New Year's Weekend in Sydney

We arrived in Sydney at about 10:30 a.m. on December 30 after two very uneventful and quite comfortable flights with Air Canada. Once we reached our hotel, the Sofitel Wentworth, it was still before noon. Fortunately our room was ready, and once we had changed for the weather - 30 degrees C and quite sticky - we set off for a walk down to Circular Quay. The preparations were already underway for New Year's Eve celebrations at the waterfront: the big orange plastic barriers were ready to put in place, temporary fencing was at the sides of the roads, and there were flatbed trucks loaded with port-a-potties ready to be set up. The restricted area stretched from the Quay up to Bridge Street, which is about 3 blocks from the waterfront.

We continued on our way out to the Opera House and saw that they were also putting up barriers to control access. A number of venues in Sydney sell tickets for access for the fireworks every year; these include the Opera House's Opera Bar and the Botanical Garden which has a couple of vantage areas like Mrs. Macquarie's Chair out on the point and the bleacher stands that are used for other events in Sydney Cove. We don't know how the tickets are sold, or how much they cost, but people sure were standing in lines to get in on New Year's Eve morning when the gates opened at 10:00!! But we're getting ahead of ourselves here.

New Year's Eve morning at the entrance to the Botanic Garden. This
was only the first group starting to collect. When we returned
from our walk, there were additional groups being kept farther
back, directed in when the lineup area was clear.

Our walk ended up taking us back around to The Rocks, where Ovation of the Seas, the other new Royal Caribbean ship, was in for the day. Larry had even forgotten about this ship, but it seems to have been sent directly out to serve the Australian and Asian ports. Preparations were also taking place for December 31st around the Overseas Passenger Terminal and into the streets of The Rocks.

We had a late lunch at what used to be the Löwenbrau Keller and found that sometime in the past 2 years it had turned into the Munich Brauhaus, and was now part of a chain. The food was still OK, but not as good as before, and the menu was not as extensive as it used to be. Oh, well, things change everywhere....

The menu has changed, but the old oom-pah-pah
band was the same. The Asian tourists
were lapping it up, too.

On Saturday morning we were up before the birds and the hotel concierge told us about some areas that were already closed. He suggested a walk to Pott's Point, beyond the Botanical Gardens, so we thought we'd give it a shot. We ended up walking 5.8 miles (Larry got a new FitBit for Christmas) by the time we returned to the hotel. Our route took us past The Domain which was being set up with 2 large stages, areas for food vendors, and....one of the biggest installations of port-a-potties we had ever seen!

We took a little time in the afternoon to chill before getting ready for the dinner cruise on the Sydney 2000.  We left about an hour before we needed to be on the wharf for boarding, even though the walk is not even 10 minutes; we had no idea how many people would be milling around Circular Quay. It was busy, but not too bad yet, and the tour company had limited access for ticket holders only set up.

Those of you who are on facebook will have already seen the video of the grand finale of the midnight fireworks, but here is something for everyone else.

Dinner was actually an all-evening affair, with the lobster appetizer first course served before the 9:00 Fireworks and the beef tenderloin main course and dessert served afterwards. Champagne toast at midnight and the boat was back at the wharf by 1:00.

There's no way to describe the fireworks, so we'll just post a bunch of photos and video clips. We have a full video/photo collage but it is almost 10 minutes long...we just couldn't find too much to delete!!

Not the best photo but you can see all the people in The Rocks
at the end of the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

Wow!!!! The most amazing spectacle we have ever seen!

One more day to recuperate - and marvel at how much of the barriers were taken down by early afternoon. We heard that there were about 1.5 Million people watching the fireworks, and that there were only 15 arrests. People still do know how to come together and celebrate. What a weekend; off to Melbourne tomorrow.

A New Year's Holiday

Hello again, Everyone!

We hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year. We've been so busy all year with renovations and moving and a few other issues that we're looking forward to a couple of weeks of downtime in one of our favourite places. We were so busy in the last little while that we didn't even get a chance to take a new picture of Franklin!

This trip will take us back to Australia, where we will be on Sydney Harbour for the big New Year's Eve fireworks display on a dinner cruise/harbour celebration. We've been looking forward to this since we booked it in June. We will definitely be posting photos and video here on the blog.  We will be spending a week in Melbourne and trying to do some sightseeing in the area if we can get any tours. From there we have an organized trip to Uluru for two nights - we're hoping that our luck will be better this time, since in 2015 we got the only cloudy evening in years for our sunset viewing. Then we're back in Sydney for a few more days before coming home.

We hope you enjoy following along with our adventures on this trip.  Happy New Year to All in advance!!

A Day in Boston

Once we escaped the fog of Bar Harbor, we set course for Boston. We have already done walking tours of the Freedom Trail and it was a little too cool and windy for a comfortable sightseeing trip, like a Duck Tour. Barb had done this when they were here in July and really liked it - we'll save it for our next visit.

We had made an early reservation at ye olde Union Oyster House for lunch, so we didn't have too much time when we left the shuttle. So, we'll start there and finish up with some photos of the walk we took to start walking lunch off.

