We are now at the airport waiting for the flight to take us along to Hong Kong where we will spend two more nights before returning home.  We have had an epic time in Sydney and meeting up with old friends from previous cruises just made it all the better.

Day one

after getting off of the ship we waited patiently for our transfer to the Four Seasons hotel.  Several of our new cruise mates took great pleasure in pointing out to us that we could have walked it rather than wait for our taxi.  It was true, the hotel loomed above us just a few streets from where the ship docked lol.

anyway, once we arrived it was just a short, excited, wait for Cas, Dave, Lynda and Larry to check in.  Cas and Dave drew the long straw with their room view that's for Sure!  We had what was described as a city view..... it was actually just a view of the convienience store over the road but it was fine.  The bears took to standing on the windowsill and gazing outside.  We even popped out to the store and took a photo of them looking back at us lol.

once the guys arrived we took a walk down to Darling Harbour.  Both David and I were in awe of how beautiful Sydney is.  The architecture of the buildings is stunning with cathedrals nestled in parks and high rise office blocks and apartments making for a truly interesting skyline. 

It was hot...oh boy was it hot.  I thought it was funny how almost every location seemed to be named after a English location.  Kings cross, Hyde park, Brighton beach....to name just a few!

we took plenty of pit stops for drinks on our walk and, after a while, stopped for a late dinner at beach front restaurant and I tried a little piece of kangaroo meat! It was good.

Darling harbour is pretty, in fact, Sydney is a very pretty city and once you get used to the heat it is easy to see why someone would want to live here.  You can have a drink on the harbour front or eat a meal and all around you is incredible scenery.  

David and i were on the hunt for an aboriginal flag and the guys reckoned we would find one at Paddy's market.  Unfortunately, when we got there, it was closed but we will definitely be able to order one online.

i got a small opal ring in a jewellers store! It's cute and I love it.  

The walk in in the heat was not appealing for the trip back to circular quay where the hotels and bars are and so we caught a train.

the trains here are cool!!!  They are double decker and the seats can be changed so that, if you want, you can switch from two facing another two.....and make them two on their own.  It's really clever and I think the uk should look at double decker trains.

after more drinks the Aussie's and Kiwi's decided it was time for food....this confused David and I no end because we had eaten at the restaurant on the harbour front only a few hours before lol... but we figured it was the way things were done and so went with the flow....

turns out that, due to alcohol consumption, the Aussie guys got distracted and forgot we had already eaten!

 it was nice grub anyway and no one minded the extra grub.  I must have put on so much weight this holiday and am looking forward to hitting the gym once we get home!!

after more drinks in the hotel bar we said goodnight and planned to meet early for our epic guided tour the following day.

Day two.

after a few teething problems with the hire car that Dave arranged for us, we were on our way with a brilliant guided tour.  Dave used to be a cabbie in Sydney and he grew up close to bondi beach.  He drove us around all day showing us the sites on an epic whistle stop tour.

we saw Bondi, Balmoral, Watson bay....Sydney cricket grounds, more beaches and even visted the suburbs with their very English looking homes.  Some of the areas would cost an absoloute fortune to live in and many of the houses had stunning, beach front, views.  

There are a lot of beaches around Sydney!  Our drive took us all the way around the coastline and we stopped for an amazing fish and chips lunch at a place called Doyle's.  I think, with the scenery.....it even beats our fish and chips in littlehampton....

yesterday in sydney was the hottest day of the year and one of their hottest for years and years.  It was around 35 degrees and we were very glad of the air conditioning in our car!

the car had to be back by five and, once we dropped it back off it was back to a pub crawl taking in Hyde Park as we made our way back to the hotel.  

From the Cathedral, we could here amazing carol singing....still weird! Still too hot for Christmas.

we stopped at Sydney Harbour for more food and then, once back at the hotel, it was time to say goodbye to everyone and head to bed.  This morning was a 0430 start to get to the airport for our flight.

we want to thank Dave for taking us to all the brilliant places that we saw and everyone else for their great company.  We will see you all again soon.  It's been an absolute blast. 

Love you guys