JBom (my DH) and I are recently back from our Celebrity Century cruise to the Caribbean… 5 days in the sun with a little fun! Ports of call included Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Georgetown, Grand Cayman.

This was our first Celebrity cruise and after being on Oceania in ’08 to the Med, which I’ve previously written about here on this blog, we found that we were comparing every Celebrity experience to that of Oceania. Admittedly, the two cannot be compared. Oceania is considered to be in the mid-luxury group of ships, while Celebrity sails in the market one step below. I would say that we would have gone on an Oceania cruise in the Caribbean to escape the Michigan winter, but we chose Celebrity based on the recommendation of our outstanding TA, Esther, as well as the fact that Celebrity offers 5-day cruises and the shortest Oceania offers is 10 days. And well, in looking for a quick mini-break, we decided to give Celebrity a shot…. and we are glad that we did!

The trip down from DTW was uneventful and we arrived earlier than expected. Fortunately, no weather delays on either end, so that was a good way to start out the trip. We planned to take a taxi right to the Port of Miami to meet the ship, but ended up signing up for the Celebrity coach transfer. The price was about $18pp, so the price was reasonable and the benefit was that our luggage would be dropped off in front of our cabin and we didn’t need to worry about it. We decided to sign up for the transfer and the agent said that the coach would arrive in 5-10 minutes and was “on its way”. With nowhere to go, we sat and waited… almost 50 minutes before the coach showed up. Obviously we should have questioned “5-10 minutes”, but the agent’s job is to fill the busses and once we had signed up, we just had to wait it out. JBom and I were not happy about this delay, but we took it in stride and chatted with the rest of the guests that were waiting with us.

I wanted to be sure to note that although it was convenient to take the coach provided by Celebrity, we didn’t choose to use the coach when we disembarked the ship at the end of the cruise. We took a taxi to the airport which was $24… a flat fee that is charged the same to everyone. This includes a $2 port charge that you pay when you leave the Port of Miami. Consequently with tip, the total cost is about $28, saving you about $10 or more depending on how much you choose to tip the taxi driver. Next time, we will definitely take the taxi round trip.

The coach arrived, we boarded, and as we were the last terminal at MIA, the coach continued directly to the Port of Miami, about a 15 minute ride… pretty quick.

Once we arrived, the embarkation process was smooth, including filling out a health form about our current status. The Celebrity Mercury ship had recently experience Noro virus (a continuous issue for this ship), and I was glad to see that they were checking the general health of passengers prior to embarkation.

Celebrity provides an opportunity to do online “check-in”, providing your passport information as well as your credit card info for onboard charges in advance. I provided this information in advance and it seemed to move the process along more quickly. We received our Sea Pass (room key and charge card) for the cruise, and we were on our way! The rest of the process was smooth, quick and efficient and there were no delays whatsoever in boarding the ship.

Off the gangway and onto the ship, we were met by a staff person that required that we sanitized our hands (ie. Purell). This was mandatory and was a little awkward with everything in our hands, but we made it work. It was about 12:30pm by now and as our cabins were not ready, we were directed to the pool deck (deck 11) for lunch and to hang out until the announcement was made. We had cocktails and hamburgers… and we found that the hamburgers from the poolside grill were really consistently good throughout the cruise.

Once the announcement was made, we proceeded down to our cabin on Deck 9. We were in the Concierge Class (CC) mid-ship. First impressions of the ship and our cabin, was that they were very, very clean. The entire ship had had a major ($50 million) makeover (not sure how recently), but even though this was an older ship, it was very well maintained and people were always cleaning.

Our stateroom was clean and tidy, but I was surprised that with the recent makeover, that the linens and duvet were a bit shabby looking as compared with what was shown on the Celebrity website. The balcony had a table and chairs and we enjoyed hanging out there throughout the cruise.

Our bathroom was a good size (good shower, too!) and clean, clean, clean. You could smell the disinfectant. Perhaps this was because of the Celebrity Mercury having Noro virus recently, but they maintained a very high cleanliness standard throughout our stay and had sanitizers throughout the ship, especially at the entrances to the dining areas.

Speaking of dining, I would say that our experience was very mixed. This is probably consistent with most cruisers as you can’t hit it out of the ballpark every day. Admittedly, JBom and I are pretty big “foodies” and we enjoy cooking and watching the Food Network. We also host parties and I worked as a pasty chef years ago. So you could say that we are experienced diners and we know a good experience from a bad one. So as far as our experience with food (one of the top areas of interest on a ship), it would be probably best for me to break it down by location:

POOLSIDE GRILL — This was probably one of our favorite places to eat. Just because we are foodies, doesn’t mean that we need to eat gourmet all the time. The Grill was great, and had really top notch hamburgers and hotdogs. They also had great chicken wings (either mild or hot) and their salads (pasta and potato), were really well made. Considering that they were outside poolside, they did all the right things and kept the hot food hot and the cold food cold.

MAIN DINING ROOM – SELECT DINING: We booked Select Dining which allowed us the flexibility to reserve a dinner time for each night and select the time according to our schedule. This is a new option on Celebrity and one of the main reasons we selected this cruise as we preferred to sit by ourselves and not be required to eat either at one seating or another. So online before the cruise I went and booked a reservation for each and every night that we planned to eat in the MDR. The experience of this alternate dining worked well for us as we preferred to sit at a table for 2 and in the two occasions that we ate in the MDR, we were able to get seated on time at a table for 2.

