Sydney Australia March 5th-6th Tuesday-Wednesday
Sydney Australia March 5th 7:00 am - March 6th 6:30pm
March 5th
The ship was scheduled to pull into port at around 4 am, so the sail-in through Sydney harbor was going to be in the dark. Kind of disappointing, but when we sail out the next day it will still be light. From our last experience, sailing under the bridge and past the opera house was something to remember.
Sydney is the last stop in a segment so the ship had to have a zero count. That means everyone has to get off the ship, have a face to face with customs, and then either go out and about or stay and wait until the ship is cleared and they give the okay to get back on. It usually takes about 3 hrs. We collected our passports from the front office the day before (we haven't seen them since we left Ft Lauderdale) in preparation for inspection. We were also given a number so everyone is not getting off at once. We were up early since we wanted to catch the shuttle onto the city after our number was called and not wait around to go back on the ship. Our number was one of the first called, so off we went at 7:30am. Passing the inspections and the drug and food sniffing dogs, and returning our passports back to the ship, we were on the shuttle to the city. (not one single morsel of food, fruit, non prescription drugs, plants, seeds, flowers are allowed off the ship into Australia...just bottled water) It was a beautiful morning, but it was already getting hot and sticky. The shuttle dropped us off by Darling Harbor, close to the heart of downtown and we started walking toward the The Rocks district and the opera house...about a 2 mile walk along the water and through the city. With a population of over 5 million, Sydney is a huge city and everyone was bustling about on their way to work or enjoying coffee and egg and bacon toasties in one of the many cafes along the street. Everywhere we looked, there was new construction going on. From the new train systems, high rise buildings, and renovating apts, it seemed that work was going on all around us as we walked. Much has changed since we were here 7 years ago.
First stop was an ATM, easy to find in the big city. Then a leisurely stroll on the shady side of the streets to the opera house. The sun is brutal, and with a UV index of 14-15 which is considered extreme, you can burn in minutes and still get sunburn through your clothes. We always wear sunscreen, even if it's cloudy.....dealing with a bad sunburn is just not worth it. We walked along Circular Quay, under the huge Sydney harbor bridge to the opera house. Both were magnificent. By then, it was time for a rest and a leisurely early lunch. Pizza sounded good today and it just so happened that a wood fired pizza place was right along the harbor. Perfect place to people watch, stop for a cold one and a small $20 pizza each. The pizza was delicious and the breeze off the water felt good too. Sydney is expensive, but like New Zealand the exchange rate made it easier to handle. After lunch it was time to stroll past the Royal Botanical Gardens, Parliament House and end up at Hyde park and St Mary's Cathedral.....sounds like I am in London right? The shady walk through Hyde park was refreshing. If it were not for the heat and humidity I could almost imagine that we were in London. Even listening to the accents around us were somewhat similar. After the park it was on to the Queen Victoria building. A classical renovated building filled with shops.....but most of all cool, cool air conditioning....and clean loo's. One of the rules of traveling....you never pass up a loo, even if you don't have to go. Filled with three stories of shops and cafes, it was charming. They managed to restore most of the original stained glass windows, and tiled floors which were beautiful. After almost 8 hrs of sightseeing and walking it was time to head back to the ship. We were exhausted and ready for a hot shower, a nice dinner and bed. We are here for 2 days so we get to do it all over again tomorrow.......
March 6th -All aboard at 6pm
We took our time with breakfast and getting ready this morning since we were only planning on checking out Chinatown and the world famous Paddy's Market. We left the ship around 9am and there was a long line to wait for the shuttle into town. It seems that most of our fellow passengers had the same plans of a later start to the day. We knew the shuttle was only running every 1/2 hr. so instead of wasting our time we took a taxi from the port to Chinatown. $20 and 15 minutes later we were there. Much better than waiting in the heat and riding on a shuttle with hot and cranky passengers. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves if our time is worth the hassle of waiting and listening to people that are not very happy. $20 was so worth the money and our patience. Paddy's market is a huge building full of everything you can imagine. Stalls filled with every souvenir that is made in China but reflect the Australian symbols. Such as the flag, logo's, kangaroos, koalas etc. It is also the main veg, meat, seafood, fruit market that is in the downtown area. Even tea and spices. It was fun to walk around for a couple of hrs. but we didn't buy anything. If it's not made in Australia, it's not going in my suitcase.
