"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 42 Sydney, Australia February 11, 2018 Sunday Cloudy & 88 degrees Part #1 Of 4 80 Pictures

Day two in Sydney found cloudy skies, and a bit cooler temps compared to yesterday. We found out that it had rained through the night, explaining the puddles on the ground on the pier. By the time we left the ship at 9:30am, the clouds began to clear, and sun was on the way.

Today’s venture was by far, much better than yesterday. There was no rush for the buses, since most everyone was off on tours already. Today also ended the cruise for the 50 or so folks that were leaving, and the beginning of the second segment of the trip for about the same amount of newbies and the rest of the full cruisers. Two couples we know well, boarded today. All four of them are fellow President’s Club members, so our numbers are growing. Having spent some time in Sydney, we bet they will be busy unpacking and settling in.

So it was off to Darling Harbour once again, with a very friendly and amusing driver. Overall, the Australians are particularly welcoming hosts to tourists from all countries. Traffic was light because it was Sunday morning, so the ride was less than 20 minutes.

Continuing on, we went up Market Street to Hyde Park, which has been a public square since 1810. At one end is an elaborate fountain, which faces St. Mary’s Cathedral. This cathedral is considered the “mother” church of Australian Catholicism, with the foundation stone being laid in 1868. It is a true Gothic Revival design. Since it was 11am, mass was just beginning. So when we walked around the back to main entrance, we were stopped by guards, who suggested we come back in 45 minutes. We did sneak a peek from a small side door, not disturbing anyone. Not so sure the eight busloads of tourists felt the same way. They did attempt to get by the guards with no luck.

The bells of St. James were ringing for their 11am service as well. Built in 1824, it is the oldest surviving church building in town. Next to that was the Hyde Park Barracks Museum, actually built by convicts. This museum now houses 196 years of Sydney’s history.

We continued to the end of Hyde Park to the Anzac War Memorial, and the exit to Druitt Park St, which led back down towards George Street. A most familiar store came into view by the name of Woolworth’s. We always shop here for much needed items. Today’s much needed items were four boxes of Tim Tams – those special cookies we love. Can’t leave Sydney without them.

Right across the street from Woolworth’s, we took photos of Sydney Town Hall, their iconic civic and concert venue these days. The entire front of this hall was filled with Chinese ladies dressed in red shirts. They were handing out small flyers, but were printed in Chinese. We felt this might be a demonstration, so we left before seeing St. Andrew’s Cathedral further up the street.

The QVB, situated right across the street, is the most unique building of its kind in Sydney. Even if you are not into shopping with the 170 shops here, the interior is so pretty, it is not to be missed. Even the display of food items in the cabinets in the center stalls looked quite appealing. Not to mention the Haigh Candy Store at the entrance – pure decadence. Too bad we had a hearty breakfast, or we may have been tempted.

There was a display of a video of dog portraits overhead in the center section of the QVB. Each costumed dog was following the movement of the people standing under this display. It made total sense to us, when we saw the poster advertising the fact that 2018 is the Year of the Dog in Chinese culture. Taking the rest of the photos here, we continued our journey.

Going back to Darling Harbour, we took a left turn, and headed towards Chinatown and Paddy’s Market. The entire area around Cockle Bay is under reconstruction. Something is always happening here, but now there is a major project with a new IMAX theater, apartments, and a 5 star hotel with more shopping arriving soon. The center section of this area has been fenced and blocked from access. We had to walk almost to the new International Convention Center to continue to the end of the area.

We did get lucky, and ran into two of our travel agency hosts, Steve and Wendy, who did the bridge climb on their own yesterday (without being part of an HAL group). Hearing their excellent adventure from their point of view was about as good as doing it ourselves. One of us had a work history that included bridge work in San Francisco. Unfortunately, one of us would not have handled the ladders involved in the climb (back problems). The safety procedures preceding their climb had us laughing. They had to strip anything that might fall off of them while climbing. That included watches, jewelry, hats, cell phones, cameras, and chewing gum. Even their sun glasses had to be secured with extra safety strapping. And no restroom stops during the climb. Lastly, they were testing to make sure no one was under the influence of any alcohol or drugs.

