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I set my alarm to ring at 5:50AM so I could enjoy the spectacular sail-in to Sydney Harbor with up close views of the iconic Sydney Opera House, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Since this was our last port visit, I was happy they opened the bow as they did for The Panama Canal, French Polynesia, New Zealand, and now Sydney.
The Opera House was stunning as it glistened under the sunny skies. It took my breath away. I was so happy to add this beautiful symbol to my list of sites visited!
Sydney is the largest and oldest Australian city that began more than 200 years ago as a British penal colony. In 1806, Capt. Bligh (of Mutiny) was made governor of the province of New South Wales, where Sydney is located. BTW, Bligh was part of multiple mutinies and a coup d'etat.
The city is known for its diversity and contains more than 200 ethnic groups within its borders.
Unfortunately, our ship did not dock in Circular Quay adjacent to the Opera House. They gave us a story that we were assigned to the boondocks since our ship was small enough to pass under the harbour bridge. The Princess Dawn was docked next to the Opera House.
I passed up the free shuttle to town and instead chose to take to take the $9, 20-minute, scenic ferry ride. It was awesome to pass The Opera House up close and personal.
I decided to take a Sydney Free Walking Tour. Www.imfree.com.au After stopping by my hotel to touch basis, I walked along the Botanical Gardens Street, thru Martin Square and up George Street to the tour’s Town Hall meeting point, in front of the anchor.
I arrived 15 minutes early and could not help but remark that for the first time in 5 weeks, instead of being surrounded by grandparents, I was among “their grandchildren”. The 20 something, Justine, guided our group and I learned she founded Free Sydney Walking Tours and Free Melbourne Walking Tours six years ago. See her photo on the brochure here. Www.imfree.com.au
Justine was charming and enthusiastic about both Sydney and Melbourne. I learned these cities have been competing for the title best and brightest, continually since their inception, trying to outdo each other with the tallest building, best street art, most efficient public transit system and more. It is obvious that Sydneyites resent Melbourne for being crowned “the cultural capital of Australia.”
Some highlights of the tour were learning about: the Hyde Park Barracks, the Rocks' seedy history, underground mall in The Queen Victoria building, the bird cage outdoor art exhibit, free things to do, hidden cafes/bars and more. The coat of arms contains the kangeroo and the emu. They are not hesitant to admit they eat both. If you order a “coat of arms pizza,” guess what it is!!
Sydney celebrates Chinese New Year with a variety of festivals and art installations including: see website excerpt here
The 20th Sydney Chinese New Year Festival will welcome the Year of the Monkey in magnificent style.
From 6 to 21 February, Sydney will come alive with the sights, sounds and tastes of Asia in one the biggest celebrations of the Lunar New Year outside of mainland China.
One of the festival highlights, the inaugural Lunar Lanterns exhibition, will begin this Saturday (6 February) when the City lights lanterns representing 12 animal signs of the zodiac in some of Sydney’s most iconic locations for the first time at 8pm. The lanterns, designed by Chinese-Australian artists including Laurens Tan, Fan Dongwang, Tianli Zu, Hu Ming, Claudia Chan Shaw and Justin Qian, include: three eight-metre high wise monkeys outside the Opera House; a majestic ox made with 700 mahjong tiles in Martin Place; a giant happy tiger lantern in the QVB forecourt; 14 giant rabbits at Customs House; and a Goat lantern gifted from the City of Guangzhou in Chinatown.
The exhibition will run for nine days and nights to 14 February and is designed to be equally impressive regardless of the time of day.
Lunar Lanterns, various locations, 6–14 February --Giant lanterns representing animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac will grace some of Sydney’s most popular locations for 9 days and 9 nights.
Lunar Lanterns is a contemporary take on a centuries-old tradition, with some lanterns standing several stories high and located throughout the city from Circular Quay to Chinatown.
We saw most of these spectacular animal lanterns on our tour. See me with the rabbits below.
Our tour ended at Circular Quay across the harbor from the Opera House.
After strolling around circular quay a bit, I wanted to soak in more of the flavor of the city by walking up and down the bustling George Street, a major street lined with many businesses, restaurants, and is adjacent to main shopping streets.
I had another juicy steak pie from the Pie Face shop before taking the beautiful ferry ride back to the ship.
The ship was virtually empty tonight as many of the guests stayed in town or went back in town to see the opera, Barber of Seville.
Tonight's featured entertainer was a comedian, Jeff Green. He was really funny and touched on a number of universally humorous topics, especially all the popular gender-related ones.
I finished my packing and make sure all of my bags were out by 11 PM.
Tomorrow: disembarkation from my beautiful home for the past 36 days!
I will spend two nights in Sydney before flying back to Miami.
My fit bit indicates I took 22,671 steps and walked 8.3 miles.
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| Justine Tour Guide |
