March 5th through 7th in Sydney

The 5^th was a very, very rainy day. What do we care! Out and about. We again took the hop-on, hop-off bus, this time getting off for an Australian wildlife exhibit and Madam Tussaud’s museum. We managed to snag a rare rainy-day-taxi to get back to our hotel and had an early dinner at a cute pub next to the hotel. Then we went to the Sydney Opera House for a performance of the relatively new cute, crazy and slightly scandalous musical “Six”, about the trials, tribulations and lost heads of Henry the VIII’s six wives. The rain finally stopped during the performance, so we had a lovely stroll on the waterfront as we ambled back to our hotel.

The 6^th dawned bright, sunny and in the 70s, as forecast. We headed for a hop-on, hop-off ferry that made several stops, including our intended destination, oceanfront Manly Beach. At Manly, we walked about a mile along the waterfront to Shelly Beach, where our Australian guest chef on board the ship had suggested we go for a meal at a lovely beach-side café. The meal and the view were both lovely except for one thing. I forgot that today was a Lenten Friday, so I was supposed to abstain from meat. Oops! Without thinking about it, Mary was saved by ordering a salmon dish.

Having spent much of the day in the Manly-Shelly area, we returned to the hotel for a much-needed nap, then afternoon Mass (repentance for me!) at a local church followed by a light dinner in the concierge lounge at the hotel.

The 7th our last full day in Sydney. Today was a day for long walks. A scenic three mile walk along the shoreline and a long evening walk to go to Mass at the cathedral and to ride up Sydney’s “Sky Tower” for a nighttime view of the city. Mass was wonderful in the huge cathedral, but the Sky Tower was too crowded, so we stayed up there for less than three minutes!

What a wonderful time we have had in Sydney! We could have easily stayed another week – there is so much to do. But we will be happy to get back to the pampering of the ship’s personnel and to seeing our friends again – and making more new friends!