SYDNEY DAY ONE

GOOD MORNING SYDNEY!

It was a very early morning for passengers on the Viking Sky who wanted to watch the early arrival into the Sydney Harbor!  We arrived at 6 am!  The views were gorgeous as we approached.  Mark went to the balcony on the front of the ship and got some fabulous photos.  I drank coffee and lingered on our stateroom balcony and captured some as we drifted by.  Notice the iconic bridge and Opera House welcoming us to the beautiful city.

“SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Celebrated for its magnificent natural harbor, the world’s largest, Sydney was founded as a penal colony in 1788.  Since then, it has grown into the major cultural center of Australia, beloved for its all-embracing, free-spirited nature.  The cultural jewel in its crown is the iconic Sydney Opera House, a UNESCO World Heritage Site nestled harborside like a gleaming white bird taking wing.  Adjacent, the Royal Botanic Garden displays one of the world’s most important horticulture collections across its 70 acres of flora-lined pathways.  Nearby, The Rocks, a district named for the sandstone from which its original buildings were made, once hosted drunken sailors and ex-convicts.  Today, its history-rich streets host crafts shops and markets.”

Today our excursion was called “Sydney Opera House, Harbor and Bondi Beach”.  We met our coach and had a narrated drive through Sydney en route to the Opera House and Bondi Beach.  Sydney city center consists of both modern skyscrapers and iconic historical traditional buildings living beside each other.  To us, it appears to be a very clean but very congested city.  Our tour guide reiterated this by mentioning that the holiday break was now over, students were back in school and everyone was back to work making lots of traffic on the roadways.  It was difficult to get good photos from the coach, but I was able to get a few. Not sure where along the route these photos were taken - coming or going!  At any rate, we enjoyed all the scenery and different types of architecture!

We arrived at the Opera House and walked town the hill towards it.  It is an amazing structure!  The Opera House took 14 years to build at a cost of over $100 million, slightly above the $7 million budgeted!  The Opera House has two different tiles covering it, all imported from Sweden.  Tiles are glossy white and matte cream giving it an all white, sparkling effect.  There is a ton of specialty glass on the building as well - imported from France.  The inside is very modern with steel girders and precast concrete.  Red carpet and lots of wood absorb and enhanc sound.  We felt very fortunate to be able to tour the inside of this iconic masterpiece!

Following our Opera House tour, we were taken to the famous Bondi Beach.  We enjoyed seeing the different housing options enroute to the beach.  Housing is very expensive in Sydney proper.  Here are some photos of the beach.  We weren’t there long, but long enough for Mark to add a check mark to his bucket list - take a swim in the surf at Bondi Beach!

After leaving Bondi Beach we traveled back to the ship and enjoyed a quiet afternoon.  We had a sunset dinner at a restaurant with the best views in the city!  Oh, it was on the Aqua Terrace on the Viking Sky!