October 9

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. by the time we arrived at our hotel via Uber. We registered, and left our bags, as it way to early to check in. We then walked down to the Circle Quay and each bought an Opal card with $10 loaded onto it for a trip on the Manly Ferry to Manly and Manly Beach. Ironic that we just got off a boat, and onto another one. A 20-minute ride brought us to Manly where we perused the shops and spent a little time at the beach.

We then walked back the Wharf and had lunch, splitting a beef pot pie, and I had a beer while Julie had a ginger ale.

We then had dessert at a chocolate shop called "Max Brenner" and had an English style dark hot chocolate served in "hug mugs" which are cupped in both hands while drinking from the pinched end of mug. Absolutely delicious.

Caught the ferry back to Circle Quay and walked back to our hotel, the TraveLodge Wynyard, and checked in. This is a Euro-style budget hotel, space is kind of tight, but everything we need. There is an optional breakfast in the lobby every morning, choice of either Continental ($20) or full hot buffet breakfast $30. They also have a coffee bar in the lobby, which is nice. Julie and I just chilled out in the room a bit and got suitcases partially unpacked for our 3-day stay here.

For dinner, I checked Asian places, and found "Mr. Wong" on TripAdvisor as the top-rated Asian place in the Sydney, and just a short walk for the hotel. It's down an alley, and kind of hard to find unless you know where to look.

But it's really popular with tourists and locals alike. Not your typical Chinese restaurant, with your typical lo mein and chop suey. Just a handful of signature dishes, and fried rice is ordered separately, and we also ordered a steamed dim sum platter for two. Very artfully prepared.   The atmosphere is turn-of-the-century warehouse with large wooden beams. Very unusual place, superb food. For our entree, we ordered a lemon chicken (shared) which was delicious. We split the bill down the middle, and it came to $35 U.S. apiece.

Tomorrow is our performance at the Sydney Opera House. We have been notified of a change to our tour package; apparently the company that caters the wine and appetizer tasting has been fired by the Opera House, and we were offered a full dinner instead. So we will have our dinner, then tour the Opera House, and then attend the performance of "Songs of Our Country," performed by the three separate boys' choirs, and this will be performed in the Great Hall. We are really looking forward to this, and it will cap our tour time in Sydney. Since we don't have to be at Opera House until later in the afternoon, we may take in the Sydney Zoo in the morning and early afternoon. It will depend on how we feel in the morning.

Our entrance into Sydney Harbor on the morning of the 8th was simply beautiful. We hit it right around sunrise.

From aboard the ship

From aboard the ship

That's all for now,

Bruce