After leaving them, we walked towards the end of the Harbourside area. Right near the Chinese Garden of Friendship, we saw the cutest thing ever. There were four toy dogs, resembling spaniels, dressed in red silk Chinese jackets with matching red tutu skirts. Their owner had them sitting side-by-side on a park bench. They were called “four ladies”, obviously females, so well-trained , they sat there posing for photos. Must be advertising the year of the dog. They had been transported here is a silk-lined stroller by their owner. It had a website for this little group, and we did not see that the owners was soliciting money, unlike the dozens of street people we saw, doing just that. Every big city in the world has them, especially places that have such a mild climate.

Wandering through a small part of Chinatown, we found the locals were busy going out to lunch here. The prices were more than reasonable. Right across the light rail tacks, we went into Paddy’s Market. This building houses the major supply of Australian souvenirs you can imagine. And the prices are negotiable. We made it through the market without being tempted to purchase anything. We do find the produce and meat/fish area a good spot to take colorful pictures.

Since all aboard was 5:30pm, we needed to get back to the harbor and find a place for lunch. That would be the Hard Rock Café, where we knew we could get complimentary wifi. Usually we never bring the computer off of the ship, but we’ve had trouble down-loading security updates. If the connection is too slow, it times out the process, cutting off the downloads. That simply uses too much time for nothing.

So today, we spent over an hour, savoring a split lunch of a haystack salad (our most favorite item), a side of fries, and ice cold draft beers. Today’s choice was Carlton. Dessert kept us there long enough to complete our mission with the downloads. No doubt, it was expensive, but since most all of the HRC have replaced that particular salad with something else, we look forward to enjoying it here.

Every time we come here, we check out the city tees. And each and every time, they have only small and medium sizes left. Today was no exception…..no luck with the new city tee. This rarely happens at any other HRC around the world, Just here, in Sydney.

It was nearing 3pm, and by the time we left the restaurant, the skies had clouded up to the point we felt it could rain at any moment. Time to catch our ride back home. Our buddies, Bill and Leta, happened to be on this bus, so we made plans to have dinner with them soon. Usually during days at sea, we do our visiting at the aft pool. Seems like weeks since we have been there, due to cooler weather.

Sail away came too quickly, as we always take this time to do computer work. There was a mandatory muster drill, but only for the new folks that joined today. All of us were happy about that.

Good thing we went early to deck eight, because the railing soon filled up, with little wiggle room at all. Barb joined us as did a couple of other buddies. Barb reflected that we were all lucky to have done this many times before, including today. She is so right. But then, she is always right. Christel, the Guest Relations Manager came to the back to talk with us. We had seen her and her husband Henk riding their bike for two, going full speed across the Pyrmont Bridge. Guess they had a small amount of time to burn off some steam, before going back to work. Close to 6pm, the ropes were dropped, and a large tug hook on, and guided us out of the harbor. Shortly following us, came the Viking Sun, who were leaving a three day stay here. We learned that they are also on a world voyage, and this ship recently joined the rest of their ships in 2017. Appears that this ship is all balconies, and is mostly all-inclusive. The ship appeared to be about the same size as the Amsterdam, but with only 900 or so guests, the space ratio must be much bigger. And lots more money too.

The winds were blowing strongly as we sailed the scenic route out to the Tasman Sea. But at least, the rain held off. Captain Jonathon mentioned that we would be hitting swells of 3 feet with rain showers expected tonight. We do expect it to cool off somewhat, since we will be heading south towards Tasmania.

Nice to be back with our group in the dining room, listening to what everyone has done the last couple of days. The menu had one of our favorite items - prime rib with baked potatoes. Delicious again, which is a good sign that the quality of the food will continue to be excellent.

Since we missed the show last night, we asked which one of our tablemates had attended. Ken was the only one who had the energy to stay up to see it. He was happy to report that the Diramu Aboriginal Dance and Digeridoo performance was most entertaining. He said that the sounds coming from the didgeridoo player were incredible.

Bill and Mary Ann

Inside the White Bay Terminal