Our final port of call on the Seabourn Sojourn was Sydney, Australia! Since we were switching ships, we actually ended up having a little extra time in Sydney while we waited for our second floating home to arrive, so we happily spent our 4(ish) days in this gorgeous city. Day one was really busy, though, so I figured I'd cover it in the first of a two-part Sydney post. First, our time in Sydney began with a sail-in right at sunrise. Our ship was lucky enough to be docked in Circular Quay, which is literally the center of town, right between the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. It was a beautiful morning and I was so groggy, but happy to get up on deck and watch. The city just looked still and silent as we sailed in at 6:00 am. We made our way through the harbor and past all the little neighborhoods of Sydney until we got our first look at the downtown and that stunning opera house ahead of us.
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| View as the Sojourn arrives in Sydney |
We crept closer and closer and I got more and more excited. The Sydney Opera House is one of those buildings you grow up seeing in cartoons and in your textbooks and on television and movies. Seeing it in real life was so crazy. As the ship sailed past the opera house we turned left to dock right there next to it. Maybe 100 yards away. Right as we got all tied up and everything the sun rose up from right behind the opera house and we were ready for our Australian adventure to begin. What a spectacular moment and one that I will NEVER forget.
Our first order of business was to walk over to the opera house and see if there were any deals on tickets for that night's performance of Carmen. We talked to the box office and got some tips to come back later and try rush tickets. From there I went on my own to the adjacent Royal Botanical Gardens, which serves almost like a Central Park for Sydney, being the main green space in the city. The gardens were expectedly lush and wild and beautifully landscaped and the whole time I was thrilled to see and hear native birds and see some plants and trees I had never seen before. The view of the opera house and bridge were awesome from there as well. I happened upon a great art exhibit in the gardens and met some really nice locals, all things that made me feel really welcome and happy to be in Australia.
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I eventually made it back to the ship that afternoon and headed out with Sarah and Sebastien to a place recommended to me by my family friend, Leanne Trumper. Leanne (Clark) grew up just down the street from me and our parents all still live in the same neighborhood, but Leanne now calls Australia home. She had sent me a message of tips in Australia and mentioned Watson's Bay as her favorite place in the harbor. The three of us quickly found the appropriate water taxi and 20 minutes later found ourselves at a really cool, unique spot on the water. We walked a bit before deciding to take a spot right by the dock that was PACKED. The music was good, we found a table and ordered some drinks to share. We quickly realized that this was the PLACE TO BE. We were surrounded by gorgeous people like something you would see in Laguna Beach or something. It was really fun and we enjoyed pretending to be part of that crowd for a bit, soaking up the sun, walking along the water and ending with some ice cream and our boat ride back to the ship.
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| Watson's Bay with Sarah and Sebastien |
In hopes of getting some last minute tickets to the performance of Carmen that night, Sarah, Keri, Sean (our band drummer), and I got all spiffed up in appropriate attire and headed back to the box office at 6:30 pm to try and get student tickets with the ID's me and Keri had. We were in luck when our box office attendant happened to be really nice and hardly care at all whether we were students or how many tickets we were getting and suddenly we were the proud holders of tickets originally priced at $350 for $50 each. We celebrated with food and wine in the lobby before the show and took our seats. The show was fantastic: we were seeing one of the most iconic operas of all time in THE MOST iconic opera house on Earth. I'm a lucky man. Between the incredible performances and signature tunes, plus a live horse on stage… we got the full experience and enjoyed the walk back to the ship along the water after the show with the Sydney Harbor Bridge lit up in all its glory.
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| In front of the Opera House after Carmen |
Since it was our last night with the Sojourn crew, who we had gotten so close to, we had to go out and live up the night with them all. We headed to Darling Harbor, a part of Sydney filled with great restaurants, bars, and a waterfront walkway. The night took us all over the city and eventually to a little pub near the ship. The night was hard because we all wanted to make it be so great to celebrate the great time we had had the past 3 months, but nothing could fulfill that expectation, you know? The friendships from this ship were really something special and we were all sad to say goodbye. On to the next leg of the contract, though… the Holland America Amsterdam.
Until the next post,
Tripp
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