What didn’t work well for Select Dining for us was that during the meal we felt incredibly rushed throughout the process. When you have assigned dining… ie the Early Dining time (6pm) or the Late Dining time (8pm), you know that you have a good 1-1/2 hours to enjoy your meal. Celebrity has only allocated 1/4 of the dining room (or a bit less, I believe) to Select Dining, so the experience is thoroughly rushed and their goal is turnover, turnover, turnover.

The Select Dining area is also on the upper level of the MDR and the area (a two-story dining room with views off the back of the ship) is incredibly loud when full of guests. You have to speak up in order to have a conversation with your tablemate. On the first evening we were placed at a table in-between two bus stations and the fourth night of the cruise, we were next to the main aisle. The hostess did give us the option on the fourth night to wait a few minutes for another table, but we were okay with where she sat us.

MAIN DINING ROOM — FOOD EXPERIENCE: The first night of the cruise we had a wonderful meal. JBom had Coq au Vin and I had a lamb shank. Both were of a very high standard and we were very pleasantly surprised. We did our best not to deliberately over eat on the this cruise, so the server was surprised when we only had one app and the entrée and skipped dessert

The second night was formal night and we had planned to skip that meal altogether and ended up eating in the Island Cafe (buffet). The third night we were at Murano, the specialty restaurant and so our last experience in the MDR was on the fourth evening of the cruise.

The fourth evening was unfortunately a disappointment. JBom had Ossobucco and I had salmon. Both were lackluster. i will say that the Onion Soup was good as well as the escargot… so after a great first meal in the MDR, the fourth evening was anything but. We decided right then and there that our last evening would be in Island Café.

ISLAND CAFÉ: The traditional buffet on a cruise ship, I would call this anything but. Yes, this is a buffet, but the quality of the food is very, very good. In learning from the executive chef on the ship, Island Café has their own kitchen where everything is prepped for the three meals that it serves. As on the rest of the ship, they make all the bread and rolls from scratch each day as well as all of the pastry and desserts. The cheese board was a personal favorite with the wide selection to choose from.

In the morning they made omelets to order, at lunch there was a carving station and in the evening, they had a pasta station as well as a stir fry station… which were very popular. A number of items in the evening were similar to what they were serving in the MDR.

SUSHI CAFÉ: In the evening, the back of Island’s Café is turned into a sushi bar – a place that I visited on more than a few occasions. The sushi is fresh and they did a great job of changing up the selections each night. They also made sure to provide the standard fare that everyone likes: spicy tuna, California roll, etc. The tuna is of a very high quality and I enjoyed it very much.

COVA CAFÉ: A great little café with cappuccino or mochas ($4 surcharge), pastries in the afternoon and tappas in the evening. We enjoyed the coffee very much and dropped by frequently in the afternoon to get our caffeine hit to keep us going through the evening! Barbara from Hungary was one of the crew members that worked this area and we enjoyed speaking with her very much, was very friendly and always took good care of us!

MURANO (SPECIALITY RESTAURANT): On our third evening, we ate in Murano, which is the only specialty restaurant on the ship. I made a reservation 6 weeks before we cruised, and the best time I could get was 6pm (which worked out well as we had a time change during the cruise which made it feel like it was 7pm). The surcharge was $35pp which was paid when I booked it online.

The restaurant was beautiful and….quiet…..compared to the MDR. Our table was right next to the window, so we had a lovely sunset view throughout our meal.

As for the meal itself, admittedly we took advantage of every course. We were totally “puffed out” (as my mother says) when we left, but it was a wonderful meal. Our entrees were excellent and I had Dover Sole, while JBom had Chateau Briand. We had the fabulous cheese course and ended with chocolate soufflé and Crème Brule. We had a great bottle of Shiraz from Australia and noted that the price of the wine was reasonable and not too “jacked up” in price as they could have easily done that.

THE MARTINI BAR: A very cool place with a cool vibe. When we were there, we saw the captain enjoying a visit with a fellow officer and a guest. The martini’s are really (really) good… especially the Chocotini (sp?). They are all $10 each and have several to choose from. This was a fun place to cap off the evening.

So enough about food!

As for the ports of call, we didn’t get off the ship! We found that all of the guests that got off of the ship allowed us to actually sit by the pool, read a book…and just relax. This is a cruise that has all sort of guests… spring breakers (but not a ton), families with a few small children but mostly teenagers, singles and couples in the their 30s and 40s, families (as in a reunion) and seniors as couples or in a group.

But when they returned in the late afternoon, our peace and tranquility vanished and the techno music returned. We found that as a married couple in our 40s we found our refuge at the rear of the ship in the SUNSET LOUNGE where we could have a cocktail (the margarita’s are fabulous… especially the mango), sit at a covered table and watch the wake off of the back of the ship and enjoy the end of the day before dinner. It was a lovely place that we could escape to that not a lot of people ventured to.

As for the ports of call Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Georgetown, Grand Cayman, we planned to skip Ocho Rios, but planned to visit Georgetown. We’ve been on several excursions in the past, but this trip was very much about relaxing for us and just enjoying the time together. We ended up skipping Georgetown as due to weather conditions, the captain made the decision to anchor on the opposite side of the island. The Carnival and Norwegian cruise ships joined us on the other side of the island and we heard that the other ships that stayed on the Georgetown side couldn’t tender guests to the shore as it was too rough to do so. Without excursions planned and a 15-minute taxi ride into town, we decided to skip it and just stay put. And we had just a great day.

So that was pretty much the cruise for us.

A couple of things not to leave out…

THE CASINO – We won $35 dollars… we are not big gamblers (well, we don’t gamble really) and we had a good hour+ of fun!

THE SHOWS – Were pretty good… and well done for a cruise ship, for sure. The juggler and the comedian were both fantastic and were well attended.

