What an amazing day we had reconnecting with  Ivija & Rod Smith from our European River Cruise (Episode 364).

How wonderful it is to have access to social media which allows friends to keep in touch wherever we are in the world.  Ivija and Rod took us on an incredible walking tour of interesting places in Sydney, keeping in mind Ted’s passion for bird photography. The day served to whet our appetite for more, and gave us a better idea of where we’d like to use as our base of operations next March.

We began our day with a panoramic drive around Sydney’s CBD (Central Business District, NOT Cannabidiol (CBD) which is a chemical found in cannabis that doesn’t cause a high, and is the Canadian acronym.)

Then Rod parked their car at the Botanical Gardens and we headed out on a 3 hour walk through the gardens, along the waterfront, into the Opera House, and through The Rocks, Sydney’s oldest area.

In Vancouver we have Stanley Park with its gorgeous waterfront walk, but I can honestly say that Sydney’s “domain” which stretches along the waterfront and into the city outshines it.

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Ted’s favourite things to take photos of are birds, and there were several species in the park that we’ve never seen before.

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Birds were not the only amazing things in the park. There were several tree species we’ve never seen anywhere else.

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The park also contains numerous walkways, ponds, statues, and bronzes, making everywhere you look a journey of discovery.

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We left the botanical gardens through the Opera Gate, which – as expected – brought us to the Sydney Opera House, where we got an entirely different perspective than what we’d seen from the harbour during sail-in.

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As we continued our stroll along the waterfront, past the ferry and train terminals, and marvelling at the truly beautiful modern buildings – all constructed in the last 20 years – we walked across the New South Wales Ministry for the Arts’ “Writers Walk”. This is similar to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, which celebrates achievements in the entertainment industry, or Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto which acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields, except that in this case those being celebrated are writers.

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Sydney is a much hillier city than Ted or I realized – even more-so than Vancouver. Heading into The Rocks, the oldest part of the city, means negotiating stairways between parallel streets; and once inside buildings, the ground floor at the front may lead to a third floor that is “ground level” at the back!

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The juxtaposition of old and new gives Sydney a stunning skyline, and creates a vibrant “alive” feeling. We were completely enchanted, and can’t wait to come back for a much longer stay.

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We took the shuttle ferry that Viking had provided to get us back to the ship, where a seafood feast had been prepared for our sail-away celebration.

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Goodbye, Sydney …. until we meet again.