February 25 & 26, 2017, Saturday & Sunday, Sydney, Australia

February 25 & 26, 2017, Saturday & Sunday, Sydney, Australia

Saturday, We at anchor in Sydney Harbor a bit East of the Opera House. The Queen Mary 2 was tied up at the Overseas Passenger Terminal when we arrived. She was to leave at the end of the day, about 9:00 PM to continue her voyage. We are to raise anchor at 11:00 PM and tie up at the Overseas Passenger Terminal after midnight.

Not only do we have to tender ashore today, but it is a really ugly day weather wise with a lot of rain and fog. It is hard to make out the Sydney Bridge, the Opera House or the Queen Mary. Sandra and I did take the commercial tender, the port authorities were keeping the ship’s tenders out of the harbor. We disembarked just in front of the Opera House, walked to the Circular Quay and bought a couple of two-day tickets for the Hop On, Hop Off Bus. After lunch at an upscale burger spot, we got on the bus for a narrated ride around the city. We got as far as the Aquarium at Darling Harbor before we got off and walked into the center of the city. Sandra did some serious shopping, she was looking for something specific. She just did not find the perfect thing. The weather had gotten better so we walked back to the Circular Quay (by the way, this is the main ferry terminal for Sydney). From there, it was a short walk passed the Opera House and our tender to the ship.

Dinner in the Britannia and a show in the Royal Court Theatre. The night’s presentation
was The Australian Tango Academy, a part of the Sydney Youth Orchestras. The group is led the resident tango expert, Maggie Ferguson. The group played a number of different types of tango music while a pair of student dancers performed a number of different dance routines. I believe several of the performances can be found on Youtube by searching for Maggie Ferguson or the Australian Tango Academy.

Day two in Sydney was as beautiful as day one had been ugly. Today, we walked off the ship and onto the terminal. From there it was a short walk to St George Street where there is a open street market on the weekend. This is the part of Sydney known as “The Rocks”, a very rocky peninsula that juts into the harbor. It is also where the first town was constructed by the convict fleet. Sandra and I then walked out under the Harbor Bridge to see the sights, then back to our Hop On Hop Off bus stop. Took the bus back around Sydney again and got off at the Power Plant Museum.
From there we walked to Paddy’s Market, an enclosed warren of open booths with just about everything you might need. Sandra found some soap that she needed and I found some buttons to modify a pair of pants for braces (suspenders). After all that shopping, we walked to Darling Harbor, found a restaurant for lunch and had a very good meal of fish and chips. I wish we could spend a couple more days just in this part of Sydney.  To return to the ship, we got back on the bus and off at the Circular Quay and then walked onto the ship.

The ship left the harbor at about 6:00 PM while we were having dinner. The evening show was Australia’s best loved and most awarded a cappella group, “Idea of North”.
A very talented group but I think that the “Pentatonics” are better.