Sydney Day 2

It’s not every day that you wake up to the Sydney Opera House outside your window, but it has now been 2 days in a row. I do love cruises!

We had an early start, and walked to Darling Harbour. It has been great seeing all the sights around the world, but safarigals need exposure to wild life to thrive, so our first stop was the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium. I got to see turtles and penguins so I was a very happy safarigal. They have a short boat ride through the penguin exhibit, where you are surrounded by penguins – fantastic! All in all it was a wonderful aquarium showcasing the aquatic life in Australia.

By the time we said goodbye to the penguins it was lunchtime, so we walked across the bridge to the Harbourside Shops and found a waterfront restaurant for lunch – Cyren. We had another excellent meal and it was good to sit down for a while.

We walked across the harbor again and spent the afternoon at Sydney Wild Life. Yes, they have kangaroos (you can walk through their enclosure) and koalas, but they also have all kinds of the exotic Australian wild life, including Tasmanian Devils, which actually look very cute. I never thought I would get up close and personal with a cassowary. They are strange looking birds. Unfortunately many of the creatures we saw are on the verge of extinction.

Having missed out on the Botanic Garden yesterday, we headed over there again, and this time could wander around a bit, although the chocolate exhibit had closed at 4:00.

We ended up at the Opera House, and then walked along the quayside to the ship, stopping off for an ice cream on the way. Not as good as yesterday’s one, but still yummy. The only problem with the ship is that although there is a 24hr supply of ice cream in the Lido, it just isn’t that great. Although I do manage to eat it.

We got back to the ship in good time to grab our cameras and head to deck 10 aft to watch the sail away. As much as I do like Synergy, the Royal Court Orchestra were playing Rock and Roll music for the sail away party – and this was really great, many people were dancing, and everyone was having a good time. We were given Union Jacks and Australian flags to wave, although it is quite a challenge to wave 2 flags and film at the same time.

Sydney Harbor must be one of the most beautiful harbors in the world, and on a clear warm evening it was fantastic. We backed out of our berth towards the bridge and swung around, giving us an excellent view of the Opera House, before we sailed out of the bay. People watching us sail lined the shoreline, we must have looked like a magnificent sight as we headed out to sea again.

As our tablemates are now on their way home, we are at a new table. We are on deck 2 aft, it is a good table near to a window, but I think you feel more vibration of the ship there than we did on deck 3. We are at a table for 6 again – a widowed lady from Manchester who is going “all the way around”, Deborah and Rod from Melbourne and their friend Martin from the Gold Coast. They all embarked today (along with 1000 other passengers), and are disembarking in San Francisco. This is their first cruise with Cunard, although they have sailed on several other cruise lines. They seem to be OK so far.

The show tonight was an Australian A Capella group, The Idea of North. They were very good, and made for a nice change of pace. They were NOT selling CDs outside of the Golden Lion after the show – that’s a first!

After a night in the harbor it was good to feel that familiar motion of the ship again as we went to sleep. We are now on our last segment, but I try not to think about that. I feel like I could stay on this ship forever, floating around all over the world experiencing new and exciting things every day. I am sure it would delay cognitive decline, but it would flatten the bank account, and I do miss my family and friends.