Perhaps not the liveliest of versions, however non-Aussies like us need to see the lyrics to better understand this great folk song. e.g. a billabong is an isolated stagnant pond, a jumbuck is a male sheep. There was a proposal to make Waltzing Matilda Australia’s national anthem. No wonder. When we saw it performed live on board Edge and it brought tears to our eyes.
The view from our aft balcony as we pulled into Sydney, Australia. Were we were in for a nice surprise. Sydney, we were about to discover, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We are no longer city people and so have fairly low expectations about cities. Hence our surprise. The beauty of Sydney is focused on its magnificent harbour, its many surrounding beaches and an active outdoor lifestyle that its over 6 million inhabitants enjoy.
Leaving Solstice, we got an Uber to our 54 floor hotel, Meriton Suites in the heart of the commercial district. We could not figure out how to operate the elevator to get to the 39th floor. Duh. It turns out you must place your room card on the scanner and then an elevator is assigned and pre-programmed to take you to your floor and not to any other ones. Welcome to new hotel security technology! Our room was spacious and well equipped with a kitchenette. If we ran out of anything, we called down and it was delivered in minutes. We highly recommend this superb chain!
We were overlooking George Street which is like Toronto’s Yonge and Bloor Streets combined, jampacked with restaurants, high end shops, food stores and coffee bars etc.. The first day we walked around the magnificent St. Mary’s Cathedral, the iconic Opera House, visited the Aquarium and then did some shopping. We found everything we needed including delicious Australian wine very cheaply priced, just footsteps away. There were dozens and dozens of of Asian style restaurants filled with patrons. The streets were teaming with people, many of them young and Asian. It felt exciting to be there.
Next day Marie’s colleague from nursing school, Maureen and her husband Joe visited us. They took us on a delightful harbour cruise and a walkthrough the historical Rocks district near the harbour. Then we went for a lovely seafood lunch in a pub, thoroughly enjoying the company and the conversation. They live in a suburb of Sydney and took the transit system train back and forth easily. Sydney has a an extensive tap on, tap off transit system and an LRT right down the middle of George Street that works!
Next day we hit the beach. We hopped on a tap on, tap off ferry for a 20 min. ride to Manly beach. We walked around the shops and beach area marvelling at the surfers everywhere. We continued exploring the ocean path and found a tranquil little beach protected by large rocks. It was absolutely gorgeous there! We had a dip followed by snacks and beer in a sunny surf-side restaurant. Truly a great place to live and play we were thinking as we headed back by boat to our hotel.
The next day we went to Bondi Beach which you have probably heard of. It is very long with even bigger surf. Lots of surfers again, people exercising, walking dogs, sunning on the beach, happy. On the way home our bus stopped at the mall just before a tragic mass stabbing was to take place inside. We were shocked next morning when we head the sad news of this.
Perhaps the highlight of our whole visit was attending a standing room only, solemn Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. There were 2 Archbishops, a huge men’s choir, and dozens of priests and lay in the processing party. We chatted with a parishioner who had come to Sydney from Malta and noticed a lot of young families there. It was a great send-off before embarking on our next cruise later that day.
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