Our 22 day Transpacific crossing ended with fond farewells to fellow travelers, our favorite waiters, Alroy and Yogesh, and our cabin attendant, Hospicia, who dazzled us with her creative towel animals many nights.
We saw some great shows and had a lot of laughs with some of the off beat comedians. One of our favorites was Strings Alive who had a fantastic fiddler.
Our departure morning I woke in the predawn hours as we were approaching the dock in Circular Quay. As we approached, our balcony looked out at the Sydney Opera House. It was incredibly beautiful with the reflections of the lights beaming on the water.
After I took these photos I went back to bed for another two hours. When I awoke, the opera house was still right in front of my balcony.
It was time to leave our cabin which we had called home for over three weeks. It was a very sad parting.
Now for a little information about arriving in Sydney. We had read a lot about how customs searched luggage and if you didn’t report tobacco products or if you brought a weapon such as a diving knife, they would confiscate it. Bruce decided not to bring his diving knife with him because of that and Linda and Stan reported that they had a little over a carton of cigarettes. We met with the border patrol on the boat two days prior to getting off the ship and I told them I had three cigars and Bruce said he had three. The border patrol guy initialed our documents and that was it. Linda and Stan had a “C” written on there documents. When we got off the ship, we didn’t go through any detectors, we handed someone the documents and walked off. They didn’t even look at our passports or stamp them. It was the easiest process of any country we have gone into and we were told it was going to be difficult. Unfortunately, Linda and Stan paid a lot of money they didn’t need to. But now I want an Australia stamp on my passport!!
We found a nice cab driver who took us to our Airbnb. We had to wait outside for a little bit until I could get in contact with the host. It’s a lovely little place with a nice deck where we can sit and relax.
After we unpacked we went out for a walk to check out the neighborhood. A block away we found a cute little coffe shop where we had smoothies and dessert.
For dinner we found a great little Thai restaurant. We all had my favorite, Pad Thai. I am trying to eat less now that I am not on the ship. So far I’m doing a little better. At least no escargot every night.
We are staying in Bondi Junction, the burbs of Sydney. Cool place. Some of the buildings remind me of Brooklyn, some remind me of Charleston. I guess you’d say it’s eclectic. Love it!
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