Last Full Day in Sydney

Sunday was our last full day in Sydney. It was also the anniversary of our meeting 30 years ago in San Francisco.

We had a leisurely day, doing some shopping, picking a few things we might need on the cruise.

In the morning, our Airbnb hosts, Paul and Raymond, came by for coffee. We had a very enjoyable time getting to know them.

Around 5:30, we departed for Doyle’s on the Beach, a long time Watson’s Bay eatery. The Doyle family has been running this fish restaurant for over 134 years. Getting to Doyle’s was part of the fun as we took the ferry just at sunset past the Harbor Bridge, the Opera House and the Sydney skyline.

Of course, right across Circular Quay is the Harbour Bridge.

Once we arrived at Watson’s Bay, we checked in with the restaurant and went to a nearby bar for a glass of wine. Afterwards we were seated at our water front table at Doyle’s. Thank you to our friend, Ray Hatfield, for recommending Doyle’s. It was a memorable experience.

I went with a seafood sampler appetizer and a John Dory fillet, grilled and served over steamed vegetables. Bill chose garlic prawns for the appetizer and Fish and Chips, made with beer battered flathead. When Bill’s dish was brought to the table, my only thought was, we could have shared. It had 6 large filet strips and a mound of fries. Bill thought it was some of the best fish he had ever eaten. Both dishes were excellent and the service team was very attentive. We were quite satisfied with the experience. For wine we chose a 2015 Rockford Moppa Springs Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz. We tend to like Red wines and this smooth tasting blend went perfectly with our fish. By a the way, in the US, Mataro is known as Mourvèdre. Eating fish in Australia can be a challenge for Americans, because none of the usual fish varieties are available, so you have to ask questions to get the kind of fish you like.

After a fun evening, we returned to the flat and turned in because we had an early morning excursion planned.

Around 5 AM, we got up and I checked the Harbour cam, to make sure it was not too late and set out to

welcome the Golden Princess, our home for the next 27 days, into Sydney Harbour. Just as we approached the Opera House, we caught our first glimpse of her.

As you can see, the lighting was a little challenging, as the sun was rising behind the ship.

Bill was pointing our where our stateroom is.

And I wanted a picture with me, the Bridge and ship.

So, after accomplishing our goal to meet the ship, we headed back to the flat, to pack, have a FaceTime champagne toast with Brian and Gary, our best friends from Wisconsin and to get ourselves and our two months worth of baggage and the wines we bought in Australia back to the Golden Princess for our 4 PM sailing to Los Angeles.

Next blog will be from the ship.