It’s Sydney to Cairns and back to Sydney—and HOME!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our stay in tropical Cairns—pronounced “Cans” was lovely. We enjoyed a dip in the beautiful hotel pool our last evening. We visited the rain forest on a tram, rode back to Cairns on the railroad that was built in late 1800’s, and snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef on the Coral Sea. There’s much to tell about this area, but will mostly share photos.

 

Back to Sydney…

 

 

We arrived in Sydney late yesterday afternoon. Traveling is quite wearying. We left for the Cairns airport at 10:00 am, waiting for the van to pick us up from the hotel earlier than that. Of course, then comes the wait time. The airport was smaller in Cairns and the people at the counters and security checks were very kind and helpful with less restrictions. No removal of shoes. No taking out quart zip locks with ridiculously small containers of toothpaste, makeup, lotion, shave cream—you know—all of the things necessary—or what we think are necessary for ordinary travel. We arrived in Sydney three hours later and waited for our van to take us to the hotel.We waited in the very windy parking lot for an hour and entertained ourselves with those waiting too. She was a single Australian mother from Adelaide with two black children. The little seven year old girl could do perfect cartwheels and she happily did several for us. At last the driver arrived and we swooped through the streets and traffic of Sydney in a Sprinter van.

At last, we arrived at our boutique hotel in The Rocks. It’s an area near the harbor (they spell it harbour here), the famous Harbor Bridge, and of course the Opera House. Our hotel was a suite really, with a living/dining room, a small bedroom, large black and white modern bath, and a kitchen. It looked across at some very old buildings.

We walked out on a balmy Saturday evening—there was no wind here—and looked for a place to eat in the Rocks. Food is quite expensive in Australia. The hotels offer a “deal” for breakfast at $22.00 per person. We found an Italian restaurant that had tables outdoors that ran up the back street. The kitchen was indoors, the diners outside. We ordered a calzone to share—a large one that cost $20.00, washed down with a glass of Chianti. They don’t expect tips in Australia—their wait staff is paid a higher wage unlike in the States. We walked back to our hotel and went to bed. By then it really was bedtime.

Next morning, we toured the Opera House. What an experience. First they took a photo of each of us in the group. The photographer said, “Please ‘cloak’ your bags and coats over there before the tour begins.” She meant to check our back packs with the the cloak clerks. They just say it differently here! We still have a hard time understanding a lot of the people —but they look puzzled when we ask questions, too! Back to the tour. We were given a history of the Opera House (43 years old this month) with an entertaining tour guide. He expertly took us through each theater and outside the hall. There are three theaters. The largest concert hall had a pipe organ that had more than 100 visible pipes with some 10,000 more pipes that were behind. It’s one of the largest organs in the world. We also saw the two smaller theaters, used for ballet, opera and drama. “My Fair Lady” directed by Julie Andrews just closed Saturday afternoon. We sat in the comfortable seats in each theater, where visibility was excellent. Though we didn’t go to a concert, we felt like we did! Afterwards, part of the tour included a sampling of food from the Opera Kitchen. The sea gulls have a reputation for attempting to steal food from the tables—even when diners are right there. The server suggested we sit inside—and even then, the gulls flew in.

We walked in the Botanic Gardens—beautiful. Strolled along the Circle Quay, where much goes on. Entertainment galore with acrobatics, Aborigines playing instruments and wearing their native paint and dress, an outdoor market with all sorts of things for sale and ferries going many different places. There were people speaking many different languages and reminds us of New York City.

We strolled back to our hotel for a rest—taking time to write a short blog—for you! We feel very fortunate to be able to travel like we do and hope you enjoy our photos and my blogs.

Tomorrow is our last day here in Sydney. We plan to take the ferry and visit the zoo before our plane departs at 9:30 pm. We’ll have an endless Monday night, for we arrive in Seattle at 9:40 pm on Monday evening!

We’ll return to a waning Fall and approaching Winter, and find the election nearly over. Until we’re back on American soil, g’day friends!