ocean cruise:

• If I wanted to travel alone, I would have to pay for 2 people
• Quality of food - OK
• Sell mentality - every time we turned around someone was trying to sell us on a special restaurant, stop by a store and buy something, etc.
• Excursions - everything is extra*  
• The number of people - we stood in line for EVERYTHING.
• The number of people - dinner felt like "get 'em fed and out" for the next round of people

*I should note that the cost of my excursions, the premium drink package plus the cost of the cruise equaled about what I paid for my first river cruise of 14 days in a room by myself on the top level.

Would I do another ocean cruise?  Possibly but I would consider one of the lines that has the smaller ships.  My biggest issue with ocean cruises is how they treat those of us who like to travel alone.  We pay for two people to have the privilege of a private room.  Uniworld charges from 50% more to 0% depending on the route and time of year.  

I do want to give a shout out to my travel mate who put our cruise together.  Suzan made sure we really had a nice trip and really helped me navigate the world of cruising.  She is so knowledgeable as well as fun to travel with so she really made the trip nice.

Sailing back to Sydney

We have one day left on the ocean then we are Sydney.  We are slated to arrive at 6:30 am.  We spent the day wandering around, enjoying a last of everything - a nice breakfast, a mocha, lunch overlooking the ocean and one last dinner with Paula.  We did our farewells with staff we had enjoyed during our cruise.

The last show was ROCK with rock songs done by the ship's entertainers.  They put on an excellent show and it was a great way for them to end the cruise.

Back to the room, luggage in the hall to be picked up.  Suddenly all of my shopping was coming back to haunt me.  I have an empty suitcase for going home, but it did not come on the cruise with me.  Fortunately Suzan took the Starbucks bears and my sweaters and I was good to go.

I was sound asleep and suddenly Suzan wakes me up.  I thought I had overslept and was really upset.  Quite the opposite, it was about 5 am and we were just getting into the bay.  I pulled on my clothes still a bit out of it - Suzan was concerned I was going to "crown" her.  But she was SOOO right!

Oh my gosh, coming into Sydney harbor standing on the 15th deck was the best.  It was a beautiful morning as the sun came up over the harbor.  Beautiful way to come home.

Suzan uses public transportation everywhere and once in a while a taxi.  My visit has introduced her to Uber.  It has been fabulous here in the city and within 5 minutes we had an Uber waiting to take us home.  Suzan did not want to use it, not because she didn't appreciate the ride but she was concerned about the cost (she has always been thoughtful this way).  But once we walked about 10 paces, got into a nice air conditioned car and headed home, she admitted she was not unhappy to Uber home.

Pilot boat leading the cruise ship into the harbor

Downtown Sydney

Our docking ramps with supplies below for the next leg of the cruise to Hawaii

Supplies for next leg of cruise

Sydney ferries

Sailing to Brisbane

We left Willis Island for a day at sea on the way to Brisbane.  Suzan and I had shared a table with a gentleman and his wife and he corrected me on the correct pronunciation of Brisbane - Brisban with a short a, not Brisbane with a long a.  Then the captain, who I believe was Greek, came over the loud speaker and pronounced it Brisbane with a long a - just can't get us "foreigners" to say it right!  What I did get a kick out of was how many people thought I had such a lovely accent.  Suzan and I would just laugh because of course she didn't have an accent and she would tease me about my midwest "twang".

Sailing today so activities around the ship.  Suzan and went to the casino to play in another slot tournament but it looked like we needed to buy tickets so as we walked away, the lady in charge caught us, gave us tickets and asked us to come join the raffle.  They were raffling off twelve spots and even though we were the last two to join the group, we both got a seat in the tournament.  This was an event with officers and they were to help us as we "hit" our machines.  I was dead last, an officer came up and touched my machine and the screen went black and the machine seemed to totally shut down.  Because I got knocked out, they gave me $40 in free play.  Susan got $10 of free play and we turned our free play into $200 (me) and $100 (Suzan)  Needless to say our day ended on a positive note.

Dinner with Paula then I called it a night because I was fighting a cold.  I was so bummed when Suzan came back to the room with her video of disco night, which she made to share the evening with me.  It looked like so much fun.  I told her who ever in Australia gave me their cold could just take it back.

The morning we headed off to Brisbane.  We didn't do any excursions so we just went into downtown and headed straight to Starbucks - my first Starbucks since March 19th.  I texted my sister pictures of cups, then I bought 3 for myself.  We got a free grande drink with each cup so Suzan had a latte and I had a mocha and a coupon for another drink.  I so enjoyed my mocha, then we headed of towards the boat.  We got side tracked one more time by a souvenir shop so one big shopping bag later we were off to the river cruise.

Australia has been experiencing unprecedented heat for this time of year.  The temperature has been mid to high 80's with high humidity and it has been killing me.  I don't do well with heat or humidity so I am spent after walks.  We arrived at the boat dock and I looked a bit like I had just gotten out of the shower.  But the cruise was wonderful.  Suzan had not been to Brisbane so she enjoyed it as much as I did, they had wonderful commentary and there was a lovely breeze on the river.

The following are pictures along the river.  The homes are beautiful and many have their boat in front.  As we moved away from downtown it got more industrial, but close to downtown were all these beautiful homes.

From the expo in the 1980s

Suzan, who loves to shop, headed off on her own.  I headed back to Starbucks since my sister Cindy had texted back asking for two mugs.  So I bought two mugs and as I stood there, I noticed the basket of teddy bears.  Two cups, three teddy bears and another mocha later, I was finally done.  I found two nice young ladies who lived in Brisbane and I gave them my coupons for free drinks and I headed back to catch the bus back to the boat. 

