DAY 80 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA & DAY 72 CRYSTAL SERENITY

Before dinner last evening we had a pre-dinner drink at the Crystal Cove.  We sat with dear friends John and Linda and we listened to John Mentis play the Piano.

After dinner, we went back to Tastes.  Usually we try to dine at Tastes once per segment, but because this segment was quite long at twenty-one days and because we had not yet dined together at Tastes with good friend and World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston we chose Tastes.  It was good to have dinner again with Stacey.  Back home we live fairly close to Stacey and we saw her a couple of times this past Summer which is always a nice treat for us.  Stacey is alway so very positive (we love that) and just has a wonderful smile and laugh that we enjoy.

We were taken excellent care of by the Tastes Team.  This included Head Waiter Luigi who not only seated us at our table but also checked up on us several times throughout the meal.  Deirdre was our waiter and as usual was terrific.  After she took our order, then she determines which courses to bring out and how many courses to serve.  Nathan who took great care of us at the Crystal Cove on the last segment of the World Cruise took care of the drinks for us and was just very attentive and others such as Lido Deck Stewards Clark and Brian brought out some of the cruses and also cleared empty (empty because we ate it all) from the table.

We enjoyed several courses.  We are including photos of the many food items that we had along with items that Stacey had.

Alsatian Tarte.

Peruvian Hamachi 

Caesar Fondue.

Scottish Cured Salmon.

Gambas a la Plancha.

Spinach Quesadillas.

Saffron Marinated Lamb Kebabs.

 Chimichurri Steak.

Berry Cobbler.

Spicy Pumpkin Creme Brûlée.

When we looked at our watches we realized that we were there for three hours.  It was nice to just have a leisurely meal and we never ran out of things to talk about.  

The good news is that when we arrived back to our room that we set the clocks back another hour.  We will be setting the clock back a few additional times before this segment of the World Cruises comes to a conclusion.

We slept very well last evening as we sailed to Sydney. The seas were relatively calm.  

Keith was up first and enjoyed an ice workout in the Fitness Center.  Afterwards, it was coffee at the Lido Cafe and Keith also read and wrote.

After Anne Marie had some coffee, she went on a long walk until we had breakfast in our room.

Each guest had to have a face to face with local personnel from Sydney and our face to face was at 08:00 AM.  There were three different forms that we filled out ahead of time and handed to the official.  This included arrival and departure cards as well as one related to whether or not we had traveled from Africa within a set period and was related to the Ebola outbreak.

Originally, we were to dock at Sydney but we were bumped from our stop by the Queen Elizabeth which is part of Cunard and is owned by Carnival.  Crystal Cruises looked at a variety of options and the one that made the most sense was to provide local tenders to take guest to and from the tender port which was located in a very well situated area.  The tender ride each way was relatively short.  A couple of photos from our verandah.

Some additional photos from the Bow of the ship on our deck.

We just love Sydney which we first visited in 2008 and several times since then.

The largest city by size and also by population in Australia is Sydney.  Sydney was established in 1788.  Major drivers of the economy include: Finance, Manufacturing and Tourism.  Since we first visited Sydney in 2008 we have been impressed with all that this city has to offer, its overall charm and beauty and the people who work and/or live in the city who we have had the pleasure of interacting with during that and subsequent visits.

Some of the major attractions include:

Sydney Opera House which was completed in 1973.

The Rock which is the site of the oldest settlement in Australia and today is the home to many stores, restaurants and even hotels.

Sydney Harbour Bridge which was completed in the 1930’s for approximately $6.0M

Sydney Aquarium and National Maritime Museum

Botanical Gardens

The city is easy to navigate whether by foot, or by various forms of transportation including the hop on hop off buses.  We prefer to see the city by foot.

The weather was absolutely perfect and was sunny.  We walked to all of the places that we wanted to get to and enjoyed the views as we walked.

The boats that took us to and from the Serenity were quite nice.

Queen Elizabeth docked where we are normally docked.

Queen Victoria Building which inside has many different stores.

We stopped off at a Yarn Store which Anne Marie had researched on the Internet for some supplies for Anne Marie's Knitting Projects.

We walked through Hyde Park.

Archibald Fountain.

Hyde Park Barrack's Museum.

Sydney Tower.

Royal Botanic Gardens.

People Climbing The Bridge.

School Aged Children.

We had coffee at Mecca Espresso which we first visited in 2011.  Coffee is very tasty.

We enjoyed a late lunch on board Serenity and had lunch in our room which we had pre-ordered with Rao and then we went back into the city.

Later in the afternoon, Anne Marie walked outside and Keith went back to the Fitness Center for another workout.

All in all it was a wonderful day in Sydney.

This evening we will be back in the Crystal Dining Room.

Some of the fellow guests are going to see an opera either having booked this as a Crystal Cruises Shore Excursion or doing it on their home.  We attended an evening performance at the Opera House during our last visit, so we didn’t book the opera for this evening.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....

"A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example." - Joe Deimagio

Keith & Anne Marie