Our second day in Sydney could not have been nicer as far as the weather was concerned. Yesterday it was cloudy, windy, and raining with lightning and thunder. Today we had mostly sunny blue skies, with a few scattered clouds and temperatures in the 80's. Couldn't ask for a better day.
We stayed onboard after breakfast to finish yesterday's report and photos. One of us decided not to wear the tens unit for my back, since coming back through shoreside security was not as easy as everywhere else. I failed the xray screening, and had to be scanned on the side. Finding the tens unit in my pocket, the security girl asked to see it. Not sure she was understanding it was for back pain, but finally she let me go. I decided it was best to leave it on the ship today and avoid a repeat performance, although I may regret it.
We left the ship at 11am going off of the gangway that had been attached shoreside. It was located on deck three sort of mid-ship. Boarding the waiting shuttle bus, it took off the minute we sat down. Once again the ride was quick to Cockle Bay despite the ongoing construction on this side of the harbor. Greg mentioned that an underground transit system was being created, and will immensely help with the traffic problem.
Once off the bus at the Aquarium, we turned right this time, and headed towards the restaurants and shops along the harbor. Most of the ferry landings and wharves are here as well as Captain Cook Cruises and private yachts for dinner cruises. We ended up at Barangaroo, a new development that has risen from the old dock we used to use here. Our first destination was a visit to the new Crown Resort building, with 75 floors and measuring 890 feet high. From a distance it resembles a rocket, or more like something you would see in Dubai. The construction began in 2016 and finished in 2020. Currently it is the tallest building in Sydney, and the 4th tallest in all of Australia. It consists of a hotel, restaurants, high-end shopping, apartments, and a casino. Doing some basic research, we learned that the powers to be built this elaborate casino/hotel to attract Chinese high-rollers that normally went to Macau to gamble. Over the years Macau has lost its luster, so here was an opportunity to attract this group. There were many hiccups before the final construction was completed, and in record time. Quite impressive.
Continuing on, we walked the waterfront path enjoying the views of the Darling Harbour and the surrounding bays and inlets. We could even see the two ships in White Bay. Yesterday we thought the Amera had left, but it stayed overnight like us but did leave by 5pm. More construction was ongoing in the Barangaroo area, and Greg said that more towers of apartments are being created. The Barangaroo Reserve was further up, mostly parkland with rock beaches. One of those rocky coves was a place to swim with restrooms nearby. Many swimmers were in the water, but it sure looked cold to us.
Leaving the reserve, we began the stretch on Hickson Road where the old wharves from 1901 still stand. Due to shortages of cement during WWI, these wharves were built with timber. Eventually they were obsolete with new shipping technology, but these wharves were refurbished and repurposed into residential, restaurant, and cultural hub. Wrapping around Dawes Point, we ended up at the base of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We have never been walking in this part of town, so it was a nice discovery when the Opera House appeared as well as Circular Quay. What a photo op. And there was a wedding couple having professional shots taken with the same back round. Sweet.
Speaking of weddings…..we watched as we were walking the reserve to see a plane writing letters in the sky. By the time we saw it, he had printed "Will you marry me, Wudi". We waited to see if there was more. He printed an R with a heart in the center for O, ending with a D. Yes, it was Rod proposing to Wudi. Wonder if she said yes?
Now we were searching for the way to the Rocks to go back to Caminettos for lunch. Cutting up a side street from the Overseas Cruise Terminal, we ended up right across from the area of the Italian restaurant. There were only a few tables left, and we took one of them. The owner welcomed us back, laughing that we had a much better day today. We liked our lunch yesterday so much, we did it again. We could have relaxed there longer, but all aboard was 5:30pm with the last bus at 5pm. It was already after 3pm, so we headed off to walk up to Woolworths and stroll through the Queen Victoria Building. It was a long hike uphill, but we made it. We did not find what we needed, but did enjoy the walk through the famous QVB.
Back at the shuttle stop, we boarded the bus and were off to the ship without any delays this time. When we entered the terminal we ran into Greg and friends visiting at one of the few tables there. He introduced us and we chatted for some time as we all have mutual friends. By the way, we learned from Greg that the flag displayed on the bridge along with the Australian flag was the Aboriginal flag.
One of us was not looking forward to the xray check. And for good reason. The buzzer went off like I knew it would, but there was a line of folks to check. They just kept lining people up to wait for the wanding. Finally, it was my turn, and nothing was found. Duh…. Took them 10 minutes to figure that out.
Sail away came about 6pm, and we watched from our veranda. We have never seen so many sailboats, so there must have been some kind of regatta taking place. Many boaters flanked the ship all the way out to the headlands. Gosh, the wind took hold of those sails and some boats were sailing at an angle that was unbelievable. Takes some special skills to man these vessels and obviously they know what they're doing. Glad it's them and not us. We finally left the harbor and sailed out into the choppy seas, heading for Port Arthur in two days from now.
We all agreed at dinner that our stay here was beyond fabulous. Exhausting, but well worth it. Our dinners were a bit underwhelming. The hot soup was reportedly salty, as were some of the entrees. We all wondered if anyone ever tests the food before it is served. Two bones were found in the snapper, which was otherwise very good. Those slivers of bone are what has kept one of us almost a non-fish eater. Shiver me timbers….those bones are off-putting. Anyway, some of our tablemates reported this to our new head waiter, who went off to inquire about the over salting and the fish bones. We never saw him for the rest of the evening. What we did see was a fantastic setting of the sun, without many horizon clouds. People jumped up and took photos with their cell phones, waiting for that green flash. Don't think we saw it.
Happy to have a sea day tomorrow to rest up for another Australian port.
Bill & Mary Ann
