The day had arrived for us to board an airplane and head to Los Angeles on the 5:30 evening flight. Nothing was noteworthy about the flight except we were not seated together.
A 6th-grade girl was sitting next to me. She said it was not her first flight, but it was her first time to not sit by her parents on a flight. They were sitting a few rows behind her. She was cute, and a good seat mate because she was tiny and didn't get into my space.
Steven and Patricia Morgan's plane from Albuquerque arrived a few minutes after we had landed in Los Angeles. Good timing!
It was good to see them and know we would be together on the long flight to Australia.
Thankfully Glen and I had seats together for the overseas flight. We had been automatically upgraded to comfort class and that was nice. I was hoping the seats would recline more--which they didn't. However, the extra space between rows was nice--especially for a tall person like Glen.
Glen likes to sit by the window so he can prop his head against the wall and he can sleep better. He got a good, long sleep on that flight. The man sitting in the aisle seat next to me also was sleeping a lot during the flight. I was convinced he was sick because he had a hoodie on and slept almost the whole time.
There I sat. Not sleeping. Nodding off here and there, but definitely not sleeping. Watching movie after movie after movie. I felt very trapped between them for the 15-hour flight.
Despite the man getting up 3 times to use the restroom, I only got up once. I think I was pretty dehydrated as I had taken my water pill in the afternoon instead of the morning to avoid taking one on the plane.
We left on Wednesday, February 26th, and landed safely in Sydney on Friday, the 28th, after flying all night. We crossed the International Date Line, so we skipped a day.
Glen had gotten us a hotel a couple of blocks away from Sydney Harbour. We enjoyed walking around the harbour and seeing the sites around there.
We saw a cruise ship (not ours) in the harbour. The next day our cruise ship would be docked in its place. The famous Sydney Opera House was visible across the water.
Cadmans Cottage Historic Site was a former water police station and sailor's home. It is the second oldest residential building in Sydney having been built in 1816.
We had a good view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is the largest steel arch bridge in the world. Opened in 1932, it carries rail, vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore.
We walked across the bridge. For a fee, people can climb the bridge and walk across the arch of the bridge.
This is a view of the harbour from the bridge.
We walked around the shops and found a place to get lunch.
I loved seeing this red letter box on the street.
This was the view from our hotel window. We hadn't been able to get into our room because we had arrived so early. We went back in the afternoon and had a shower before we headed out for more exploring.
We went back to the harbour and walked on the other side where we saw the famous Sydney Opera House up close.
It was a good view of the bridge from across the harbour.
We walked along the wharf on our way to the Royal Botanic Garden.
This was a curious plant display.
There was an exhibit going on in the Calyx building about plants that bite. The website about it reads,
"Enter the captivating and bizarre world of carnivorous plants with the living exhibition Plants with Bite. Featuring 25,000 of the world's hungriest and creepiest plants, this exhibit tells the story of how the iconic Venus flytrap, lobster pots, bladders and more lure, trap, kill and digest insects."
We did not go to see the exhibit, so I have nothing more to report about plants that bite.
Continuing on through the garden, there were unique works of art.
There were lawns and trees and flowers and more views of water.
We spied a castle and were curious about it.
We discovered it was the Government House where the governor of New South Wales resides. It was closed for tours that day.
We spotted another castle-like building which is the Conservatorium of Music. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia.
View of the skyscrapers close to the Royal Botanic Garden.
That was a big step day for us. Lots of walking around Sydney.
I was looking forward to bedtime because I was so tired from being on the long flight the night before. The next morning we went to tour the Government House.
I almost missed being able to go on the tour because I was not carrying a government-issued I.D. with me that morning. We sent Steven and Patricia on the tour.
At the last second Glen found a photo of my passport on Google Drive and we ran to quickly join in on the tour.
We spotted the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas cruise ship in the harbour.
We still had some time before it was time to get on the ship. We took a ferry over to the North Shore.
We walked through Luna Park which is an amusement park constructed in 1935. The park has been used as a filming location for several movies and television series.
We went back to our hotel, got our luggage and walked to the harbour to get on the ship. It was so nice not to have to worry about transportation from a hotel to the cruise ship. We just walked the short distance!!
Our room was spacious and lovely.
The bathroom shower was bigger than on other cruise ships. We were pleasantly surprised with our lovely accommodations.
Glen loves having a balcony cabin.
And then we set sail.
We cruised by the sister ship Spectrum of the Seas which was moving into port as we were leaving. Royal Caribbean was providing a free 4-day cruise experience for Australia's first responders and families who had been battling the bushfires in their country.
As we have come to learn, Steven and I are a lot alike. We often choose the same meals as was the case the very first dinner we had on board the ship.
Glen and Patricia usually have the same taste, but this time they surprised us by choosing different meals.
Ahhhh! Now this is what it feels like to be on a cruise vacation once again.