THE CULTURE SERIES – I only attended one event where the head chef’s from Murano and the MDR cook head-to-head a la Iron Chef. It was entertaining, especially with the inclusion of two selected guests as their sous chefs. They pretty much do it on the fly and have 15-minutes to turn out 3 courses. It was pretty entertaining.

At the beginning of this entry I said that JBom and I compared everything to our latest experience on Oceania. I will honestly tell you that we had a lovely time and it was a very good value for the money with all that we experienced on the ship.

Sure, the ambiance on Oceania is definitely different, as we found that the Celebrity cruise was much more of a party atmosphere – mostly around the pool area – but you could escape to quieter spots if you wanted to seek them out.

All in all… well done Celebrity… the experience was very enjoyable and you may see us in the future… JBom is already talking about another one at the end of the year!

You know that a vacation has been memorable when you realize that time has flown by like a jet and you are dreading packing up all the bits and pieces in preparation to head back home to reality.

This has been very much that kind of vacation for me – even without John I am afraid to admit. I’ve spoken with him once or twice each day, but I have hated going into too much detail or talking at length about my experiences as I feel like it would put a little salt on the wound. But it has been wonderful and I hope that my blog has reflected a true love of Australia and a desire to see oh so much more of it in the near future.

On our last day we spent it at the famous Bondi Beach and also at Centennial Park. Traveling around Sydney can be a little crazy, and Jenny has relied on “Giselle” (her TomTom device) to get us around the city and points beyond. It has helped us out in more than one occasion or we would still be driving around Sydney!

So Bondi Beach first – known the world over, it is a hotspot for the beautiful people, surfers and surfer wannabe’s. The day was the best yet and we ventured out in short sleeve shirts – a first for Mum and I! The sun shone all day long so it was fitting that it be our last! Bondi Beach is very much a typical beach, but as with Mollymook, the sand is fantastic, clean and fine underfoot. The area is also like a big rounded basin but the waves crash in and provide excellent surfing (for the surfers out there)! The water is crystal clear and you can see the shelf drop from bright teal/blue water as in the Caribbean to the dark blue where the sharks lurk in the depths beyond the nets put in place to protect those in the water. Still, never going out there…no way!

And just our luck there is a RSL club there right at “Iceberg’s”. Iceberg’s is a famous restaurant/club /swimming club. The name comes from the swimming club that requires that in order to be eligible to join, you need to swim every Sunday for 2 years to qualify – no matter what the weather…icebergs and all. The swim team is also very competitive during the lifesaving competition that they have every year and plaques, medals and trophies are all around. Also, the pool is famous as it is filled by the seawater that is adjacent and crashes up against the side of the pool when hi-tide is in. We were there in the middle of the day, so no crashing about, but the concept is very cool. All the swimmers wear wetsuits to swim in as the water is the temperature of well, the ocean. [pictures to come – and I got some great ones!]

So after our visit to Iceberg’s RSL, we jumped back in the car and headed over to Centennial Park for a walk around until we met up with Ian for dinner. Centennial Park reminds me of Central Park with a lot less people and less skyscrapers surrounding it. But there are walkers, runners, horseback riders and many playing in the fields. The day continued to be beautiful and we had a good walk around looking at all of the plant life that only grows down here and seeing the larges cockatoos that I’ve every seen (except in a cage or zoo) flying around all above us. There were black swans in The Swan Pond and tropical birds and plant life all around. Interestingly there were no squirrels or chipmunks, or any types of birds that we have at home. I don’t think that small animals like the squirrel or chipmunk would survive here… too many larger predators about.

To cap off the evening… and the trip as a whole… we were back at The Lord Dudley for our last dinner where our adventure began two weeks ago. The Lord Dudley in Woollahra is the English pub that served the Beef and Guinness Pie that Mum has talked about the ENTIRE trip. So it was only fitting that we go back there for our last meal and see if it was just as good as the first one. It was.

I attest to the fact that they’ve had the best meat pies that I’ve ever had. Mum is determined to go home and try and duplicate the recipe. Good luck to her – they wouldn’t give her any hints, only that it had red wine and the waitress felt like she had told us too much by that point. Pies are taken very seriously here and if they enter these in competition, I am sure that they win regularly.

So back to the house in Mosman to pack.

It was a lovely, lovely cap to the holiday and I dreaded leaving for the airport this morning. I was trying to figure out if/how I could call in sick for a week without anyone really noticing… well that would never happen!

Sydney, Mollymook and The Blue Mountains were the three places that we visited on our journey to Australia. We’ve only scratched the surface and I hope to come back soon and perhaps visit Queensland… another jewel of Australia.  With no idea what to expect on this journey, the trip far exceed my expectations.

New South Wales is incredibly beautiful and scenic and it is the very best of what we travel distances to visit in the Northern Hemisphere. Think Laguna Beach/Southern California, Vancouver, Seattle and England all rolled into one… without the crowds, easy and favorable currency and friendly, friendly people. AWESOME!!!!! And I’d say that it remains this way simply because of its remoteness to the rest of the world. This country has the best of it all and remains unspoiled because of the cost, desire or the distance to travel that keeps so many away.

Australia is a hidden jewel right there in front of you… this trip will remain with me for many years to come…

One thing I’ve come to learn about traveling is that it is worth the extra money if you can take a tour with a local guide. We did this in Sorrento last summer and had an amazing time, and when booking the trip to the Blue Mountains, I imagined that it would be a perfect compliment to the trip instead of just seeing the typical tourist points of interest.

