Sydney, Australia - We are going Home!

Well… our trip has come to an end 😪.

We packed our bags this morning after enjoying one last breakfast at the hotel.

Debbie worked her usual packing magic with our Sydney purchases. We had one large suitcase that hadn’t been opened since leaving the ship, and somehow she managed to make everything fit into our remaining bags. 

Packing to go home is always very different — we leave behind lots of toiletries and stuff dirty clothes wherever they’ll fit. Let’s be honest… the majority of it is heading straight for the washing machine when we get home anyway.

We Ubered to the airport and are now relaxing in the Amex Centurion Lounge, waiting to board our Business Class Delta One flight. We tried the Delta lounge first, it was the worst lounge we have been in for a very long time! It is a shared lounge, Sky Team. No bueno!!!

Our next blogging adventure will begin in early June when we head to Nashville for a week at the Country Music Association (CMA) Fest 🎶.

After that, our next cruise is in October when we board the Enchanted Princess for a 44-day Mediterranean and Transatlantic crossing. We’ll be spending a week in Rome before embarkation — never a bad idea!

Thank you all for following along and for the many kind emails along the way. Stay tuned… more adventures ahead! ✈️

Sydney, Australia - Day 6 of 7

Last night, we still weren’t hungry for dinner, so we ordered a cheese plate from room service, opened our last bottle of wine 🍷, and spent the evening watching a great movie on Netflix, A House of Dynamite.

This morning, it was clear that it had rained overnight, but the forecast only shows a 30% chance of scattered showers with a high of 78° for our last full day in Australia. The Carnival Splendor is back in port today, and the Crystal Serenity was anchored in the harbor — the first time we’ve ever seen a cruise ship sitting at anchor here.

We had a light breakfast before Mr. C picked us up at 10 am and drove us north over the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Palm Beach, about 30 miles away.

It was a shame the skies stayed cloudy all day — we would have loved to see this quaint beach in full sunshine. Still, the beach and bay were incredibly tranquil, surrounded by beautiful homes that looked like they belonged in a glossy magazine spread.

The two below photos of Palm Beach are courtesy of Google. 

We had a great lunch at Barrenjoey House — and of course, enjoyed a really nice Pinot Noir (when in doubt, add wine 😉).

On the way home, Mr. C drove us through several other beach communities. We were impressed by just how massive Sydney really is — very similar to the sprawl of Los Angeles.

We returned home around 4 pm and settled back into our room. We checked in for our non-stop Delta Air Lines flight at 2 pm tomorrow. We’re still quite full from lunch and doubt we’ll be hungry for dinner, so we’ll probably head out later for a long walk.

Tomorrow, I’ll make our final blog post for this trip… 

Sydney, Australia - Day 5 of 7

Last night’s dinner at the hotel was just as good as during our last stay. No barramundi this time — snapper was the star instead — and it was delicious!!! 

After...

The wine of the night wasn’t too shabby either.

We wrapped up the evening by mirroring Netflix onto our massive TV.

Thankfully, it didn’t rain overnight and the morning looked promising. The Discovery Princess was in port, and our very good friend Oana — a Princess Corporate F&B Director — was onboard.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to get off today as she’s busy implementing a new program called Ocean 15. For my fellow Princess followers, stay tuned… details are coming soon.

After a light breakfast at the hotel, we wandered through the weekend fair in The Rocks. It was quite crowded, and we managed to show impressive restraint by not buying anything.

Next stop: the ferry to Watsons Bay, with a quick pause at the charming Rose Bay along the way.

A few views from the ferry:

Rose Bay:

Watson's Bay:

Once we arrived, we made the 20-minute walk to The Gap — a dramatic ocean cliff at South Head known for its stunning views of the Tasman Sea.

It also carries a tragic history as a suicide site, though today it’s a popular and much safer destination with fencing and counseling phones in place. It’s part of Sydney Harbour National Park and offers several walking trails — including one that will take you all the way to Bondi Beach (just over 5 miles).

After exploring The Gap, we hopped on a city bus to the massive Bondi Junction Mall, passing right by a very crowded Bondi Beach. We visited a few years ago and Debbie was in absolute shopping heaven!

