March 7th, 2020 Day 63 of 128

Sydney, Australia day one of two. We woke up at 6:00am this morning so we could watch the ship pull into Sydney harbor. We sailed right past the Opera house and under the Sydney Bridge. It was an amazing experience and it was like living a moment out of a book for us. Today we decided to not start our day with an excursion, today warranted some retail therapy. We had to wait until the immigration staff was set up and ready for us. So we went to the Lido for breakfast and waited for the all clear. Every passenger had to get off the ship for a face to face meeting with the immigration officers today. We did our immigration stuff and then caught the free shuttle into Darling Harbor. From there we walked into Sydney and stores to shop in abounded!! We went to the UGG store, Westfield shopping center and some local shops as well. Everyone was happy and got something special to remember the time here. We also had a chance to eat off the ship. We went to the food court in the mall and I let everyone pick what the wanted to eat. Valerie went for a burger, Megan went for a poke bowl and mom and I had handmade dumplings and sushi. We shopped until about 2:00pm and then headed back to the ship so we could get ready for our evening excursion. We were blessed to be able to get onto the ships excursion to go to the Opera house and see a live performance. We got back to the ship and got dressed for the theater and then had to get something to eat so we were ready to meet the excursion group at 5:30pm. Sadly, nothing is open at 4:45 pm on the ship except for the Dive In that serves Burgers and Hot Dogs. It was kinda funny seeing so many people all dressed up for a night on the town sitting at the pool deck eating hot dog and French fries. It was definitely a memory made. We had to make sure we got off the ship quickly because at 6:00pm they closed all the gangways and they had to reposition the ship. So when we got back to the ship it had moved a ships length back from where it was when we got off. That was a first. So we saw the opera Carmen. It was in French but we had wonderful seats that allowed us to see the screen with the translations on it and still see the stage almost at the same time. It was a very late evening; we didn’t get back on the ship till about 11:30pm. I just want to say that being at the Opera house and next to the bridge was one of those moments that you dream about and then when it comes to fruition…it’s really hard to put into words how moving it was. We stepped outside before the performance and in the sky there was a rainbow, no rain, just a rainbow. In case you don’t know, we say hi to Don (daddy) whenever we see one and it really felt like he was there sharing that moment with us. All in all a wonderful day in Sydney. We are blessed to be here together sharing these moments.

Love and Hugs, Debra.