Australia has some mighty fine opals that are native to the country, but they are expensive. A small loose stone could set you back at least 5 figures. We looked at one that was $100,000. It was beautiful, but not anywhere near my price range, even with the exchange rate.
We walked through Chinatown which was only a few blocks long. Restaurants, shops, massage, grocery, electronics...it reminded me of Hong Kong, but on a much smaller scale. We were ready for lunch but the restaurants here did not look very sanitary.....so we hiked back to Darling Harbor and the shuttle back to the ship. It was still early afternoon so we decided to walk around the harbor and see what they were building. It was getting hotter and there wasn't a breeze to be had. It was a sauna out there and just by looking at the sky, thunderstorms were not far away. Even though I was drinking plenty of water, I was starting to feel the heat.....which really meant that I needed to get out of the sun and heat fast. A Hard Rock Cafe was near, so we headed there for a cool drink and something to eat. I have been pretty good dealing with the heat and pacing myself, but the humidity is brutal and it sneaks up on you. One minute I feel fine and a few minutes later I am ready to crump. After a nice nosh and ice cold soda we headed back to the shuttle and the ship. Right when we boarded the shuttle the skies opened up drenching the city. Our timing couldn't be better. Back to the ship for a cool shower and relaxing dinner before sail-away.
Sail-way was at 6:30pm, so we went to the Crows Nest and said good-by to the city. The Crows nest is on the ninth floor of the ship with a full front and side panoramic view, and a bar, which helps immensely in relaxing after a long day. Listening to the commentary which explained what we were seeing, we slowly sailed under the bridge, and past the opera house, raising our glasses to toast another memorable visit to Sydney.....in air conditioning. BTW....all the commentary was inside the ship. Sydney has strict regulations on outside speakers and noise. With a fine of $11,000 for each infraction, our ship was silent as a mouse on the outside decks. With hundreds of ships sailing into Sydney every year, and if I were living along the water, I wouldn't want to be disturbed by loudspeakers either. And I'm sure the city would not hesitate to fine them. Our Captain was very clear about that.
March 5th
The ship was scheduled to pull into port at around 4 am, so the sail-in through Sydney harbor was going to be in the dark. Kind of disappointing, but when we sail out the next day it will still be light. From our last experience, sailing under the bridge and past the opera house was something to remember.
Sydney is the last stop in a segment so the ship had to have a zero count. That means everyone has to get off the ship, have a face to face with customs, and then either go out and about or stay and wait until the ship is cleared and they give the okay to get back on. It usually takes about 3 hrs. We collected our passports from the front office the day before (we haven't seen them since we left Ft Lauderdale) in preparation for inspection. We were also given a number so everyone is not getting off at once. We were up early since we wanted to catch the shuttle onto the city after our number was called and not wait around to go back on the ship. Our number was one of the first called, so off we went at 7:30am. Passing the inspections and the drug and food sniffing dogs, and returning our passports back to the ship, we were on the shuttle to the city. (not one single morsel of food, fruit, non prescription drugs, plants, seeds, flowers are allowed off the ship into Australia...just bottled water) It was a beautiful morning, but it was already getting hot and sticky. The shuttle dropped us off by Darling Harbor, close to the heart of downtown and we started walking toward the The Rocks district and the opera house...about a 2 mile walk along the water and through the city. With a population of over 5 million, Sydney is a huge city and everyone was bustling about on their way to work or enjoying coffee and egg and bacon toasties in one of the many cafes along the street. Everywhere we looked, there was new construction going on. From the new train systems, high rise buildings, and renovating apts, it seemed that work was going on all around us as we walked. Much has changed since we were here 7 years ago.
First stop was an ATM, easy to find in the big city. Then a leisurely stroll on the shady side of the streets to the opera house. The sun is brutal, and with a UV index of 14-15 which is considered extreme, you can burn in minutes and still get sunburn through your clothes. We always wear sunscreen, even if it's cloudy.....dealing with a bad sunburn is just not worth it. We walked along Circular Quay, under the huge Sydney harbor bridge to the opera house. Both were magnificent. By then, it was time for a rest and a leisurely early lunch. Pizza sounded good today and it just so happened that a wood fired pizza place was right along the harbor. Perfect place to people watch, stop for a cold one and a small $20 pizza each. The pizza was delicious and the breeze off the water felt good too. Sydney is expensive, but like New Zealand the exchange rate made it easier to handle. After lunch it was time to stroll past the Royal Botanical Gardens, Parliament House and end up at Hyde park and St Mary's Cathedral.....sounds like I am in London right? The shady walk through Hyde park was refreshing. If it were not for the heat and humidity I could almost imagine that we were in London. Even listening to the accents around us were somewhat similar. After the park it was on to the Queen Victoria building. A classical renovated building filled with shops.....but most of all cool, cool air conditioning....and clean loo's. One of the rules of traveling....you never pass up a loo, even if you don't have to go. Filled with three stories of shops and cafes, it was charming. They managed to restore most of the original stained glass windows, and tiled floors which were beautiful. After almost 8 hrs of sightseeing and walking it was time to head back to the ship. We were exhausted and ready for a hot shower, a nice dinner and bed. We are here for 2 days so we get to do it all over again tomorrow.......