Through Lilianfels I hired the Tread Lightly Eco Tour group for the Rocks to Rain Forest Four Wheel Drive Eco Tour. Adam was our guide and picked us up at 9am. He is a really friendly guy, and yes, a guide needs to be friendly, but like all people that you are getting to know pretty quickly, you just kind of dive in and pretend that you’ve been friends a long time… that way you get the most out of the guide and you get a great and thorough experience as he feeds off of your questions and fills in the gaps.

One request for Adam is that we wanted to see the elusive kangaroo if at all possible. Adam scratched his head and thought about it for a bit. The kangaroo live in the valleys of protected areas and away from main roads, so seeing them is a bit of skill and luck. Adam couldn’t make any promises, but he said that he would take us to the Megalong Valley where they sometimes hang out. Kangaroos generally are more visible in the early morning when they come out for breakfast. During the hot days (not when we were here, of course), they escape to the bush and stay cool. Regardless, we were hopeful that we would see some.

And then we were off. We drove around the rim of the Blue Mountains and Adam stopped at a really picturesque look out point. No railings or guard rails, Adam stood right on the edge and even though experienced, I thought he was crazy. I was a few steps back from there (okay, maybe a few more). The wind was howling, so it was at times hard to keep your balance. We managed okay and got a tremendous view of one of the valleys and you could see some amazing rock formations in the distance. Back in the vehicle and we were off again.

We learned a tremendous amount about the eco system in the area including all of the beautiful flowering plants that are at their peak for spring time in the area. Also at full peak were massive and I mean massive Rhododendron plants – well really trees. Obviously these were not native to the area, but gorgeous nonetheless. In Michigan where we have all four seasons, I guess that we take the sudden burst of Spring color for granted as in NSW, you have to really look for the flowers as they only show themselves in small clumps here and there. For Adam it seems to be a major event if he comes across a botanical popping their head out after their version of Winter. Most impressive was the Waratah, the state flower of NSW… it is a crimson red dahlia-like flower that blooms this time of year. They are grown hydroponically and sold in florists, but if you pick one in the wild it is a $8K fine. They take their plants seriously here, indeed.

So on and on we went traveling all around parts of the Blue Mountains. There is a very small area of rain forest and the canopy is so dense that it goes from being light to dark very quickly. And then suddenly we were in the Megalong Valley with farms in the distance surrounded by the mountain range. And there, and admittedly very much in the distance, were a group of kangaroo sunning themselves in a farmer’s field. Adam had binoculars and we were able to see them quite well, but my little instamatic camera just captured little gray mounds and you can sort of make them out. Regardless, we finally had our kangaroo sighting! Check one more off the list!

So back to the hotel we made our way, but en route we stopped in a small town and Adam grabbed a couple of sandwiches to go. From there, we took a back trail that came to a head overlooking the valley below (which one, I have no idea), but the view was incredibly picturesque. Adam got a bit too close to the edge for my liking, so he back up, jumped out and proceeded to make a cup of tea for Mum and I. We’re not sure how he really did it, but with the cold it sure felt and tasted great. So we had our sandwich and tea by the edge of the cliff and watched as the hail and then the rain came straight towards us. The 4×4 was moving back and forth and I was a bit nervous as we were so close to the edge. Fortunately, it was a quick storm, but I was happy to be back on the road heading towards Lilianfels to warm up in front of a fire before our next outing.

Later in the afternoon we went back to Leura and had a mooch around the town. We were there only about an hour as the town is not that big, but has lots of lovely shops, cafes and other stores to mooch around in. I picked up a couple of cards and a few gifts and then we headed back for the evening.

In the end the highlight, of course, was the tour. We learned so much about the area – never possible to this extent without a tour. The area is just so incredibly beautiful and I can see why so many visit each and every year.

We woke up on Tuesday back in Sydney with the sun shining brightly and the temperature so much warmer that we contemplated not moving an inch. I had booked the Blue Mountains trip at the get-go so John and I could have a few days away together, just the two of us. When the whole thing happened with his back I considered canceling the trip to the Blue Mountains. But, you never know when we’ll get back here, so I kept the reservation and Mum and I were off late morning to the train station.

I know that I’ve said that the Australian’s are friendly people, well they really are. I hadn’t planned on taking the 10:10am train to Katoomba, but it happened that we managed to get to the Central Train Station just in time to make the earlier train. An elderly train station master (and I mean a man in his 80s), used his master key for us so we could get to the platform just in time for the train to depart. And once on the train, a lady showed me how to flip the seat back over so Mum and I could sit together and not be bothered by the older man sleeping behind us. So that was a good start! Such friendly people here!

After two pretty comfortable hours on the train we landed in Katoomba, the largest town in the Blue Mountains. Once a coal mining area, it has been dominated by resorts and inns that dot the landscape all around the Blue Mountains and welcome the overnight guests as well as the day-trippers from Sydney.

The only way that I can describe the area is to think of the Blue Mountains as the Grand Canyon with trees. Lots and lots of eucalyptus trees dotting the landscape in a dense canopy.

We arrived via taxi at Lilianfels, a really old resort right near Echo Point – the main lookout for the Blue Mountains and the Three Sisters. Lilianfels is a lovely English-style hotel with all the amenities of home. The grounds are lush and with Spring springing here, the flowers are in bloom all over the property. The rooms are draped in toile – so not John’s favorite and a-okay with Mum, but very appropriate for the setting. Our room wasn’t ready on arrival, so we had a bit of lunch in the Lounge before taking a walk around the grounds and down to Echo Point which was a 5 minute walk from the hotel.

