Still sailing....and life is good!!! We had two days at sea before Australia...it works out great as it gives time to renew and re-energize although I have been keeping so busy aboard. This ship is amazing and having a grand ole' time at UoQV!!! Some of the latest classes have been Pearl 101, Opal 101, Contemporary Art, Architecture, backstage design, and for P.E. advanced country line dancing, and cha-cha!!! Did I tell you how talented the entertainment has been? We were able to take a backstage tour and unbelievable the teeny tiny room the singers and actors have to change into their gorgeous wardrobes. I'm finally finding my way around without looking at the ship's diagrams and I am using the steps...15 up a floor!! We are located portside aft...how do you like that lingo? We are right above the dining room and a few decks below the pool or lido deck. That deck also has the buffet food which is pretty good. I'm loving the pizza and found the macadamia nut cookies...ouch!!
Early Friday morning we sailed into Sydney Harbor,which is sometimes considered one of the most beautiful harbors in the world...I agree...the sight as the sun rose and the city lights still in the background was surely a Kodak moment. Sydney is known in Australia as the "Harbor City" and the harbor itself as well as structures on its shores such as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge are globally recognized icons of the city. Sydney is a major domestic and international tourist destination, notable for its climate, famous beaches, culture, renowned landmarks and modern architecture. It is Australia's main financial centre and the skyscrapers of its financial district cluster around Circular Quay, making the city's skyline one of the most distinctive in the world. The ship docked right in the middle of the harbor and our view from our balcony was the Sydney Opera House. More about that later. We disembarked which was quite painless and then walked around the city a bit, looking for internet, convenience store and transportation options. For lunch we took a ferry over to Manly Island which is on the Tasman Sea...we had a great lunch as we watched the surfers. When we returned we took a tour of the Sydney Opera House. WOW!! What can I say? With its distinctive white "sails" and commanding harbor location, the Opera House is urban Australia's most recognized landmarks. The entertainment complex has a wide range of performances and activities including: dance, drama, film, opera, jazz, five restaurants, and six bars (to keep it lively).
How fortunate we were to be able to enjoy the opera "Tosca" by Puccini that evening. Luckily there were subtitles so we knew what was going on and from our seats they were easy to read..yes, we were pretty high up!!! What was too cool though...as we walked out and looked across the harbor to our "home" it was bathed in pink!!! The Queen V. had a private charity function for breast cancer and had the ship lit up with pink lights!! Another Kodak moment!!
Since we stayed in Sydney overnight we were able to take a trip around the city to see the sights. We boarded a open top hop on hop off bus that took us around this sprawling city. Almost one in four Australians (4,000,000 people) lives in the metropolis and the urban mass covers more than 4,000 square miles. After the tour I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art and I have new understanding of Aboriginal Art. One other landmark I would like to mention is the Harbour Bridge...we did NOT do this but you can walk across it or join a 3 hour expedition "Bridge Climb" (After Ken's experience on the Sky Tower in Auckland there was no way he'd do it...he cringed looking up at the people walking up there). It's an enormous engineering feat, and the 1932 structure is still the world's widest bridge!
This takes us to sailing away in the Tasman Sea and onward to five more Australian cities. We had quite a change of passengers as 1100 left and the same embarked. We have three new dinner mates, all from Australia so we have lots to learn. Did I say how beautiful the weather has been? Hopefully its warming up where you are...I am liking bypassing winter...as you know it's summer in Australia!!
My bad news, very briefly, last night one of my back teeth fell out. They do have an onboard dentist so I visited her and she put in a temporary until I get home. Yep, that was the $$$ I had allocated for a massage...not the dentist!!! Anyway, her office view is the ocean so that was nice...if anything about going to the dentist is nice...no offense to my wonderful dentist friends!!! They make our smiles!! Needless to say when I get back I'll have to have it replaced so if you ask what I brought you back from my trip, you'll understand my smile...that's it!!!
That's all for now...again, it's such a joy to have those e-mails left in our cabin...thank you kindly..the e-mail is qv@cunard.co.uk and put my name on the subject line.
"One's destination is never a place. but rather a new way of looking at things" Henry Miller
With joy,
Ken and janet
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