Come sail with me on a virtual cruise on Majestic Princess to Fiji!

[ellie1145]

Into the Tardis we go!

 

It's great to see you all ready for our next adventure. The Tardis is all powered up so let's shut the doors and get going! 
 

 

 

In the blink of an eye we find ourselves at the top of the Westfield tower, and thankfully we are the only people up there.....

 

Unfortunately, the weather is not brilliant as it is not sunny, but let's look around Sydney from this great height.

 

Our first view is across the dockyard, where we can see some naval ships docked. It is near here that we visited Harry's famous pie shop. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hyde Park, the Cathedral and the Archibald Fountain

 

St Mary's Cathedral in Hyde Park

 

The Archibald Memorial Fountain

 

 

We glimpse the Sydney Harbour Bridge

 

This is Fort Denison, in Sydney Harbour, which was a former penal site and defensive facility. This fortress features a distinctive Martello tower, the only one ever built in Australia. It was built to protect Sydney Harbour from attack from attack by foreign ships. There was room for a garrison of 24 soldiers and one officer. There were 12 cannons around the base of the tower, together with several large guns. However, these were never effective and were later dismantled. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

 

 

 

We catch a glimpse of the Sydney Opera House

 

Busy ferries in the harbour

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TheAnzac Memorial can be seen in the distance, surrounded by trees.

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

 

I zoom in on the Queen Victoria building which has the iconic domes on top of its towers.

 

I love zooming in to see what is on the roof of the building. I wonder if that is a staff area?

 

I spy a  roof top swimming pool on another building.

 

 

 

 

 

The Anzac Bridge, an eight lane bridge, was named in honour, and in  memory

of the soldiers of Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, who served in World War 1.

 

Ferris Wheel at Darling Harbour

 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

 

 

The amazing Queen Victoria Building

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ellie1145]

A plane flies by, almost close enough to touch!

 

Being so high it is possible to see how developed Sydney is, with its tall skyscrapers and modern buildings juxtaposed with historic buildings from colonial days.

 

 

 

 

Museum of Sydney

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hyde Park Barracks

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

 

We were fascinated to see what they were doing to this building, but didn't know exactly why it was being demolished from the top down.  However, on our second visit we saw the huge gaps made for the subway which is being built, so we guess that is one of the building that had to be removed. 

 

There is a huge digger atop the building. We wonder how on earth that got there. What a feat of engineering this is. 

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this bird's eye view of Sydney, but now it's time to get back in the Tardis and make our way back to the present, as I need to do online check in, ready for tomorrow's flight.

 

 

But we will finish the day with a walk down to Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House. 

 

[ellie1145]

A Final Walk

 

 

 

I pop into the business centre to do our online check in, and as usual, the internet is misbehaving and I have to get the concierge to sort it out for me. The internet has been a constant aggravation, and we feel that for this standard of hotel it should be much better. 

 

After a quick cup of tea we make our way down to Circular Quay. It is getting dark now but the area is still busy. 

 

 

Walking past McDonalds we spy AF-1 sitting outside with his cap set at a jaunty angle. 😉

 

The new trams are busy practising for their inaugural journeys. They look long and sleek. We are sorry we won’t get to use them this time as they are not set to start service until after we leave. 

 

 

 

Sadly, we see homeless people sleeping rough.

 

There is a converted Volkswagen selling hot dogs at the side of the road. It is doing a brisk trade.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

A Last Goodbye to the Sydney Opera House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luna Park is all lit up..

 

 

We walk along the parade of shops on our way back to the hotel.

 

We can't resist stopping to admire these beautiful cakes and pastries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ellie1145]

Some last minute shopping...

 

We pass a brightly lit Ug Boot shop and can’t resist peeping in. I am very tempted by the baby Ug Boots, but our grandson is, sadly, too big for them.

 

 

But we can’t resist a cuddly toy....

 

 

I love this brightly coloured dot painted panel. This technique was developed by Aboriginal artists, who did not want others to see the sacred and secret objects they painted, so they abstracted the designs into dots to conceal their meanings.

 

 

 

 

 

We have some last minute packing to do and I like to lay our our clothes for the morning, so we return to the hotel.