What can I say about Echo Point except it is totally amazing scenery. For once we got lucky with the weather and it was as clear as can be. The view is reminiscent of the view from the railing of Niagara Falls… the view goes on and on… just utterly spectacular [many pictures to come, I promise!]  We took a few snaps, but the wind really kicked up and we headed to the Visitor Information Center, which turned out to be the usual gift shop with info before heading back via another gift shop to the hotel. I know that everyone hates the typical gift shop variety no matter where you are visiting as much as I, but sometimes they have their purpose – I scored some of the best postcards of the region that I’ve seen… so it was worth the drop in.

Our room was ready when we returned and it is truly lovely with traditional furnishings and incredibly comfortable “Manchester” The Lilianfels staff is really lovely and they really take their job seriously. You know when you are not just in any hotel anywhere in the world – the staff is attentive and very friendly without being too much and obviously fake. By the evening, Patrick, the Concierge, knew me by name as we discussed dinner reservations in Leura.

So… dinner in Leura was very, very good…. So much better than Rick Stein’s I have to say – and at a much more reasonable price. We ate at Silk’s, which Patrick recommended. The restaurant was a small, French-style restaurant with about 20 tables, no more. For a Tuesday evening, it was well occupied. Mum had the red snapper and I tried my luck at the filet. Both were excellent and we enjoyed a great cup of coffee – I would say #2 on the ranking list of coffee so far….such, such good coffee and I can’t get enough!!!!

There is a whole jargon to the coffee here – and it is nothing like home. I can as most everyone, can walk into Starbuck’s and order anything with ease. In Australia, there is an entirely different protocol. Here’s how I’ve figured it out…

Flat White is an espresso coffee with steamed milk, but no foam. It is “flat” as the steamed milk goes right to the top of the rim of the cup.

Flat White Non-Fat is an espresso coffee with steamed non-fat milk, but no foam.

Flat White mug is the same as above, but a double / sometimes with a splash of cocoa on top.

Cappuccino is just like we have at home.

Mocha is just like we have at home / either a mug or as a single (in a cup).

Black coffee is a normal cup of coffee that you would have at home (this has taken me 10 days to figure out how to order, seriously as some coffee places don’t offer it and it isn’t an option — really). One day Mum confidently asked for a “regular cup of coffee” and incredulously the server just looked at her with a blank stare. Ian realized that they didn’t sell regular coffee and helped her by ending up with a Flat White.

Okay… so you may think that that isn’t that hard to figure out… well guess again. Some coffee shops vary the ordering process themselves as chains are non-existent here and every coffee shop has their own lingo that you have to sort out. Sydneysiders LOVE their coffee and take it incredibly seriously as I’ve said. They’ve pushed Starbucks pretty much out of here and that is a mean feat indeed!

A note on weather: Los Angeles and the general west coast of the USA is overcast with mist/fog in the AM and then it generally burns off in the late morning and you end up having a lovely day. Maybe it is because of the Southern Hemisphere, or what I don’t know, but what I find particularly interesting (and disturbing) about this part of the world is how unpredictable the weather can be.

Sunday morning Ian woke up early and went out for a long walk. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. When he returned about 8:30 am, it was starting to get overcast – and by early afternoon it was raining again. And it rained for the rest of the day. Geez…we ended up making our own fun by being relegated to playing Domino’s for a while and Jenny turned out to be the champion to Ian’s dismay.

Without much to do for the afternoon we decided to take a run over to the RSL – or the Returned & Services League. The RSL’s are also commonly known as Ex-Servo’s Club — are found all over the country. As the name implies, these are clubs specific for returning service members to come and have a place to meet, have a meal and relax. One could say they could be tied to the rotary clubs in the USA, but they are nothing like them whatsoever.

The RSL’s are pretty much the equivalent to the Mollymook Golf Club that I described in my first Mollymook post. And, quite strangely, you don’t need to be a member, retired or otherwise, of the armed forces to come in. They welcome “visitors” that live more than 5K away, or you can join at your local RSL as Ian and Jenny have done so by paying $5/year membership!

And they are beautiful. One requirement to operate is that they cannot make a profit, so the food and drink is very reasonable and they take all of the profits and pour them back into the facility. Some RSL’s are pretty boring, standard buildings from the outside, but inside they are palaces (so Ian and Jen have told me). We had a late lunch/early dinner in the RSL in Abudulla and not only was the building modern and clean, the food was very good. I had a pork roast dinner, Mum and Ian had another pie – this one steak and kidney, and Jenny had Beef Stroganoff which was also very good. They have raffles for cars (yes, brand new cars in the lobby) and slot machines to pass the time away – this is where they really make their money. For fun, Jenny bought raffle tickets for one a while ago and she won a meat box – literally all types of raw meat presented in a box that would be worth more than $50 for a $1 ticket.

So if you ever find yourself in Australia, be sure to visit a RSL!

And speaking of money, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the currency that they use in Australia. it is a combination of US dollars and British Pounds by it’s look. The money is all brightly colored – think Monopoly money – but you cannot get a $1 note, they only come in $1 and $2 gold coins. The smaller gold coin is $2 and the larger is $1. Mum, being very familiar with the British Pound, kept calling the coins “pounds” although they were dollars. And at a $1.15 USD exchange to the $1.00 AUS dollar, the currency is very favorable compared with most of the rest of the world!

Another reason to come back soon!

Saturday found us on the beach in the morning… what a fantastic beach! The weather was clear and the wind was much calmer than on Friday. Mum and I headed down to the beach and walked all along the inlet to the beachside town. It took us a good 45 minutes for the walk, but we stopped occasionally to take in the view of the waves crashing against the shore while dodging the jellyfish that they call “bottlenecks” here.  Squeak, squeak, squeak we made our way along as the wind blew in our face all the way. It was a good, good walk and we both needed the exercise after sitting in the car for most of Friday.

