Sydney, Australia

“Gooday” Mates said our tour guide as we boarded our tour bus for a morning excursion through Sydney, our first Australian Port of call. The night before had been a late one. The ship was scheduled to enter Sydney Harbor early Tuesday morning but a Medical Emergency with one of the passengers caused the Captain to increase speed to 24 Knots in order to reach the harbor by 11:30 Monday evening. We haven’t heard outcome of the passenger yet.
The harbor and city were lighted and we could see the Opera House as soon as we made our turn into the main harbor. With its distinctive white “sails” and commanding position on the harbor, the Opera House is the most recognized landmark of Urban Australia. Over the next two days there would be plenty of time for pictures since the Rotterdam was to moor in Circular Quay adjacent to the Opera House. Not far away was Sydney’s Harbor Bridge. The Bridge was originally jeered as a “coat hanger”, but has since been embraced. It was an enormous engineering feat. Built in 1932 it is still the Worlds widest bridge. You can actually do a bridge climb across the top on a 3 hour expedition (some of our pictures will show this).
Over the next two days we walked, bussed and cruised our way through Sydney. Their city transportation is efficient ferry/bus/monorail and rail system steps from where we were docked. Although we saw a lot, the city deserves more than 2 days. The harbor, with the Opera House and Harbor Bridge must be the most beautiful in the world with its dozens of coves, villages and many mansions. Some of the highlights of our visit were:
An inside and outside tour of the Opera House
A meander inside the original settlement of Sydney’s old town called “The Rocks”
Bondi Beach—famous for Surfing
A harbor cruise which allowed us to get into many of the smaller areas not visited by the Rotterdam
Walking tour of the Inner city as well as a bus tour of the outlying portions
Queen Victoria Terminal—a restored 5 story shopping arcade from the 19th century
Darling Harbor including the Aquarium, Australian Animal Park and Maritime Museum

During our time in Sydney there were terrible fires raging near Melbourne which had been caused by record heat and wind. The fires had already killed 200 people and many animals. Flags were flying at half mast throughout the country. It is considered the worst bush fire in the countries history. We lucked out because the weather broke and cooled down. It was perfect for walking. It had been 117 degrees two days before we arrived. They suspect arson and the Prime Minister has stated that when caught the Arsonist(s) will be tried for murder. This morning a naval diver was attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbor and is in critical condition. It’s the first in a long time. Apparently Bull Sharks are a real threat in the Harbor and most of the beaches have Shark nets.
We find the Australians to be very friendly toward Americans. They have fought in every war since 1895 with us and are grateful for our help in driving the Japanese away from their country during WWII. There are no airs about them, very down to earth—“No Worries Mate.”
Sydney is in the state of New South Wales and is Australia’s oldest and largest. It was established in 1788 as a Penal colony and to the first convicts arriving from England it was the end of the world. Once the convicts arrived they had to build their own quarters and other facilities. Some say the guards were worse than the convicts themselves. Today, Sydney is home to over 4 million people.

Marie’s comments
150 people got on in Sydney, 100 got off. They are a younger group, even a family with teenagers. Its summer here vacation time, nice to have some new faces around. The movie tonight is Brideshead Revisited and I won’t miss it. Thank god they have a nice assortment of DVD’s in the Library so I know the kids won’t be disappointed. Sydney is unlike any city in the US that I have ever been in. I think we have a million pics of the opera house. By the way, I bought a crate of TimTams, the Aussie cookie that is very, very yummy. Anyone who sits through all the pictures of this trip gets a box. Tom bought a piece of Aboriginal Art, we ate fish and chips, meat pie, drank beer and soaked it all in at the Soldier of Fortune Pub. I needed a break from the Lido.
A little bit about the eating arrangements here. Two seating’s, one at 5:30, the other at 8pm. You have to pick one. Neither really works for us. The dining room is gorgeous, two levels, a string quartet playing etc. We chose 8pm and a table for 2 because we didn’t want to leave a hole at a larger table; we knew we’d eat at the Lido most of the time which is open and casual. The other night while eating in the Lido, the couple directly behind us, (a French couple) had a big blow out. I recognized the man as the guy who burped loudly in my face while standing behind me in line for lunch the previous day. It was quite a scene. He finally left, limping away on his cane. Of course I took her side. She was in tears and we were holding our breath. He kept yelling that he was not her husband. She kept responding that he didn’t like the way she dressed! Before this mess started he sniped at the wine steward about the bouillabaisse. It was not made in the French way and why didn’t the chef know how to make it! He then went into detail, ingredient by ingredient how it should be made. He demanded to speak to the chef! I was stupefied. This was painful, especially for the Philippine wait staff. They are so kind and gracious. As we were leaving the guys were all smiling as Tom and I headed towards them knowing how relieved we were to get away. In relating this saga to a couple from Philadelphia they told a similar story. While standing in line at the Front Office a woman was explaining that she was going to kick her roommate out of the room. She wanted to cancel his key! Sometimes it’s good to travel around the world alone! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for us. Well, enough about Peyton Place and onto Sydney. The Opera House is really a performing arts center. We toured the inside and although we didn’t want to see Madame Butterfly I’m happy we took the tour. The most interesting room to me was not where the operas are staged although the set for Madame B was really clever with a stream running through the stage. The biggest venue of the 6 (and the largest) seats 2,516 and is completely constructed of white birch. It is magnificent. They are adamant about not admitting late arrivals because the sound of high heels on the wood floor would disrupt the performance. It’s in the round with seating behind the stage. The acoustics are fantastic because the wood ceiling is shaped and fanned like an opened umbrella. Suspended from the ceiling are what look like 16 large clear blow up swim tubes floating in the air above the orchestra. This allows the musicians to better hear themselves by breaking up and circulating the sound. It’s hard to believe that the original architect, a Danish man never set foot in the completed Opera House. He fought with the local politicians, over the cost overages and quit halfway through. It was finished by 3 Aussies in 1974. He just died last year. Sydney is the most beautiful city I’ve ever been in. They drive on the left. There are huge fig trees with massive roots on top of the soil. The city grew from “The Rocks” by the water area built by convicts sent from the UK and did so unplanned, which is what makes it interesting. It’s not a cookie cutter grid-like place. There was a baby boom in 2007 when the government offered a “baby bonus” tax incentive. They joke that it gets them a plasma TV! Twins = two plasmas. They have a red light district which is Kings Cross, where we were told not to wander at night. Petrol is $5.50 a US gal. They call 7-11’s “mixed-business”. They have 3 nude beaches all close to the Naval Bases. Another section of the city called Paddington looks like New Orleans with shot gun houses. The Darling Hurst area has the trendy shops and cafes and is the gay area. Pitt and George Streets are the main shopping areas. We ferried over to Darling Harbor to the Aquarium and Wild Animal Park. This Harbor has a completely different look and feel. Its all outdoor café’s, shops on the crescent shaped harbor, outdoor orchestra playing and across the water is Luna Park an amusement place. I loved every minute of it and would stay longer and I hope to visit here again!
It was a little rough leaving crossing the Tasmanian Sea between Australia and New Zealand. I was up most of the night. This ship underneath the water line looks like a big rocking horse and on the high seas it’s not a pleasant rock. Imagine that horse leaning over close to the floor on the left and then on the right and then to the front bumping its head sending it backwards and so on and so forth. It can be nauseating. I left the medicine cabinet open and it was slamming but I couldn’t get out of bed so I woke Tom up to do it. I slept in and missed my 9am Waltz class! OMG! Tom said it was very quiet in the Lido at 6:30 am, many had the same problem. We’re making our way to Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and then onto Indonesia and Hong Kong.