I’m sailing away - Goodbye Sydney!

I was so happy to have a stretch of 8 nights in Sydney. It’s a great city - lots of water, great restaurants, beautiful gardens, interesting history, and friendly people. I had two awesome beach days. On Sunday, I took the ferry to Manly Beach. I half joked that I chose this one because of its name, but truly it was an amazing day. Beautiful ride through the harbor there, and the beach itself was gorgeous.

I love nothing more than a windy, sunny boat ride!

I mean look at this beach!

I walked the length of the beach and back outbound on the boardwalk, back in the beach itself. So pretty. And the town had many cute shops to poke around in. A great way to while away a day.

The next day, I took the bus out to Bondi beach to do the Bondi to Coogee walk, which came highly recommended. With good reason. This was simply stunning! I started at Bondi Beach, which is a long sandy crescent, very full of swimmers and surfers even on a Monday afternoon.

The walk starts just beyond the Bondi Icebergs swimming club on the south side of the beach. This is an iconic Oceanside pool, also quite well populated and picturesque.

The path winds up and down along the cliffs, passing beautiful coves and small beaches along the way. Simply breathtaking.

The coast is lined with rocky cliffs, flowers, and amazing views. I just loved it.

It was slow going because I found myself stopping every few minutes to watch surfers, or gaze at yet another stunning stretch of coastline.

I walked for a couple of hours, then caught a bus back to circular quay as I was craving a good French lunch in the water. I enjoyed a fig and Roquefort salad with a glass of rose, with my ride back to the states - the Queen Anne- in the background.

There she is!

The sail away on Tuesday was epic - so close to the harbor bridge that we could see and hear the brave people on the bridge climb.

And last glimpses of the opera house from multiple angles.

Such a beautiful harbor!

Now it’s just the open water of the pacific. It’s been pretty smooth sailing so far, and it’s a lovely ship with lots to do. I am finding that my biggest decisions are buffet or restaurant for breakfast, trivia or pool for the morning, and watercolor class or a nap for the afternoon. Such a difficult life!

Live from my balcony somewhere between Australia and Vanuatu, our first port of call in a few more days.

I’m excited for the couple of South Pacific/Hawaiian ports where we will stop, for spending tons of leisure time during the many sea days ahead, and for getting back to the states in early April. Really looking forward to seeing my sister Deb who is meeting me in LA and spending a week with her driving the PCH to San Francisco.

Will write more as things develop. In the meantime, I expect this to be may main view for the next few weeks, so the posts may be few and far between…