 

We are pretty tired after our long walk so, after a bath, it’s time to sink into that wonderful comfy bed for our last night in Sydney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

So our final day in Sydney is over..

 

Time for some shut-eye. Tomorrow we have a long flight so sleep tight, see you in the morning. 😴 

[azbirdmom]

I think we saw the same bird in front of McDonald's at the beginning of the trip!  LOL.  Going to be so sad to leave Sydney.

[Loucat]

Sleep tight Ellie and thank you for your wonderful virtual!

[cnd crsr]

What a great last day in Sydney, especially the evening walk, thank you Ellie.

I agree with azbirdmom, I will be sad to leave Australia however now we can look forward to an extended stopover in Singapore, another great city to explore.

Gail

[ellie1145]

19 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

I think we saw the same bird in front of McDonald's at the beginning of the trip!  LOL.  Going to be so sad to leave Sydney.

 

Yes, there were always seagulls or pigeons strutting their stuff outside McDonalds, hoping for a tasty snack or two, and then they would amble over to the water for a drink. 

 

Mind you, it could have been AF-1 in disguise! 😉

 

Yes, it’s sad to leave Sydney, but we can only hope that one day, we will be able to return. 

[ellie1145]

18 hours ago, Loucat said:

Sleep tight Ellie and thank you for your wonderful virtual!

 

Thank you, Loucat. 

 

There’s still a little more to come.....

[ellie1145]

9 hours ago, cnd crsr said:

What a great last day in Sydney, especially the evening walk, thank you Ellie.

I agree with azbirdmom, I will be sad to leave Australia however now we can look forward to an extended stopover in Singapore, another great city to explore.

Gail

 

Thank you, Gail, so glad you enjoyed it..

 

Thankfully we have an overnight in Singapore, before it ends. 

[ellie1145]

Another beautiful morning

 

The alarm goes off and we see the sun peeping through the curtains. I open the balcony doors and see that it is a beautiful sunny day. Sadly, Majestic Princess is not peeping out from behind a building. 

 

We shower and get ready before making our way downstairs to wait for our car. We take a final look at our comfortable room before we leave.

 

I just have time to take a few more photos of the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I peer out of the door to see if our car is on it’s way.

 

However, I resist the urge to hoover the red carpet.....(Dude, looks like a lady....😉) 

 

 

 

The car arrives and whisks us away to the airport. 

 

 

 

 

[ellie1145]

We check in and our suitcases disappear before we make our way through to the departure gates. Our flight is SQ 232 which departs at 12.15 pm, arriving in Singapore at 17.35 local time. 

 

Last time we had a night flight, with just one hour to change ‘planes in Singapore. We arrived at midnight for yet another night flight, so the majority of our journey was in the dark. We found it really horrendous, so this time we have a day flight, followed by a night in Singapore, and then another day flight, arriving in London Heathrow in the early evening. We hope this will be easier to cope with. 

 

 

 

 

Our flight is already up on the board.

 

It may only be the 2nd November, but there are Christmas decorations up already.

 

 

 

It’s only a 9 minute walk to our gate so we still have time to ‘relax.’

 

 

[ellie1145]

Time for a bite to eat.... are you ready, AF-1?

 

We walk through the shops and see a McDonalds ahead of us. It has an extraordinary way of delivering the food, once ordered. 

 

 

The kitchen is on the first floor, and can be seen through the glass at the top of the photo. 

 

Once ordered, the food comes down from the first floor by means of a vertical conveyor belt. The food, in bags, is clipped to this and slowly makes it’s way down to the collection point. We have never seen anything like it!

 

 

 

Once at the bottom, the bag slides down the slope to be delivered to the waiting customer

 

That is one unique system!

 

We decide to order breakfast as we didn’t stop to eat at the hotel before we left. We sit and watch the aeroplanes out of the huge picture windows, before making our way to the gate. 

 

 

[ellie1145]

The Big Bird is Waiting

 

We pass an Air New Zealand ‘plane, with a fascinating tail.

 

 

 

We pass yet another MCDonalds, and A-F 1 gives us a cheery wave as we go by on the travelator.

 

WH Smith, a familiar sight at home. 

 

 

There’s our ‘plane! 