We made our way to the break wall and had a sit on the bench while watching the kids surfing in the water. Everyone surfs here… either standing up or on a boogey board… with all of the known sharks in the area, it is the last thing I would do. The locals, well they just take it in stride and go with the flow. Their favorite saying here is “fare dinkum” – which means “that’s fair”… or something like that…. Which also goes to their general thoughts on “that’s life”, “that’s how it goes”, “c’est la vie”… as the shark comes and takes a limb. Seriously….this will also be evident when we visit Pebbley Beach in the afternoon.

Ian and Jenny met up with us and we had a coffee at the local café before heading back to the house. From there we piled in and took a quick trip over to Bateman’s Bay for lunch. It was a quick trip compared to the drive down from Sydney, the weather was pretty decent (still a bit chilly) and we had lunch at a local café. Lunch was good… Mum and I split a quiche and each had pumpkin soup. I enjoyed another good cup of coffee (ranking #3 on my list of coffee so far) and just hung out and chatted.

Afterwards we had a mooch for all of 5 minutes (yes, the fishing town is that small) before piling back into the CX7 and headed to Pebbley Beach. Before we left Sydney, Ian read my guide book on Australia and came across Pebbley Beach which is supposed to have a “large community of kangaroos” that you can practically go up to and touch (although not advisable). So we were game… we would have our sighting!

We took a very back woods kind of drive to get to the beach and passed the largest termite mounds I’ve ever seen… okay, well, I’ve never seen a termite mound before. We stopped after seeing several by the roadside and Jenny got OUT OF THE CAR and walked RIGHT OVER TO ONE and kicked it!!!!! Crazy girl….but I got her picture! And then Ian prodded me out and I carefully walked over to it… oh geez… just take the picture so I can run and get back in the car! Classic vacation fodder for the rest of the holiday let me tell you.

So finally down at Kangaroo Beach and guess what…not a kangaroo in site..just lots of kangaroo poop. Another visitor told us that someone had drowned earlier in the day and the rescue/recover teams were in the water and above in the helicopter searching for the body. Consequently the kangaroos had left the area and were in the hills as they were scared away by the helicopter. Oh well… there goes my kangaroo sighting… but the whole thing came quickly into perspective for the drowning victim (of course).

Back in the car and back to Mollymook for the rest of the afternoon. We had dinner reservations at Rick Stein’s new restaurant at Bannister’s that Jenny had booked ages ago, so we wanted to get back and have a break before dinner. Rick Stein for all of those not in the know (and before this trip I also was one who didn’t have a clue) is a “celebrity chef” in the world of celebrity chefs in England and Australia (mostly from his BBC cooking show). He is not known in the USA as we all know the market is pretty well crowded with our own battalion of local celebrity chefs cooking in every major city.

Bannister’s is a seaside motel in Mollymook that underwent massive renovation a couple of years ago and it is considered the place to go if you are in from Sydney or points in and beyond. The rooms are very modern and the hotel is pretty cool – think 1950s/early 60s modern – something out of the movie Ocean’s Twelve that Brad Pitt’s character owns and is badly mismanaging. Well, this is lovely and modern with an infinity pool that overlooks the ocean crashing up on the shore. It is also incredibly expensive and we realized after our mooch around Bannister’s that we had made a very good choice on our alternate accommodation in the end – mostly value for price or even price, price, price. Bannister’s suffers from being the pretty girl at the party… after you talk with her after a few minutes, you realize that she is all flash and very little substance.  That also holds true to the hotel and the restaurant, I am afraid.

Don’t get me wrong, Rick Stein’s restaurant is very good – especially if you are a fish person. I am a fish person, and had a very good mussels appetizer which I will long remember, but the “sirloin” as they call it here was well, a disaster to be honest. I know that everyone comes for the fish and seafood, but there will be an odd person besides myself that may be interested in an alternative. And with all the pomp and circumstance that the restaurant has enjoyed with their grand opening in recent weeks (Costal Living magazine was on the premises shooting editorial pictures for the soon to be published article and yours truly is probably in one), the result was less than stellar.

I won’t go into too many details as I’ve been long-winded enough on this subject, but as much as the manager tried to make it right, it only made it worse. To his credit, he didn’t charge me for the entrée and also gave me a lovely cheese plate complimentary. And I don’t think that I was being a “difficult American”, just someone who is a big foodie, as many other patrons will be here, and they really need to get it right. Or consequently, the restaurant may become a big disappointment for some or many that may relegate Rick Stein at Bannister’s to an overpriced, so-so, holiday mini-break.

Destination Mollymook… Ian, Jen, Mum and I set out on Friday morning after packing the loaned Mazda XC7 to the gills with clothing and goods (ie food, beer and wine) for four. The weather was pretty good and getting better each and every day so we were happy that we seemed to be over the worst of the weather and wind (we hope) and were looking forward to 4 days out of the city.

The drive on the Princes Highway (1) out of Sydney was like watching paint dry… oh so long and boring. But once we got on the two lane highway we were on our way courtesy of “Giselle” (our Tom Tom nav device). We stopped for lunch in Berry on the way down the coast to our rental house. Lunch was quite good, in the old post office that had been converted to a restaurant and inn. Afterwards we mooched around for a bit before continuing on our way down the coast. I would say that this part of NSW (New South Wales) is very much like England… lots of rolling hills with cattle on large plots of land. Interestingly the area doesn’t get below freezing, so there is no true Winter for the trees to lose their leaves… they sporatically drop to the ground and and renew so the area doesn’t get that burst of color that we normally see at Spring when everything is so fresh and clean like everyone wakeing up all at once. Don’t get me wrong, this sure beats the 50 degree weather everyone is currently enjoying at home!