Before we started shopping — correction, before Debbie started 🤣 — we had a really good seafood lunch in the food court.

Then the shopping began…

And the final result? A huge win for my wallet — Debbie bought nothing!

We returned to Circular Quay via a 30-minute bus ride (For those that are not aware, Quay is pronounced Key). We have to say, Sydney’s bus system is incredibly easy and economical. The 35-minute ride from Watsons Bay to Bondi Junction cost just $0.76 USD! No transit card needed — just tap in and tap out with your credit card.

We were back at the hotel by 3:30 and completely wiped out. Taking off our shoes never felt so good!

We’re still undecided about dinner tonight — head out or stay in and open a bottle of vino? I’ll let you know what we chose in mañana’s blog. 🍷

Sydney, Australia - Day 4 of 7

I wrapped up yesterday’s blog by saying we only had a few sprinkles during the day… well, that changed in a big way around 6:30 pm.

We had enjoyed a huge sushi lunch while shopping our way in and out of the many Westfield malls downtown, so by 6 pm we were only a little hungry. That led us to share some nachos at our favorite casual spot next to the Opera House — Wahlburgers. 🌧️

Armed with our trusty umbrella, we headed out in a light rain. Just as we sat down at the bar — BAM! The skies opened up and unleashed a full-on deluge. By the time we were ready to head back, it was still raining… maybe slightly lighter, but still serious. Thankfully, our oversized umbrella did its job and we avoided getting soaked.

This morning? Still raining. And the forecast says it’s sticking around all day.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is in port today carrying nearly 5,000 passengers, and tomorrow the Discovery Princess arrives — so the harbor is definitely busy despite the weather.

We had originally planned to spend the day with Mr. C exploring the beaches north of Sydney, but we pushed that to Sunday when the weather should (fingers crossed!) cooperate.

So instead, we grabbed the umbrella once again and continued our shopping safari. Debbie found a couple of treasures, we had lunch downtown, and walked back home. All told, we logged 6.8 miles — not bad for a rainy day!

Tonight, we’re keeping it simple and dining at the hotel. Last time we were here, we had an outstanding whole barramundi cooked in their wood-burning oven. Here’s hoping lightning strikes twice (but only metaphorically this time 😄).

Details in mañana’s blog…

Sydney, Australia - Day 3 of 7

Prior to dinner last night, it was looking like it might rain, so we took a short Uber ride to the restaurant. The place hasn’t changed a bit since our last visit and was completely full — except for our reserved table.

We started by sharing the grilled octopus entrée (and yes, in Australia, appetizers are called entrées). 

It was absolutely one of the best octopus dishes we’ve had in a very long time! For our mains, Debbie had the King Salmon, while I went with the grilled Moreton Bay Bugs. 

Bay bugs are a highly prized type of slipper lobster known for their flat, broad shells and sweet, tender white tail meat. They were incredibly good — much sweeter and more tender than traditional lobster. Our wine for the evening was also quite spectacular!

We had a nice chat with one of the owners — it’s a husband-and-wife team. She runs front of house while he’s the chef. She told us the restaurant has now been there for 36 years, and she’s worked there for the past 25. As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the tiny restaurant is mostly visited by locals. That was evident last night, as we only spotted one other table of obvious tourists.

Afterwards, since it still hadn’t started raining, we chanced it and walked back to our hotel — a casual 20-minute stroll.

If you enjoy seafood, we very highly recommend dining here!

Today’s forecast called for a 90% chance of rain, so armed with a massive hotel umbrella, we set out on a shopping safari. And shop we did! I even ended up with a pair of Spanish Pikolinos shoes. I looked all over Spain for my size (47s) with no luck… and then wham — here in Sydney, I found them!

Hopefully we can fit everything in our bags. We are not buying another piece of luggage like we did on last fall’s Europe trip. 😄

We made it back to the hotel by 3 p.m., racking up 7.6 miles! Now it’s time to chill until dinner.

And for the record — the rain only amounted to a few sprinkles. If we hadn’t brought the umbrella, it definitely would have poured.  😂