March 6th -All aboard at 6pm
We took our time with breakfast and getting ready this morning since we were only planning on checking out Chinatown and the world famous Paddy's Market. We left the ship around 9am and there was a long line to wait for the shuttle into town. It seems that most of our fellow passengers had the same plans of a later start to the day. We knew the shuttle was only running every 1/2 hr. so instead of wasting our time we took a taxi from the port to Chinatown. $20 and 15 minutes later we were there. Much better than waiting in the heat and riding on a shuttle with hot and cranky passengers. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves if our time is worth the hassle of waiting and listening to people that are not very happy. $20 was so worth the money and our patience. Paddy's market is a huge building full of everything you can imagine. Stalls filled with every souvenir that is made in China but reflect the Australian symbols. Such as the flag, logo's, kangaroos, koalas etc. It is also the main veg, meat, seafood, fruit market that is in the downtown area. Even tea and spices. It was fun to walk around for a couple of hrs. but we didn't buy anything. If it's not made in Australia, it's not going in my suitcase.
Australia has some mighty fine opals that are native to the country, but they are expensive. A small loose stone could set you back at least 5 figures. We looked at one that was $100,000. It was beautiful, but not anywhere near my price range, even with the exchange rate.
We walked through Chinatown which was only a few blocks long. Restaurants, shops, massage, grocery, electronics...it reminded me of Hong Kong, but on a much smaller scale. We were ready for lunch but the restaurants here did not look very sanitary.....so we hiked back to Darling Harbor and the shuttle back to the ship. It was still early afternoon so we decided to walk around the harbor and see what they were building. It was getting hotter and there wasn't a breeze to be had. It was a sauna out there and just by looking at the sky, thunderstorms were not far away. Even though I was drinking plenty of water, I was starting to feel the heat.....which really meant that I needed to get out of the sun and heat fast. A Hard Rock Cafe was near, so we headed there for a cool drink and something to eat. I have been pretty good dealing with the heat and pacing myself, but the humidity is brutal and it sneaks up on you. One minute I feel fine and a few minutes later I am ready to crump. After a nice nosh and ice cold soda we headed back to the shuttle and the ship. Right when we boarded the shuttle the skies opened up drenching the city. Our timing couldn't be better. Back to the ship for a cool shower and relaxing dinner before sail-away.
Sail-way was at 6:30pm, so we went to the Crows Nest and said good-by to the city. The Crows nest is on the ninth floor of the ship with a full front and side panoramic view, and a bar, which helps immensely in relaxing after a long day. Listening to the commentary which explained what we were seeing, we slowly sailed under the bridge, and past the opera house, raising our glasses to toast another memorable visit to Sydney.....in air conditioning. BTW....all the commentary was inside the ship. Sydney has strict regulations on outside speakers and noise. With a fine of $11,000 for each infraction, our ship was silent as a mouse on the outside decks. With hundreds of ships sailing into Sydney every year, and if I were living along the water, I wouldn't want to be disturbed by loudspeakers either. And I'm sure the city would not hesitate to fine them. Our Captain was very clear about that.
 |
| a different angle of the Opera House |
 |
| I was taking a picture of Bruce |
 |
| Sydney Harbour Bridge |
 |
| Very modern buildings |
 |
| View from the opera house and Circular Quay...no, that is not our ship. the bigger ships get to park there because they are too high to go under the bridge. |
 |
| Hyde Park |
 |
| St Mary's Cathedral |
 |
| Queen Victoria Building |
 |
| Inside the building |
 |
| Beautiful stained glass |
 |
| China Town |
 |
| Darling Harbour with thunder clouds approching |
Comments
Post a Comment