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.  😂

Sydney, Australia - Day 2 of 7

Yesterday afternoon, we grabbed an Uber over to Mr C’s beautiful penthouse in the Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo. He played host to twelve lucky guests and had laid out an impressive spread of appetizers — along with a very respectable lineup of adult beverages 🍷. 

At one point, he even treated us to a little performance on his grand piano. The real showstopper, though, was the view from his enormous patio… absolutely breathtaking!

Eventually, we Ubered back to the hotel with fellow cruise passengers Trina and Eric.

This morning, after indulging in a luxurious breakfast at the hotel buffet, we hopped on the ferry to Taronga Zoo. 

Pro tip: once you exit the ferry, wait for the city bus to take you up to the zoo’s upper entrance. From there, you can walk downhill through the zoo to the lower exit. Trust me — this place is built into a steep hillside and you’ll get all your steps in for the day… and possibly tomorrow too 😄.

That said, as zoos go, this one was a bit disappointing. Thanks to my career in breeding exotic birds, we’ve visited many zoos around the world — and this one doesn’t quite crack our Top Five list:

1. San Diego Zoo

2. Loro Parque, in Tenerife — hands down the best bird collection in the world

3. Singapore Zoo

4. Smithsonian National  Zoo

5. Bronx Zoo

Afterward, we took the ferry back to the city and had lunch in The Rocks.

We wandered through the many shops but didn’t find anything worth squeezing into the suitcase. Back to the hotel we went for some much-needed showers. The weather shifted today from a sunny 85° to a very overcast 80°, and the humidity cranked itself up a notch. Tonight and tomorrow are both showing a very high chance of rain.

Tonight, we have reservations at one of our favorite Sydney spots — Fish at the Rocks.

It’s a place that’s hugely popular with locals and not so much with tourists — always a good sign.

Details in tomorrow’s blog… 🍽️

Disembarkation Day - Sydney, Australia

Well, the cruise is over! And just like that, we walked off the ship at 8:30 into what was easily the fastest, simplest disembarkation we’ve ever experienced.

The cab ride to the Four Seasons was all of ten minutes. 

The moment we stepped out, Doorman Derek remembered us from our last visit — apparently the Lakers hat I wore last year did the trick 😄 Derek is a big Lakers fan, so our NBA conversation picked up right where we left off!

Inside, we ran into several couples from the ship in the lobby. The hotel is fully booked, but they were going to do their best to honor our Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts noon check-in (regular check-in is 3 pm). So… bags dropped, off we went exploring.

Debbie had one mission: the massive Lululemon store just a block away. Mission accomplished — along with a successful stop at Zara. 

While enjoying lunch at Betty’s Burgers in Circular Quay, we received the magical text: our room was ready right at noon.

One of the many nice perks of being a returning guest — we were upgraded to a Junior Suite! And, complimentary wine and nuts too!

Honestly, if this is the junior version, we can only imagine what the full suite looks like 🤯

The view from our two large windows...

We unpacked and are now enjoying a little downtime before heading out for a 4:30 get-together at Mr. C’s.

Tomorrow’s plan: ferry ride to Taronga Zoo.

Details in tomorrow’s blog… 🐨