Thursday - 29 March 2012 - Sydney, Australia

Thursday – 29 March 2012 – Sydney, Australia

Up at 5:30 am to go to Horizons at the bow of the ship --  Patte and Dave  are already there as Regatta glides into Sydney Harbor.  Unfortunately it’s dark so we don’t see as much as we’d like – but still a beautiful sight. Regatta docks right downtown across from the Opera House and very near the Harbor Bridge.  The Opera House looks smaller and the bridge is closer to the harbor – in fact this entire area is more intimate than I expected – just lovely.

After breakfast – we disembark --- Patte, Dave, Phil and I go immediately onto the City Tour provided by Oceania – our driver is Damien and our guide is Linda. During the tour we get tips on what to see, what to skip and how to save money.   Sydney may be the most expensive city in the world – at the least it’s in the top five.

This  tour gives us an overview of the city and the suburbs – we follow the harbor going through The Rocks (oldest part of the city) – we stop at Mrs. Macquarie’s chair – a rock formation at a point on the harbor where Mr. & Mrs. Macquarie purportedly  sat 100 or so years ago watching activity in the harbor – Mr. Macquarie was  Governor.   We  pass  Russell Crowe’s condo directly on the harbor and  continue into the eastern suburbs where all the money is – according to Linda.  Our destination is Bondi Beach where  The Surf Life Saving Club was founded – prompted by the frequent riptides in Australia.   Bondi Beach is a  forty minute stop to walk the beach and have a coffee in one of the cafes.  It’s a  pretty beach and looks like it attracts an active crowd in the evenings and on weekends. 

The tour bus takes us back to the hotel about 12:30 pm.  Since our rooms are not ready,  Patte, Dave, Phil and I decide to take a taxi to the Sydney Fish Market – the 2^nd largest in the world – the largest is in China.     We choose to eat lunch at Doyle’s --  recommended by someone but none of us can remember who.  It is a good choice.     After lunch we have a walk around admiring the variety and freshness of the seafood displayed at each stall.

Our rooms are available when we return – we have time for a quick shower as Beth and Lynn are meeting us at 5:30 in our lobby. 

 Dinner is at Sea Rock – a café along the waterfront on the way to the Opera House.  It is delicious – everyone enjoys their meals.  While eating dinner – we watch the Regatta leave port for Melbourne with a new set of passengers. 

After dinner we attend a concert at the Opera House with  Nick Lowe, a British Rock and Roll singer – none of us are familiar with him except Dave – our options were limited.    

As we  enter the Opera House – I am flabbergasted – it reminds me of the inside of Boston City Hall --- for those of you not familiar with Boston – this is not a compliment.    It is all concrete – not very pretty.  However the surrounding  patios provide views that make one forget the stark interior. 

There a multiple venues holding concerts – we are in  Concert Hall  -- the seating is comfortable but there is no middle aisle so people are constantly getting up and down to let audience members through.

At 8:00 pm the lights go down and a gentleman comes onto the stage and sits behind the keyboard.  He doesn’t introduce himself – he just starts singing.  It is obvious that he is talented but he doesn’t say a whole lot.   This goes on for about forty-five minutes.  He finishes and the lights come on for intermission.  We’re not sure if that was Nick Lowe or not.

After a fifteen minute intermission – it’s  back into the Concert Hall.  The lights go down – a different person comes on to the stage --  picks up a guitar and starts singing.   He then introduces himself as Nick Lowe.   He looks to be in his early 60’s – very animated and sings a couple of rock and roll songs before his band joins him.

Nick Lowe is  charming --  all  the musicians in his group are talented – I think they write a fair number of the songs they record.   They put on a great show.

After the concert, we put Lynn and Beth into a cab and walk to our hotel – on a beautiful evening in Sydney, Australia.

We’re off to a good start!

Thanks for Reading!

Pat