 

We shared this plate - after a dozen oysters and a
cup each of clam chowder. (We both liked the chowder in
Bar Harbour a bit more.)

It was fairly busy downtown, but it was a Sunday and the markets and coffee shops were open: Quincy Market, the lower level of Faneuil Hall, and the Boston Market. We didn't go too far afield, just along the central part of the Freedom Trail.

The interior of Faneuil Hall, historically significant since before
the American Revolution and still hosting important political
events today.

The iconic statue of Paul Revere in front
of the Old North Church, where the 'one if by land,
two if by sea' signal light was posted to
start his famous ride.

The Town Hall and the plaque in front marking
the site of the Boston Massacre, which escalated
the conflict between the British soldiers
and the people of Boston.

The Meeting Hall

Benjamin Franklin's statue in front
of the City Hall.

Back to the ship for a relatively quiet afternoon. Ambassador Peck's lecture at 4:00 was one we didn't want to miss, and it was interrupted by pre-sailing announcements. This wasn't unexpected, but the ultimate results were. Just to make sure everyone is on board from any port, the Front Desk will make announcements asking certain guests whose ship ID card may not have been swiped when they reboarded during the day to call and confirm that they are on board. Two couples hadn't been accounted for, and no one thought anything more of it...until we were leaving.

Our stateroom happens to be just above where the gangway was set up, and we were out on our balcony to watch as we cast off the lines and left the pier. The gangway here was just a stairway with railings, not the large covered type. The truck was just moving it away when two people came running out of the port building waving their arms - obviously the last couple who didn't pay attention to the time. They were lucky; the gangway was put back into place and they boarded, but they seemed to think it was quite funny that they were the last ones back...probably they wouldn't think the same way after Captain Giske had a chat.

So the gangway was pulled back again and we finally cast off; just in time to see two MORE people come running out of the port building. They were turned back around and had the singular experience of watching the ship sail without them! Fortunately they only have to get to New York where we have an overnight, so they will be able to rejoin the ship.

We can't say that there's never any excitement in a sailaway!

The Boston skyline

Sunset

 We had a fairly rough overnight - not so bad for us, but some of the cruising newbies may be complaining this morning.

Gaspé and Bar Harbor

Fortunately, the mighty St. Lawrence remained calm for our overnight sail to Gaspé. The captain had been expecting a little more action, and we were all concerned that we would not be able to tender in to the town once we arrived.

We had booked the whale watching tour which took us to the town of Percé, home of the famous Roche Percé, to board our boat.

Our whale watching tour boat

We had about two hours to find a whale or two, a little more of a feat than normal because, as Crystal Serenity was once again the last ship of the season, the only whale watching boats out were the two for our tour. Usually all the tour boats are in contact and the captains inform each other about sightings, but we didn't have these extra eyes for our trip. Because the water in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is quite cold, around 5 degrees Celsius, there is lots of krill and small fish around and many whales stick around late into the year to keep feeding. Humpbacks are not uncommon into December, but unfortunately we didn't see any...we did, though, find a Fin Whale and 'stalked' it for about a half hour.

By the time we got back to town, everyone lined up in the local chocolate shop for a cup of Hot Chocolate and headed back to the bus. The scenery between Gaspé and Percé is quite pretty, and would have been even more spectacular with more colour in the leaves.

This is Indian Rock. See the Indian brave's profile? There is
of course a legend connected to it, that the princess he loved was
kidnapped and taken away. He swore never to look at the
sea again until she came back. No luck so far....

Looking toward the town of Gaspe from the other side
of the inlet.

Yesterday was a sea day, and, other than attending all of the lectures we didn't do a lot - which made us even more aware that late seating dinner is not for us. Even though the Crystal Society cocktail party was taking place at 7:45, we found that the afternoon dragged, and dragged, so much that we didn't even feel like doing the blog post. Oh, yes, we almost forgot to report on the results of the presidential debate: no fights or fisticuffs, and it seems that everyone has made up their minds not to talk about the election, as there have been very few overheard conversations around the bars since then.

Jim Brochu and Gary Hunter as Gary introduced Jim's lecture on
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Jim's lecture. He knew both Fred and Ginger from his
work in movies in Los Angeles

Going into the Palm Court for the cocktail party, we ran into Jim and Steve, and snuck in the back way. Ambassador Edward Peck and his wife came along soon after and Jim invited them to sit with us, too. Larry wanted a photo with two of his favourite lecturers, so here it is:

This morning we arrived in Bar Harbor to the sound of our fog horn. We had no idea where we were until we actually got there and the fog lifted a bit - before it covered everything again.

We had been looking forward to wandering around the town before our 'Walk in the Park' easy hike in Acadia National Park, but our immigration call didn't come until about 11:00 and we had to meet for our tour on board ship at noon. It didn't matter much in the end, because it remained foggy and drizzly until we got out of the transfer van in the park, and then it started to rain lightly. Not the best weather for photography, but we took a few pictures anyway. The rain did eventually stop, but the fog never disappeared for the whole day.

