Final Cruise Expenses – See totals here…Off we go to Sydney/Manly…Favorite cruise photos…

View of Sydney from the ship on embarkation day.

Let’s start with our expenses for the 12-night cruise on Celebrity Solstice from March 1, 2017 to March 13, 2017 as follows:

This life seldom leaves us feeling sad when one adventure ends, knowing another begins the same or the next day. We never experience that slump that we recall from our old life when we traveled on a rare occasion many years ago.

The dreaded pile of unopened mail and unread newspapers, the phone messages on the home answering machine, the unpacking, the mountains of dirty laundry, the immediate need for grocery shopping, and the rotting food in the refrigerator all left the returning traveler in a tizzy upon returning home.

The pastry chef prepared this suitable dessert for me each night.  It was amazing!

The lawn’s desperate need of mowing and trimming or the piles of snow on the steps, walkways, and driveway requiring immediate attention only added to the stress of returning home after a time away.

Another view of Sydney.

In this life, we only need to unpack, wash one load of laundry (as Elite members, we’re entitled to 30 free laundry items on the ship), and grocery shop upon arrival. That’s it. Oh yes…get the WiFi working and familiarize ourselves with our new home for weeks or perhaps months yet to come. Easy.

It was such fun to spend time with new friends Christine and Harold and to be able to enjoy dinner in their Penthouse Suite.

Today, we’ll arrive in Sydney/Manly Beach, where we hadn’t arranged for a rental car. So instead, we’ll use the Manly ferry and public transportation (both walking distance to the vacation property) to take us anywhere we’d like to go. 

Our favorite sea and city photo of Noumea, New Caledonia, from the ship with a rainbow in the background.

Once we’re settled, we’ll head out on foot for the local bus to take us to the closest Woolie’s market.  Most likely, by 4:00 pm, we’ll be back with roasted chickens, fresh veggies, and salad fixings for our first night’s meal in our new home for the next 40 days.

We love this face at Luna Park, located in Sydney Harbour.

Each time we make our way through this exploratory process, we do so with the wonder of a wide-eyed child, eager to know more and more. So, instead of having angst about the vacation/holiday period ending, we’re excited as the new leg of our journey begins.

This sugar-free vanilla latte has been a delicious treat for me.

No doubt, as we mentioned many times in our posts, we love cruising and the outrageous amount of socialization we readily embrace. However, when it ends with a degree of commotion required to disembark the cruise, it’s a bit cumbersome and, at times, annoying.

We can’t wait for the “night at the opera” for which we have tickets on March 18th.

Once we’re on our way in the taxi or rental car, our hearts flutter with enthusiasm. Hopefully, today won’t be an exception. Over time, Tom has experienced less and less “overly grumpy” periods while I’ve maintained my usual “overly bubbly” demeanor, making the end of yet another travel day relatively painless.

We are never tired of the view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with photos of our new location, hopefully at ease and content in all that it has to offer. See you soon!

Photo from one year ago today, March 13, 2016:

Upon arriving “home” after a drive to the countryside in New Plymouth, NZ, we laughed over this photo of Belted Galloway cattle that appears to be what??? A six-legged bull? No. The photo was a fluke with one bull standing behind the other. Unfortunately, we didn’t stay longer for better photos when they began showing signs of aggression. For more details, please click here.