It is amazing how one wrong turn can get you off in the wrong direction.  Even with Google I was having a challenge finding my way back to the park so when I finally stopped to ask directions, turned out I was just 1/2 a block away.  Back on the bus, I was happy to get back to the boat with my now two big shopping bags of stuff.

Dinner with Paula then Suzan and I went to see the Oz Boys of Motown.  They were fantastic, the best show so far.  They did Motown from the 1950's forward.  Great way to end the day.

Willis Island

From Port Douglas we sailed to Willis Island where we arrived the morning of April 7th.  I heard several people talk about it so imagine my surprise when Willis Island turned out to be a very small island with just a few buildings on it.  It is the only permanently inhabited island in the Coral Sea Islands Territory, an external territory of Australia, located beyond the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea. The buildings currently house three people who are stationed there to monitor the weather.  The intent of the station was to learn more about cyclones.  It was a beautiful island but I didn't understand why everyone made a big deal out of it.  Suzan cleared it all up.  The island is considered international waters.  Once we sailed into international waters, the ship could open the duty free shop.  

To give you and idea of why Australians like the duty free shop so much, Suzan got four liters (two of Jack Daniels and two of Vodka) for $88.  When she first asked me to pick up duty free for her (I got Makers Mark and Chivas for $100) I have to confess I thought it was rather silly - until I saw the prices in the liquor store.  A $17 bottle of Jim Beam is almost $40 AUD here.  Crazy expensive so the duty free store - where prices are still 1.5 to 2 times more than what we pay at home - are still cheaper than Sydney liquor stores.

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

April 4th through the 6th we were anchored off the Great Barrier Reef.  The 4th and 5th off the coast of Cairnes (Yorkeys Knob) and the 6th of the coast of Port Douglas.

On the 4th I had scheduled snorkeling off of a boat.  We left around 11 for 7 hours out on the water, 3 of which was just getting to and from the point of snorkeling.  We had maybe 30 people on the boat and it was a pretty typical catamaran with a platform off of the back.  They suggested wearing a snorkeling skins which I really hate, so I along with several others skipped the suits and just put on our snorkeling gear and went in the water.  They were offering tours with a marine biologist and when I found the first one had no one signed up, I signed up and got a very nice tour of the reef with the biologist which was great.  The visibility was not 100% clear probably because of Iris, but over all a very nice trip.  Water was warm, plenty of fish, great crew and they provided a very nice hot lunch.

The down side of having to take boats to and from the shore was the time to load and unload.  We got on and off pretty quickly from the catamaran and I got back just before dinner, dashed up to the room to shower and change to meet my travel mate, Suzan.  I got to the coffee shop where we were to  meet and when I called her found out she was still on the boat waiting their turn to unload.  She spent 1.5 hours on one of the life boats (which doubled as our transport to and from the port) waiting their turn to disembark.

No shows tonight, 6:30 am departure for next snorkeling trip.

April 5th Suzan and I had scheduled a snorkeling excursion together.  We left at 6:30 am and headed out to a fixed pontoon.  It was a Celebrity exclusive so only passengers from our ship.  Maybe 100 - 150 people, but it was a nice big pontoon and nice big area to snorkel.  The water was really clear and warm and if I hadn't been concerned about the sun, I would have stayed in the water the full four hours we were there, the temperature was perfect, visibility great and not too many people for the area.  The same kitchen must prepare lunch for all the excursions since it was similar to the day before:  Curry with and without meat, rice, roasted chicken legs, salad greens and dressing, pasta, bread and butter, vegetables and fresh fruit.  Tea was crackers and cheese.

We finished out day with dinner at Murano, another specialty restaurant.  They were running a "special" - instead of $50 per person, we could eat there for $35 per person.  Our table mate, Paula, a lovely lady from the Gold Coast, joined us.

Paula was a retired nurse who had lost her husband several years ago and now traveled on her own.  When we first met her she didn't smile and stayed to herself.  Turns out she had been ill and the trip was her time to rest.  Well, Suzan and I took care of the smiles and by the end of the cruise we were thick as thieves and we even had her laughing.  She and her husband lived a very interesting life and she was just plain fun to spend time with.

We went to Muranos, Suzan and Paula keen on having lobster.  I didn't really care as long as it wasn't lobster and I settled on rack of lamb.  The dinner was very nice, the lobster was cooked table side and we had a lot of fun with our waiter, Dargo, who really was quite the ham. 

Scallop Wellington

Lobster Bisque

Lobster prepared by Dargo

Rack of Lamb

April 6 we sailed from Cairnes to Port Douglas.  Suzan cancelled her snorkeling excursion and went ashore instead.  In retrospect, I probably should have too.  It was not a Celebrity exclusive and even though they made the experience as nice as possible, there were just too many people on the pontoon.  No matter where I went, I got run into.  I'd just be floating and someone with their camera chasing a fish would just run into me or over me as if I didn't exist.  It was a really beautiful section of the reef, the coral was quite beautiful and lots of fish including Wally, a huge grouper (I believe).  I had my picture taken with Wally, but for $110 I didn't need or want it that badly.  They required us to wear skins because of the risk of stingers (jelly fish) so I finally gave up and spent time on the pontoon.  They served lunch very similar to the other two days which again was very good.  We got back about an hour before we sailed on.

Except for the pictures of me and a couple taken with my cell phone, the rest of the pictures below are ones I bought along with the pictures of me, but are beautiful shots from the reef. 

Cell phone shot

Cell phone shot

Wally