21st November 2009

Well, it's hard to believe that 8 months after we left Sydney we sailed back into her port this morning. Up on deck by 5.30 am this morning, the sight of us sailing into the harbour and berthing between the Opera House and the Bridge was almost worth the price of the cruise alone. Disembarkation from the ship went smoothly and we were at our hotel by 8.45; luckily our room was already available so once we had sorted ourselves out we were off into the city. We set off for the area known as The Rocks and decided to use the light railway, which is something we have never been on before; so you can imagine our surprise to find that the train has 3 levels! We have both bought ourselves UGG slippers as we have decided to be trendy and the price seems quite reasonable.

I would like to tell you that we both did the Bridge Climb but that would not be true, however we did settle for second best as, having looked at one of Rosalyn's guidebooks I discovered that you can climb to the very top of the South East Pylon of the bridge and taking the 200 steps very very slowly we were rewarded with spectacular views of the city of Sydney. If you want to find out more statistics about where we went you can go to

www.pylonlookout.com.au

We then went for lunch before visiting the Queen Victoria Building which houses some very expensive and exclusive shops. In the central area there is a most magnificent Christmas Tree whose trunk and sparkly bits are actually Swarovski crystals. By now both of us were tiring as it is very hot and we returned to the hotel for a wash and rest.

This evening we went for a walk round Darling Harbour. I've never seen so many people, the place was literally heaving. The build-up to Christmas has begun here with a fantastic fireworks show, lasting about 10 minutes. Having seen how they celebrate New Year's Eve we weren't surprised at the spectacle.

An observation I have made is that there are large numbers of young smokers here in Sydney, far more than I have seen anywhere else. If Australians are suffering with large numbers of people developing skin cancers as a result of the strong sun, then I wouldn't be surprised if lung cancer wasn't far behind.

It seems strange to be walking about in November, wearing shorts and t-shirt and we are making the most of it before we have to board the plane home tomorrow. We know the weather has been pretty horrendous in the last few days and we are hoping things will have settled down.

I don't know if we will get a chance to upload any more of our blog, but please keep looking in as I will attempt to sum up everything and perhaps fill in those things I have forgotten.