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| Luna Park during the daylight. |
Sydney Harbour is unlike any other harbor, we’ve seen anywhere in the world. Its unique design and ambiance coupled with its functionality make seeing this special place quite an adventure in itself.
For the short period we spent in Sydney during this particular stop, we spent every moment enjoying the scenery. Last time we were in Sydney, only three months ago in January, we had little time to enjoy the views and take many photos.
As the cruise continues on, now on day three, we find ourselves totally at ease and settled in, happy as we could be. We like our cabin, the food is good and each meal they improve on my special orders. Last night, the chef came to our table to see if I had any special requests beyond which I’d ordered to date.
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| Walkway dining along the way to the Sydney Opera House, the East Circular Quay, Sydney Opera House promenade Opera Bar. |
As each meal passes, the meals improve exponentially as they learn the nuances of my peculiar and restrictive list of foods. This morning I had a fabulous breakfast including; Eggs Benedict made with smoked salmon without the English muffin with a side of sautéed mushrooms and thick sliced ham. It was the best meal I’d had since we boarded a few days ago.
Tom’s “pigging out” eating bread with dinner, potatoes and desserts. For breakfasts he’s been ordering Sugar Frosted Flakes with a banana, along with eggs, bacon and toast. No pancakes yet, but surely they’ll be on the horizon.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t partake in many of the complimentary baked goods, cookies and bars offered throughout the ship at several venues. If I could eat those sweets, I’d have a hard time resisting.
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| This small vessel is being prepared and tested for use in the event of an emergency. |
But, when I think back to my old life, long before my restrictive way of eating, I rarely had sweets when dining out and would only partake in my home baked treats in moderation.
I was always trying to avoid gaining weight when I’d seen how obesity and diabetes plague family members on my mother’s side, many who passed away from complications, including my mother’s brother, a physician, whose unhealthy diet led to his death after amputations from complications of the dreadful disease.
A cruise ship is truly an opportunity for a feeding frenzy for those with a propensity to overeat. The endless offerings are nearly impossible to resist for the average passenger, even those who generally maintain a degree of control over that which they consume.
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| Daylight view of the Harbour Bridge. |
I suppose it’s not unlike the casino aboard ship. If one likes to gamble, it would be tough to stay away from the casino. How easily we could fall prey to the addictive nature of gambling on a cruise ship where in most cases it’s easier to lose money than at other land based casinos in many parts of the world.
Also, for some, the shopping, aboard ship may be as intoxicating as the alcohol one might imbibe in purchasing a “drink package” at exorbitant prices as high as US $67, AU 87 per day.
The myriad shops along the duty free rows of stores may inspire the shopping enthusiast to go “overboard” (no pun intended) in the shops filled with pricey merchandise including clothing, cosmetics, handbags and jewelry.
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| Tour boat under the Harbour Bridge. |
The shops are closed on port days, but open over 12 hours a day on “sea” days of which this cruise has many as we soon make our way to Darwin over a five day period with no stops along the way.
In addition, many passengers thrive on the trinkets they may purchase at various ports of call, often to the point of bringing extra empty luggage along to hold their “stuff.”
Each day, there’s some sort of sale on the Promenade deck. Yesterday it was handbags, soon it will be jewelry and watches, cameras and electronics and later, accessories and clothing.
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| Luna Park, located in the harbor. |
Even we ended up purchasing a camera aboard ship when we desperately needed to do so. Luckily, with our internet package, we were able to price the camera online before we completed the purchase and in this case, we were provided with a discount.
Another area where passengers indulge is in purchasing “art” at the endless array of art auctions, sales and special offerings. One has no idea as to the authenticity or the quality of their purchases and yet these auctions are packed with excited passengers willing to partake.
With a few free glasses of champagne, inhibitions fly out the window along with often thousands of dollars from their wallets along with additional fees airlines may charge for checking such odd shaped weighty items.
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| Numerous ferry boats were located in the harbor. |
Add the cost of purchasing photos the professional photographers often take when passengers are boarding the ship or when one is not looking may be impossible to resist when they’re beautifully displayed in the photo area.
As it turns out, we rarely partake in many of these indulgences; no gambling in the casino; few purchases in the shops; no attendance at art auctions (as Tom says, “We don’t have any walls!”), no drink packages purchased unless included in the fare as a perk (Tom did this once and never getting his “money’s worth”); no shopping for trinkets while aboard ship or in port.
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| A park located in the harbor. |
Tom’s occasional food indulgences are to be expected subsequently later resolved with strict adherence to healthy dining when we’re settled. How do we have fun without partaking in all of these passenger concentric offerings? People, plain and simple, the people we meet and of course, each other’s easy companionship.
Tomorrow, we’ll be back with more indulgences and more photos as we continue on this delightful cruise…
Photo from one year ago today, April 18, 2016:
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| A year ago, we re-posted photos of wildlife in Africa, including this giraffe we’d seen in our yard in South Africa as we zoomed in from the upper level verandah. Their cheeks are often puffed up due to the manner in which they eat, storing the greenery in their cheeks. For more of these photos, please click here. |