Sydney

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Wednesday 29th February

This is day 51 and the day we rejoin the land and leave the ship behind. Disembarkation

was so smooth this morning. We were due off the ship at 9.00 am and actually got off a

few minutes early and were through customs and in a taxi just 20 minutes later. Luckily

our taxi was an estate car so it took both of us, 5 suitcases, 2 lots of hand luggage

and all my evening dresses in one go.

We did loads of internet research before settling on this location for our week ashore

and it paid dividends. The apartment is huge: jacuzzi big enough for 2, fabulous

kitchen with every appliance imaginable, huge bedroom with some very swanky fittings and

entertainment kit, a beautiful lounge/diner with unbeatable views plus a wonderful

balcony where we can sit out for meals. We are 9 floors up and right next to the Royal

Botanical Gardens. So far we've seen a lovely Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, lots of birds

we don't know the names of and are hoping we may get to see some of the fruit bats that

the gardens are famous for.

The bad news is that it has rained all day. The only thing that has changed is how

much. Sometimes just a bit; other times loads! We are not well geared up to cope with

rain: we have very hot weather clothing for the tropics and very cold weather clothing

that we thought we would need in New York and San Fransisco. And nothing in between.

Result? We got wet. Very! But heck, we're on holiday so refuse to let rain get in our

way. We took a circular bus route ride today so have started to find our way round, we

had a great lunch out and tonight we're eating in. That's such a novelty but it was

pathetic how useless both of us were inside a supermarket! After 7 weeks of doing no

cooking, we settled for a ploughmans lunch at dinner followed by a yoghurt. It's not

exactly fine dining but it's healthy and easy and at least one of those two qualities is

very important right now.

We're both excited about our day tomorrow: the gym here looks fine and the pool is

gorgeous with a lovely view over the harbour and its bridge. We already have a week's

travel ticket - about £30 for a ticket that covers all the public transport in Sydney

including ferries, buses, monorail and trains - so plan putting that to very good use!

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