Sydney, Australia

Imagine waking up after a day at sea, opening up the curtain to your cabin balcony, and sailing so close to the Sydney Opera House that you feel you can reach out and touch it. So great to be back in Sydney after 24 years, San Francisco's Sister City.

For day one in Sydney, we were fortunate to be able to dock right across from the Opera House and have a beautiful morning view of the skyline.

Quiz time: What building was projected to cost $7 million to build, actually cost $103 million to construct, recently went through a $305 million renovation, and is now considered worth billions?

Started with the Sydney Panorama excursion which gave us a good overview of the city. Then off to the Botanical Gardens. Bushwalked along the ocean bluffs, and a short visit to Bondi Beach where the Life Savers were training.

Took in "The Rocks" area in the afternoon and their local street market of local crafts before settling in for a visit to the tavern for lunch. joyed the evening on the Opera House boardwalk before heading back to the ship just in time to see the fireworks at the Opera house from our balcony. What a wonderful sight to cap off the evening.

The ship repositioned to a nearby dock around midnight with lovely views of the city and Sydney Bridge as we went under it.Read more