So onward and finally at our destination 3+ hours later we arrived in Mollymook. We rented the lower part of a two family house just steps from the beach with a magnificent view of the ocean and the beachside community. The sand is so clean, as is the beach itself, that the sand sqweeks under foot. Really it does. Interestingly there are not of shells that have washed up on the beach and a local shop sells shells for $2 each… for those die-hards that have to have a shell from Mollymook!

The house is really lovely, modern and clean. It is probably the nicest rental house that I’ve been in… equipped with everything, bedding (called Manchester here – will talk more on this later) is top quality, board games and there is a fantastic plasma TV with a good selection of the latest movies. And did I mention the hot tub???? So we were literally set for as long as necessary!

Okay, so you are probably wondering what “Manchester” is all about…. Well, I got the “official” explanation from Faye and Phil, the home’s owners that live upstairs. In Australia, the residents call all bedding, linen, towels, etc. as “Manchester” as it originated all those years ago in the town of Manchester in the Lancashire region of England. Okay, so a little crazy, but it works for them and now I have my answer. So next time you are at Bed, Bath and Beyond, be sure to ask for your Manchester and you never know what will happen next!

So settled in, we headed out to grab some fish and chips for dinner. Always on the prowl for the best fish and chips we headed to Ulladulla for a meal. This is a sleepy area (okay the whole area), so instead of a nice restaurant to have a meal, we were relegated to fish and chips take away as everything, and I mean pretty much everything shuts down after 5:30pm. This is consistent across the region (including parts of Sydney) as eventhough they’ve just gone through Daylight Savings Time, it gets dark here pretty early, so they begin their day pretty early as well. Fish choices were, well, one… Basa… a locally caught white fish that is (can I say) incredibly expensive at $7.50 per filet (without chips ie “fries”). So disappointing on what we got for the money, the fish was okay, but the chips were good!

After dinner we ventured out to the local golf club for a drink. Except for the very exclusive clubs, almost all Australian golf clubs allow out-of-towners to pop into the bar or play a round without a membership. When we walked in we just needed to show ID (and can I say I was the only one with it!) and we signed in as temporary members. The golf club had a restaurant, several bars, seating areas inside and out, a children’s area, casino (slot machines) and live music. Earlier I spoke about how sleepy the town is… well, this is where everyone was! There were about 200 people in the restaurant alone!  So we just spent the rest of the evening hanging out and watching the golf on the big screens and having a chat… I was just happy to be out of the rain.

This is the last day in Sydney for us before we escape to Mollymook on our Friday, a beach town about 3 hours south of Sydney. We’ve rented a beach house right outside of Mollymook for a long weekend (Friday thru Monday). So before I head off and you won’t hear from me for a few days, here’s what happened today. It was supposed to be a bit leisurely and uneventful, but oh it didn’t turn out quite like that!

Mum, Jen and I headed out via local bus and then ferry from the Mosman Harbor to Circular Quay (the Sydney Ferry terminal). All went well, except we missed the bus by about a minute, so we stood in the brisk (and I mean brisk) wind in downtown Mosman for the next one for about 20 minutes. Uneventful thereafter, it wasn’t until the captain on the ferry came on the loudspeaker as we approached the Sydney Ferry Terminal announcing their apologies for the last ferry being out of service. All the way to the city center (about 15 minutes on the ferry), it was windy and the water was very choppy. So in the end it didn’t matter that we didn’t make that initial bus to the harbor as we would have waited it out for the one that we eventually ended up on.

Onward and literally upward we took a cab to the Sydney Tower. After we arrived we decided to wait a while further and have lunch in the restaurant at the top of the tower as it was overall a better choice financially than just going to the observation deck. We mooched around John Lewis, similar to Nordstrom’s adjacent to the Sydney Tower until our time to ascend the Tower for lunch and the view.

The view is well, spectacular. I managed to post a few photos to my Facebook account via my iPhone, so have a look when you get a chance. Fortunately the day cleared up and we really enjoyed the views from the top. The buffet lunch was quite good and had all sorts of international options. We had a really lovely time at the top……

….until the observation deck stopped moving. The observation deck seating area is on a platform that rotates very slowly — about one full rotation around the city per hour. So about 1-1/2 rotations into the adventure, the platform stopped moving. And then the manager came around and told us to take our time as the elevators have stopped due to the wind. Apparently this is pretty unusual and doesn’t happen very often at all. So… I didn’t want to be a little worried… but I was… as we didn’t want to get stuck at the top of the tower (all 76 floors of it). So… we had to be patient and wait it out. Which we did for another hour or so. Finally the manager said we could use the elevators and recommend that we high tail it to them as there was concern that the elevator would shut down again for safety. So… obviously… we quickly made our departure.

Once back on terra firma we located a taxi quickly and planned to take it to the harbor to get the ferry, but due to the swells and the wind, all of the ferries were not operating. Oh joy…. so after a quick conversation we just too the taxi back to Mosman and we were literally at Ian and Jen’s within 15 minutes. I was a good, $30 (AUS) choice — about $26 USA instead of getting home hours later with the crush of people on the bus. Good, good choice.

So the day turned out very well, but if you ever find yourself in Sydney, I’d recommend that you do not consider the Sydney Tower when it is windy!!!!!

Finally some sun… so much sun that we didn’t take an umbrella (“brolley” here) out with us. Mum needed a bit of a rest from all the walking around, so she stayed behind as Jen and I had a busy day out and about.

