July 1, 2024
No Cruise for the Miller's
Sadly, Tuesday's delay news meant plan B had to be enacted for my buddies The Miller's ! I was so disappointed having to call them and relay the latest delays; they were supposed to meet me and the ship in Stockholm, Sweden based on our original itinerary for two weeks. We had even come up with an alternate plan, last week, to get them to Belfast to join the ship there, if we were going to sail on July first, as we were hoping. Again, DANG RUTTERS! The Miller's are resilient, they went to visit Lady Liberty and Ellis Island on Friday, in lieu of flying from Newark to Stockholm. Hopefully, we can rendezvous in a future port soon.
I love a good architectural tour and even though I did this one last time I was here, the story is so interesting, I decided to do again. Plus they are always updates and changes in operations at the Sydney Opera House . This tour didn't disappoint - I saw new theater spaces and gained new insights to the story of it's construction from concept in 1958, to it's opening in 1973. The drama that played out for Danish architect Jorn Utzon , who won the commission out of 300 submissions and never got to seen the final building.He was fired by local politician, in election year, when project was grossly over budget and schedule. The building is an engineering marvel and I love so many of the details!
I love to get to know an interesting neighborhood when visiting a big city. Newtown is a creative, fun and slightly edgy area in Sydney known for its' preserved Victorian architecture, street art and it's lively, friendly food and bar scene. There is lots of live music, quirky bars (they call hotels) and the population there is the largest LGBTQ community in Sydney. It's young and vibrant with the University of Sydney right there. Great if you want a place with personality over polish!
Sailing into Sydney Harbor is one of those iconic moments that will stand out in my memories for this adventure! Sydney is one of a few natural harbors, worldwide, like San Francisco , known for its sparkling waters, landmark sights, spectacular events and hundreds of miles of shoreline.