At Sea

We are cruising the South Pacific.  Having a great time, but no internet.  Posting this from my phone. 

Katoomba - Blue Mountains in Australia

Oh boy, one more train ride before sailing to North America.  B & I boarded a train in Sydney and rode 2 hours north to the Blue Mountain. 

After only a few hours there, we decided to stay another night.  The weather was gorgeous, and the scenery was amazing.  Our hotel was a block from the train station, downhill - but back uphill to the town and dinner.  We rode the Ho-Ho bus all 29 stops around several little towns and all the sights.  Think Grand Canyon-like but bigger and with a rain forest at the bottom.  The Blue Mountains are Australia's 14th UNESCO World Heritage sight and are over 4 million years old.  

The next day we went directly to the Scenic Railways and rode the 3 available rides in just over an hour.  Normally with huge crowds, it takes 1 hour to ride one.  They have 3 different rides: a skyway, a cable car and the world's steepest train.  They were all amazing, but the train was the best.  I am not really fond of cable cars as I don't like heights but they were very smooth rides.  I also took a short walk at the bottom of the gorge in the rain forest.  It was awesome!  (I will load photos now, and try to caption them later - so check back...) 

We ate pizza the first night and went to a pub the 2nd night. 

The trains in Australia are terrific and run so smoothly.  It is so easy to travel around Australia between the buses, ferries and trains - it's just a great country to explore... I am a bit sad to be leaving, as probably we won't make it back - but we will remember this trip fondly and a special thanks to Greg and Anna for their wonderful hospitality.
Friday the 13th we sail on the Noordam through parts of the South Pacific, Hawaii and end up in Vancouver, Canada in May.  G'days Mates and no worries... See you on the Seas

Great Views around Manly

Anna, Greg, B and me at Manly 16 Foot Club

Anna and Greg live about a mile uphill from the beaches around Manly.  Anna swims daily and usually walks to the beach.  We drove the other day to the further beach and she insisted the water was warm - brrrrr!  it was cccold, but I swam laps with her anyways.  Then yesterday she came home from one swim and suggested we go to Fairlight beach, the short walk and so I agreed.  She forgot to mention it was downhill to get there and UPHILL to get back... phew...

Anna at top of 1 of the hills

what goes down must go up

Fairlight Rock Pool

Anna swims while I take photos....I finally got in but it was cold!

the trudge back up

more up and up again on the stairs

Sunday we went for a drive around and had lunch at Greg's boat club.  It was a gorgeous day and a terrific lunch.  I had the fish platter with fish, calamari, shrimp and oysters - B had a burger...

view from Sunday lunch at Greg's club

more lunch views

pretty great pic huh?

view of Sydney harbor from Manly hill - this is where all the cruise ships enter and exit.  That is Sydney to the right

Lazy Days in Australia

G'day Mates!  We arrived in Australia no worries...  flight was 9 hours but we endured -  we had 2 empty seats between us so I was able to stretch out some.  Our friends, Greg and Anna, picked us up at the Sydney airport and we went on a picnic!  It seemed like a crazy thing to do after flying all night, but was actually quite fun.  We explored an old village and "had a coffee" then drove into the nearby forest area. The weather was great and we built a campfire and roasted sausages and potatoes.  We met some of Anna & Greg's friends too - this is a thing they all do yearly to celebrate the Easter holidays.  At 6pm when we finally arrived at their house, we were about ready for bed...lol 

boys on a bench with a beer

roasting sausages

yum!

Greg and Anna live in Manly which is a beach town about 30 minutes north of Sydney.  They live on the top of a hill and have a nice view. 

the view - when they build the 3rd story, they will be able to see Sydney and Manly harbour!

their garden

living room and kitchen

Greg and Anna's house

Manly is a beach town and their house is 1 kilometer away from Manly Wharf where you can catch the 20 minute ferry into Sydney.  It is an easy walk downhill and they have recently put in a free shuttle bus/van that is called Hop Skip Jump - great name huh?  So B and I have taken advantage of that and hopped/skipped/jumped every day all around Manly area...  We found a place to have pedicures, did a bit of sightseeing, found the post office (OMG! a postcard stamp costs $3!) and ate tacos at a Mexican place in Australia...lol  B went into the grocery store and experienced sticker shock!  A case of soda costs $50 - granted that is Aussy dollars, but still about $45 US.  One piece of fruit that we got in Viet Nam for 50 cents costs $3 here...  WOW!  

paid a dollar each for macaroons in Bangkok - here they are $3 for one!

note the price! and this isn't even family size

B's haircut and beard trim was $50

Manly is a terrific area with pubs, clubs and restaurants - very beachy. We went to a comedy club with Anna on Wednesday and had a few laughs.  The language is somewhat of a barrier - they say they are speaking English, but sometimes B and I wonder...lol  Manly has a harbor side with swimming beaches - Anna swims everyday and I plan to join her today, and it has the wave side, where the surfer dudes hang out...  According to Anna we have had amazing weather - it is sunny and 73* here - remember, Australia is the opposite of us: their summer just ended and fall is upon us...  seems very spring-like to us.  

the beach side with waves and surfers

Yesterday we rode the ferry and went into Sydney.  It was great and we had a successful shopping/sightseeing day.  We went to Paddy's Market and then over to China Town for a dim sum lunch.  It was tasty but the bill was wacky.  After B got it straightened out we checked out some shops and walked back by the Darling Harbor Holiday Inn - our first staly location 20 years ago...  Turns our it was senior citizens concert days in Sydney and so transportation was a bit crowded.  There were over 5000 seniors who were attending concerts and half of them wanted the same light rail as us!  We finally managed to push our way onto the train to ride 2 stops to the train station - we boarded an empty train then to ride 2 stops to the wharf, where we caught the ferry to return to Manly.  

Manly from the ferry

Sydney from the ferry

B on the ferry

Sydney Opera House and an RCL in port

I am quite tired today so stayed home to do some laundry, write this blog, fix my phone - it just quit, and had to spend 45 minutes on chat with Sprint - but it works now and relax a bit.  Greg has been on a business trip to Melbourne but returns tonight.  I still need to get a manicure and my hair blued before the 13th when we board our cruise ship to Canada.
Monday and Tuesday B and I will take a train to the Blue Mountains to see a bit of the countryside.  I will post again after we return...  No worries, mates