We started at the Sydney Fish Market in the morning… oh sooooo cool! The Sydney Fish Market is on the other side of the Sydney Harbor and quite a large facility of independent fish mongers and food stalls galore — as I understand it, the largest fish market in the Southern Hemisphere. So Jenny and I were off in the mid-morning. The Fish Market was pretty quiet, but it was Wednesday, so expected. The market is home to fish mongers that provide raw and cooked food. They have the raw in one area, much like a regular fish counter at a market, and another smaller part holds the cooked fish area where you can buy cooked fish and seafood and enjoy it at their seating area.

Jenny and I stopped by one of the larger fish mongers for a mooch around. The place is pretty darn big and has all the regular fish and seafood including shrimp of various sizes, tuna, swordfish, crab legs, salmon and the largest lobsters I’ve ever seen in my life. But one that will stay in my mind on this journey was the Moreton Bay Bug. The “bug” looks like a critter that is the size of a small lobster’s body, is ugly like a wood lice (really, oh really) and tastes a cross between a lobster and a crab (yes folks, I tasted it). It is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life, but I promised myself that I would be open to new adventures and try new things… and well, I’ve definitely stepped up to the plate on this one! A suggestion if you ever have the opportunity to try one is to just eat it and not look at it!

Having fufilled my “trying new things” requirement (eat your heart out Anthony Bourdain!), we moved on to octopus. We had a (cooked) spicy baby octupus with spring onion dish — it needed a little rice to ward off the spicyness… but it was pretty darn good once you got all the legs in your mouth We couldn’t eat the whole dish between us, so we took it “to go”, but honestly it ended up in the garbage bin on the way out the door to the car as we were afraid that it would stink up the car!

But before we left we had a look around the gourmet grocery and the kitchen supply place that was onsite. Australian’s (apparently) like their mayonaisse sweet… sweet like Miracle Whip at home. Yes, the gross stuff. Not the lovely tast of Helmann’s mayo. Jenny has bought so many jars of mayo just to find that each one is sweet and oh so gross… so much money down the drain… but that is part of the experience of living in a different land. So when Jenny and I came across a $8 jar of mayo that looked promising, we took a chance. Later when we got home we had a blind taste test and fortunately it didn’t turn out to be that bad!

So onward and upward… we left the Fish Market and headed a short distance to the Darling Harbour (proper english spelling for harbor) area for a look around. The Darling Harbour was developed in part for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The harbor is the next one down from the Sydney Quay (pronounced “key”) which is the main entry point to Sydney for the ferries. The area lends itself to a great place to hang out on the evenings and weekends. Per Jenny it is definitely a meet-and-greet area. The area is lovely as the harbor is a combination of the Maritime Museum, The IMAX theatre, private yachts (and I mean some of the coolest yachts), and promenades where people just hang out.

After a shared bite to eat at one of the waterside establishments, we walked around the area and came across a street performer — actually a female contortionist doing an act where she got herself into a box 16″x16″. No kidding… we saw it all and it was quite freaky… not just because of the act, but because she was a very normal looking female (mid-20s we suspected) that was out there earning a dime. She was very professional and did a great job. It is also pretty lucrative, as we think she clears several (and I mean) several hundred dollars after each act with everyone watching her. Granted, this is not a long term career for her (or anyone), but she “worked it” very well and earned every penny for what it is worth.

So onward and upward, after a bit further of a mooch we got back into the car and headed off on errands. We went to Dan Murphy’s which is a chain of adult beverage stores… just like England, you cannot buy alcohol in a grocery store and have to go to a special establishment. Dan Murphy’s is very cool and they even have their own wine bags that hold multiple bottles… kind of like the Whole Foods bags… nice little souvineers for friends to take home with me and they pack oh so well!

After Dan Murphy’s we went on an errand for my mother to bulk up her wardrobe… when packing at home she focused more on the Spring here and less on the fact that they are coming out of Winter. She woefully underpacked, so I found her a great fleece jacket which she hasn’t taken off since I gave it to her last night! Oh the benefits of the Southern Hemisphere as they are coming out of Winter and everything is on sale as we approach it!

Just a quick post for this entry as we spent the day at the Toronga Zoo just minutes from my cousin’s apartment. The day was great — ie no rain whatsoever — which has been a real blessing as every day we’ve been here it has poured at one point or another.

The zoo is quite good and we saw lots of native animals to Australia and I’ll post the pictures as soon as possible as my computer is woefully slow and I figure that this blog content is more important than the pictures. So for now you will have to use your imagination. The Toronga Zoo is undergoing a massive rennovation and they look to be about 80 percent done. The zoo has been updated with larger areas for the animals and new, cleaner and more modern facilities for everyone. What draws everyone to the zoo is that it is in Mosman and cliffside with the most incredible views of Sydney. Again, please use your imagination for now (sorry).

As you enter the zoo you are at the top and throughout your visit you work your way down the cliffside taking stairs, ramps, escalators and ramps. You start with the smaller animals such as birds and as you wind your way down throughout the day you see the larger and larger animals that are the biggest draw. Toronga Zoo is also home to koala bears and for an extra $20 (or so), you get a one on one experience with them. I didn’t choose to have this experience, but I know from watching the Travel Channel’s Samantha Brown, you dawn a white plastic rain poncho and wear gloves and a mask for your encounter. It is not for your protection, but for the protection of the koala bears as they are very susceptible to disease.

At the bottom of the zoo are the elephants which we missed. There is a recent baby elephant to the community and they are the largest draw. We were able to see the adult elephants on our way up the cliff as we ascended via gondola to the main entrance. The ride up took about 5 minutes and it was quite spectacular. It was a beautiful sunny day and a wonderful experience.