Bruce's Travels

Thursday October 19 Home again, second full day, after arriving back in Janesville October 17 at 11:30 p.m. (Landlord) Gary picked up (sis-in-law) Julie and me from the Van Galder depot. Still recouping from jet lag from 27 hours on airplanes, in airports, and the final two-hour bus ride. Crossing the International Date Line and gaining a day also took its toll on messing up my internal clock! But to back up, let's pick up where we left off Sunday October 15 Picking up from where I left off on the last blog entry, we did indeed have later-night tapas from the Point Brisbane Hotel restaurant (Lambert's) following our museum outing. Julie and I shared an order of freshly roasted mixed nuts, a club sandwich, and freshly fried doughnut balls with chocolate and raspberry sauces. All delicious. Yeah, I can hear some of you chuckle: We had nuts and balls for dinner. OK, settle down. Monday October 16 Our final full day in Australia! Another rainy day in Brisbane. Exce...

 Sunday October 15 This is our (sis-in-law Julie and me) first full day in Brisbane after arriving about 1:30 p.m. yesterday from Cairns. It has been raining off-and-on (mostly on) all day, so we decided to take in the Queensland Museum, an indoor activity. While we were in the Central Business District (CBD) of Queensland, we also had lunch at a brew pub called "The Charming Squire." We split a three-course of mac-n-cheese, pulled pork sandwich, and a dessert called "Banoffee Pie" which is banana, coeur a la creme, a cinnamon crumble, and caramel. Delicious. OK, let's back up Friday October 13 For our final evening in Cairns, we decided on a "grill out" for dinner, since our motel had a lovely terrace area, complete with patio table/chairs, and electric grills. I walked down to the Woolworth Market and bought a slab of skirt steak, a couple of paddy plant squash, and a couple tomatoes, and a can of spray olive oil. Back at the motel, I preheated...

Friday October 13 This is our second full day in Cairns and we are having a great time, marveling at the great difference between here and Sydney … much smaller and laid back, a kind of Lake Geneva-ish vibe to it. Lots of hippies and street musicians on foot, bicycles, skateboards, etc. Tons of clubs, coffee houses, restaurants along the “Esplanade,” which is kind of the main drag through town along the waterfront. Our motel (Breakfree Royal Harbour) has a cosmopolitan feel to it, with a sleeping area as you first enter the door. Then the space opens to a kind of studio apartment with kitchenette (complete with our own washing machine!), sitting area, and then a lovely balcony overlooking the swimming pool, and we can see clear to the ocean.  View from our balcony Far outshines our tight accommodations in Sidney. We are quite happy here, and both of us have a suitcase full of freshly laundered clothes! Well, so much has happened since the last blog entry Oct. 9, s...

October 9 We climbed it! All 1,332 steps, including four ladders, and a couple of "squeeze-arounds", 440 feet above Sydney Harbor. It was an experience of a lifetime. Sure glad I didn't wait any longer to do this. This tested the limits of my endurance, and my legs were shaking by the time I got back to the "base." But worth it. Simply amazing. The panoramic view of Sydney Harbor is amazing. We hit a perfect weather day for it; even our guide was amazed at the beautiful weather that allowed us to see all the way to New Zealand in one direction, and the Blue Mountains of Australia in the other. Boy, am I going to be sore tomorrow! Stopped at a pub after the bridge climb for a cold beer. Then early dinner tonight at bakery/cafe. Julie and I each had a ham/cheese quiche. I had a cherry cream cheese puff pastry for dessert and Julie had a chocolate/salted caramel tart. This is our second day in Sydney. We arrived October 8 and it was about 9 a.m....

Thursday October 5 Docked in Picton, NZ, our last stop before Sydney. Cool and overcast. (sis-in-law) Julie is ashore, I am staying on ship to relax and enjoy the amenities. (Hot tub all to myself!). I gave Julie my last $6.50 in NZ bucks and asked her to bring me back as much chocolate as that would buy. Oct. 4 Busy and beautiful day in Wellington yesterday. Got to shore about 1 p.m. following a short bus ride from the pier to downtown. W is a bustling city of about 208,000 people, more if you count the suburbs. Rode the cable car, which has been in operation since 1901  to the top of the city and enjoyed a giant slice of carrot cake  and a really great cup of coffee at the café overlooking the city. Julie and I split. I walked to the next tiny suburb over from the cable car (Kelburn), then a walk through the city’s botanical garden (free). Took some photos: Then, back down to central town and visited Whitcoull's (a bookstore c...

It is day 15 of our cruise. We have been at sea for 5 days straight when we last saw land at Bora Bora. We learn in elementary school that the earth is 70% water. But you really don't appreciate it until you been out it sea for 5 days would nothing in sight but water as far as the eye can see in all directions. It is quite amazing and quite humbling. We have been sailing through some of the roughest waters I have experienced. There was one day when the outside decks were closed because the wind and waves were so high. It is also turned cold which is so weird because when we left Hawaii it was hot and humid of course. Today when I did my laps on deck 12, it reminded me of the Alaska cruise that (sister) Dawn and I took awhile back. Anyway, things are going well. I am feeling better but still experiencing a nagging cough that comes and goes. The days are spent reading and relaxing and roaming the ship. We have had some excellent shows, including a very nice tribute to Elvis the n...

Sept. 30   I am sitting in the Solarium watching people mill about. The sun is shining and the sea is brilliant blue, but it is cold on the outside pool deck, around 55 degrees so there are literally 100s of available deck chairs. It is said to be in the 50s in Wellington, our next port of call in New Zealand. Then, we are for quite a shock as the temperature in Sydney is said to have been in 100s for the last few weeks, with ultra dry conditions and even wildfires in NSW Territory. That’s not going to make the bridge climb any easier! I manage to made it to the casino for low stakes blackjack ($3) and $2 Mimosasa from noon to 1 p.m. Come out $9 ahead. Nice. I have been getting better and better day by day in the last couple of days. Lots and lots of fluids. Yesterday I was able to stay up all day without a nap, figuring that would set me up for a good night’s sleep. Wrong. I was not able to drift off until after 1:30 a.m., and then only with a little help from my friends...