 

[azbirdmom]

We have also arrived at the airport, after a quick Tardis trip back from spending a little virtual time with you in Sydney.

 

We wandered through the airport, marveling at all of the Australian treats.  We had tried Tim Tams for the first time in 2006 when we toured Australia and loved them.

 

 

 

I had also tried Vegemite in 2006.  Once was enough!

 

We were told at check-in that we could visit either the Air New Zealand or Singapore Air lounge since United didn't have a lounge at the Sydney airport.  We chose the former.  Good choice as we could see our plane.

 

And I was able to have a mimosa - since the ship doesn't offer the suite breakfast on embarkation day this was a nice treat.

 

And then we boarded the plane and got settled into our business class pods.  We used miles to fly to Sydney and were going to do the same on the return but the economy flight through Princess EZair was ridiculously cheap.  So we paid Princess for the flight and used United miles to upgrade for our return.  We really did do it right for our 25th anniversary cruise!  This was the menu.

 

That's my foot in the white slipper that United provided.

 

United gives you pajamas on longer flights.  I love these and actually wore them around the house in the wintertime.

 

The trip was only beginning.  It's a shorter trip back to San Francisco than it was going to Australia.

 

DH has a goofy grin and is ready to relax.

 

 

The air was quite hazy with smoke from the fires, otherwise the take-off views would have been stunning.

 

The Opera House through the haze.

 

The Opera House, the bridge, and, ta da!  the Majestic Princess ready to take happy cruisers off on another adventure.

 

 

 

Morning has broken.

 

 

Land ho!  First glimpse of the California coast.

 

 

 

And a hazy San Francisco with buildings poking through the fog.

 

After landing, we made our way through customs and to our next flight to Phoenix.  It truly was a wonderful trip but I am looking forward to Ellie taking us back through Singapore!

Edited September 14, 2020 by azbirdmom

[AF-1]

Ellie;  how cool was that McDonalds at Sydney airport.  Was your flt time to SFO around 10hrs?

[ellie1145]

14 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

And then we boarded the plane and got settled into our business class pods.  We used miles to fly to Sydney and were going to do the same on the return but the economy flight through Princess EZair was ridiculously cheap.  So we paid Princess for the flight and used United miles to upgrade for our return.  We really did do it right for our 25th anniversary cruise! 

 

Wow, azbirdmom, you certainly did to it right for your anniversary cruise. The business class pods look amazing!

 

I’m afraid we don’t like Vegemite either. In the UK we have something similar called Marmite, and that is something you either love or hate.... for us it’s hate. 🤑🤮

 

Glad you are still with us, despite your long flight. That’s the beauty of a virtual adventure, you never feel tired! 

[ellie1145]

18 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Ellie;  how cool was that McDonalds at Sydney airport.  Was your flt time to SFO around 10hrs?

 

That McDonalds was incredible, AF-1. I’ve never seen anything like it.

 

Our flight to Singapore was about 10 hours, and I think Azbirdmom’s was about 12 hours to San Francisco. Sadly, ours was cattle class.... no comfy pyjamas for us! 😂

[ellie1145]

Up, Up and Away! 🎶

 

We board our flight and find our seats. We had booked aisle and window as I like to look our and take photos and DH likes to get up and down. Sometimes we are lucky and get an empty middle seat but not this time. DH ends up swapping with the middle seat passenger so we can communicate during the flight.

 

The flight is full and the ‘plane is packed. There is not an empty seat to be had. We notice that on these Airbus A380s they are generally full, as I guess there are fewer options.

 

We take our seats and the plane taxis along the runaway. It’s an interesting take off as the runway is parallel to the sea, and there are views across the water to Sydney, which appears shrouded in mist, but it’s actually the smoke from the terrible fires which are raging in the Blue Mountains.  It is very sad to think that just a few weeks ago we were enjoying the pristine air of the Blue Mountains, and now it is experiencing the most horrendous destruction. We think about those who are losing their homes, and of all the animals who will not escape the fires. 

 

It is still difficult to see far because of the cloud of smoke. 

 

There are hotels dotted along the waterfront, including the Novotel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ready for take-off!

Edited September 14, 2020 by ellie1145