After the walk we stayed in town and went to the West Street Café, recommended by our tour guide, for a lobster roll lunch that came with a cup of New England clam chowder, cole slaw, french fries and blueberry pie for dessert. It was delicious!!

Decorations on one of the restaurants at the harbour

  

We had dinner in Prego, which Jim had arranged previously. We were joined by Phil, one of their friends from New York, and had a really good evening.

'Autumn Escape'....

that is once we finally got there!

There is no introductory photo for this edition of the blog. By the time we finally started packing the day before we left, we had no time to take one. And it turned out that 'nothing' was what we saw on the first day anyway.

For those of you who see our Facebook posts, you would have been able to follow our 10 1/2 hour journey to Quebec City - it actually would have taken us less time to drive than it did to fly, because of the heavy fog that delayed flights in and out of Billy Bishop Airport and Pearson.  We finally got to Quebec at 8:00 rather than the expected 2:00 in the afternoon, so there wasn't much to see until we got to our hotel, the Auberge St. Antoine in Vieux Quebec, the old town. As it turned out, it was directly across from the cruise port, and Crystal Serenity which had an overnight here to end the previous cruise.

On Tuesday morning it was cold and rainy, the weather having followed us from Toronto, so we didn't go out to explore the old streets around us. Our transfer to the ship was set for just before noon anyway, so once we were on board we wandered around to see who we might know. We weren't surprised to find familiar faces in the bar staff, but our Lifeboat Officer turned out to be Yvonne, the Chief Accountant who has been our officer table host in the dining room on at least 3 previous occasions. This time we have the Chief Engineer (again...is there a pattern developing here?) but there is only one evening where the officers are hosting on this cruise.

Our Penthouse stateroom

from another angle

The Chateau Frontenac at about 5:00

Sailaway was just before 6:00, and it is substantially darker here than at home for the same time because we are close to the eastern edge of the time zone. We could be moving into, and then back out of, the Atlantic Time Zone, but it would be during our sea day between Gaspé and Bar Harbour, so we wouldn't have to change the clocks.

Today we made our first port stop at Baie-Comeau. We didn't plan any excursion here, so after breakfast served by our butler, Didi (we have to give her something to do, after all) we walked the 2 km from the port into town and wandered around a little. Baie-Comeau was originally established for a paper mill, which is still in operation, and expanded industry with the Alcoa aluminum plant beyond the far side of the port, but it is still a small town, struggling to keep its population now that there are not so many employment opportunities in the area.  Here are a few photos from our walk:

The bay at low tide. At least there was still some colour
in the leaves

Looking back toward the port and Crystal Serenity

We visited two churches, the Anglican Church of St. Andrew and St. George and the Catholic Church of St. Amelie. It was easy to see which was the dominant one as St. Amelie is about ten times the size of the other, but their recent histories are quite different. St. Andrew and St. George is still humming along with its small congregation, but St. Amelie was actually closed by the church in 2000, since the congregation had become too small to maintain it. The town of Baie-Comeau purchased the church for $1 and it is now a corporation. They raise money to maintain and refurbish the building and the bishop comes to preside over one mass every year, which allows them to still get some funding from the Catholic church. They have been putting these donations to good use, as the inside of the church is quite beautiful.

The Anglican Church of St. Andrew and St. George

and the very sparse interior

The Church of Ste. Amelie

the Main Altar and Side Altar

the ceiling artwork was quite lovely

a sample of the stained glass windows

 

At the edge of the Parque des Pioniers, even this small garden was
showing signs of the end of the season

Boats already out of the water for the season.

We are the last cruise ship visiting Baie Comeau this year, so it seems that tourism can join the boats in drydock until next year.

Later in the afternoon, Jim was presenting his first lecture, this one about Lucille Ball, with whom he was close friends for the last year of her life. Jim has a wonderful way of relating his relationships with people, and Lucy was no exception. He first saw her on Broadway in 'Wildcat' when he was 13 years old. It took another 30 years before he finally got her autograph, and he spent much of her last year visiting with her at her home in L.A.  As it turns out, one of the photos she signed to him was the last autograph she ever signed. As usual, Jim got both of us teary-eyed by the end of his talk, ending with 'and this isn't just the title of a show...l love Lucy'.

After Jim's lecture we got back to our stateroom just in
time to grab this photo

We had dinner at Tastes tonight, where the specialty is small-plate global cuisine. Yummy as usual, with such items as Ahi Tuna Poke from Hawai'i, California Street Tacos, Chimichurri Steak and Alaskan King Crab Dip. Pictures, of course:

Tuna Poke, Arctic Black Cod in Chowder, and Crab Dip

The chefs of Tastes hard at work in the open kitchen

California Taco with Chimichurri Steak and Sweet Potato Fries

Larry has gone off to watch the people who are watching the final U.S. presidential debate - and you have to understand that the guests onboard Crystal are usually, in our experience, more on the Republican side - and hoping that it doesn't come to fisticuffs. We'll let you know tomorrow....