A Wonderful Weekend in Sydney

Well, we arrived in Sydney late Friday, April 10 (Good Friday), about a ½ day late due to tumultuous crossing of the Tasman Sea. But our worries were soon forgotten (“no worries, Mate”…as they say in Australia) as we sailed into the harbour, under the famous Harbour Bridge, and toward the amazing and beautiful Sydney Opera House. “Awesome” doesn’t begin to describe the beautiful sights.

We docked just across from the Opera House and were greeted by our friends Ian and Cathy Rae from New York. Ian (an Aussie himself) and Cathy come to Australia every year and timed their visit to coincide with ours. It was great to see familiar faces from back home. We went to the famous Doyles Restaurant on the water for dinner and to catch up.

On Saturday morning, Ian’s cousin, Cleo, and her husband Michael (who have frequently visited our home in the Hamptons) took us on a four-hour private tour of the city and surrounding suburbs. Of course, we could not see everything, as Sydney spreads over some 670 square miles, but there were vistas of the Sydney Opera House and harbour from everywhere. We stopped at the home where Ian grew up, and spoke to its current owners. We also stopped by Michael and Cleo’s house, and spent the afternoon having lunch and walking around the harbour and The Rocks, Sydney’s oldest section which is now a beautiful marketplace. Our stay in Sydney was capped with an extraordinary evening at the Sydney Opera House to see the the Australian Ballet’s performance of “Firebird and Other Legends.” The Captain hosted this black-tie evening for those thirty of us who are taking the full 92-day Grand Pacific Voyage. We witnessed an exquisite performance and it was a magical evening under the roof of an iconic structure.