Sydney, Day Two

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts center and a World Heritage Site. We got there a little early to just browse around. The performance was well worth the price. I guess when you reach the Sydney Opera House level, all the artists are exceptional. They had a mezzo-soprano that was a show stopper. My favorite was the “Flower Duet” from Lakme that she and the soprano performed. The whole concert was done without microphones, you didn’t need them as every note and every word could be heard perfectly – quite impressive.  That was last night. This morning we were heading out at about 8:30 am. As we passed a very elderly couple on the gangplank sort of tottering back aboard, Jim jokingly said, “Late night?”  The guy replied, “Well, you know they don’t let you out of jail until 8 in the morning”. That’s why I like this group; you seldom get the expected response. We strolled down to the Harbor and Jim had the map. I asked if we could just walk to Fort Denison from here. He responded, “maybe, but it would take a better man than me”. Turns out it is on an island.  So, with our Captain Cook’s  “Hop On, Hop Off” boat pass in hand, and the ultimate tour plan, we hopped on. The weather was ideal. I keep mentioning the perfect weather while I can as I figure India will be hot and miserable and Japan will be cold and miserable so while I can tout the weather, I will. We started with a visit to Darling Harbor. It is much like Circular Quay but newer, nicer and within walking distance to China Town and Paddy’s Market. We walked around the harbor area, through China Town then stopped at the market for wine etc.  We caught a little train back to hop on the catamaran to our next “HOHO” stop. The boat actually stopped at Fort Denison, turned out no miracles were required to get there ... but since it was that easy, we decided not to hop off. It was a harbor fortification, used later as a prison, now a tourist stop. We also stopped at Goat and Shark Islands – but didn’t hop off. Sydney Harbor has 66 bays. We decided to hop off next at Watson’s Bay for lunch at Doyle’s.  Located on a small beach, you had the nice sea breeze and an outstanding view of Sydney in the distance.  It has been in operation, with the same family, for over 130 years. I think they learned something over the years as it was one of the best seafood lunches we have had so far. I walked across the park to a scenic observation point for the Tasman Sea. Quite spectacular but required an uphill walk followed by a cardiovascular workout type climb for those photos above. We hopped back on the Captain Cook, flashing our “HOHO” pass, and headed back to the cruise ship. Tomorrow we head toward Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. I booked a tour to snorkel the reef 6 months ago before a month and a half of gluttonous meals, great breads and wonderful desserts. The greatest barrier to seeing the reef may be my inability to squeeze into my swim suit.