BnBcruisingthemed

Postojinskajama

bnbtraveling — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 11:28:00 GMT

We spent several hours exploring the Postojna Caves across the border from Trieste in Slovenia. Absolutely gorgeous! Hard to believe how big but we were inside and it is enormous.Largest caves in Europe. A mini-train takes you undeground and then you walk a 1.5 mile hike looking at nature wonders!!

Tonight is our "sail away" as we depart Trieste and set sail for our cruise stop at Reijke, Croatia.

Arrival in Trieste, Italy

bnbtraveling — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 22:00:00 GMT

9/26/2023

After 8 hour plane ride to Amsterdam, and 2 hour plane ride from Amsterdam to Venice, and a 2 hour bus ride from Venice airport we arrived in Trieste to board our cruise ship, the Oosterdam. We enjoyed a welcome cocktail in the crow's nest with other mariner's. Dinner in the Lido. Bed time at 8 pm, we were tired travelers!!

Med Cruise

bnbtraveling — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 00:30:00 GMT

We begin our new adventure tomorro, Monday, 9/25. Heading to Venice (Trieste) Italy. Board ship, the Holland America Oosterdam. Set sail on 9/26 for Croatia, Turkey and several Greek isles before docking in Athens, Greece. Another bucket list trip. Feeling grateful to spend time together and experience new cultures, foods and make new friends!

Bill's travel thoughts

bnbtraveling — Sun, 17 Dec 2017 00:35:00 GMT

What an adventure! I had been curious for many years about the land down under.

My favorite places:

Sydney Opera House Experience Tour, Operetta and Dinner

The waterfalls at Arthur's Pass

The Bellota Tapas Restaurant in Auckland and the dinner we enjoyed at The Hermitage Hotel at Mount Cook

The Shotover Jetboat at Queenstown

The day we spent at Milford Sound

The sights were incredible. Australia - Sydney Harbor is HUGE! I had no idea how much area it covers and all the water traffic that use it!

New Zealand - I can't count how many times I said "wow!" The mountains, waterfalls and lakes are so beautiful. And, how many times I said "damn" while attempting to use my turn signal, but hit the wipers instead since the cars there are opposite U.S. cars.

The trip was awesome! A nice time for us to experience something different. We are not hikers but enjoyed the numerous walks we did take..

Thank you Dan and Kathy, for sharing an adventure with memories we will always have to remember!

More musings - Kathy Miller

bnbtraveling — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 05:07:00 GMT

At the end of our recent travels with the Whyte's, Bonnie asked I'd Dan and I would mind adding our thoughts to her current travel nlog. Gosh, I was perplexed. We had traveled so far, toured so many places, seen so many beautiful landscapes, how on earth could I pick and choose the highlights.

Well, I am able to point out my least favorite thing. It was figuring out what the heck to pack for cold, warm and hot climates and how to fit all those clothes along with our swim and hiking gear (boots, backpacks, poles, rain gear) into one suitcase and one carry on for a 48 day travel period. Even though the zippers on the suitcases were close to ripping apart, I was successful. (Triple A sells those large ziplock clothing bags that you can fill and then push the air out to save space.)

After the pains of packing, everything went uphill!! We shared a limo with Bonnie and Bill to the airport and then flew to different destinations with plans to meet on the South Island of New Zealand 25 days later.

Editor's Note:

Dan and Kathy took a 23 day cruise from Seattle, WA to Sydney, Australia and Bill and Bonnie took a 16 day cruise from Honolulu, HI to Sydney, Australia

On our transpacific cruise I did enjoy the ship's excursions to several islands in addition to our time spent in beautiful Sydney but nothing could come close to comparing to what we experienced in New Zealand. And we could not have had any better travel companions than Bonnie and Bill.

Highlights for me; driving through Arthur's Pass and Haast Pass. Craggy snow peaked mountains many with glaciers, literally hundreds of waterfalls, one way bridges, glacier fed lakes, sandy beaches with awesome rock formations, challenging steep trails with views that paid off big time, green pastures with sheep, a herd of cows with identical white and black markings, herds of bison, those nasty flies on the coast with bites that itch for a couple of months (I spent a lot of worry time over those little buggers, never got a bite!)

I was in awe of New Zealand's small geographical terrain which was so amazingly diverse...and so pristine...that is if you don't count mud as messy! We did get a lit of rain, but oh when the sun came out. So many waterfalls coming off those sharp spectacular mountains that would make their way into lakes, some that had a creamy white coloring which was runoff from the glaciers. Goodness I will not ever forget that.

And every night the four of us clinked glasses together at dinner and talked about the wonderful day we had. My favorite dinner was the rack of lamb in Twizel. Although lamb can be found at many restaurants, this was one of only two we encountered that offered a rack of lamb. May the time we ordered our food, only 3 racks were left. Thank you Bill for giving up your lamb that night. One of the best racks of lamb I've ever had.

After New Zealand came Kauai with lovely accommodations provided by Bill and Bonnie. What a great place to warm up and slow down a bit! We'll sort of...Anybody who knows Dan, knows he has always got to be doing something!

Best trip ever!! So fortunate to have had travel companions to share this experience with. My favorite hikes was Hooker Valley and Franz Josef Glacier trails. Glacier terrain in indescribable. I found myself saying "holy mackerel Dan, can you believe how beautiful this is" on a daily basis!

I will miss New Zealand and all that it has to offer, however, I am happy to be back home and I am very thankful for my friends and family.

Musings of a fellow traveler - Dan Miller

bnbtraveling — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 02:27:00 GMT

Anticipation

I Have always had the desire to travel to New Zealand. The cruise presented a great opportunity to travel half way around the world in an exciting and relaxing manner. We booked the cruise over a year ahead of time to insure we wouldn't miss this opportunity.

Experiences

I loved all the special hikes, such great scenery! Of all the "big" hikes we did the top four were:

Hooker Valley and Mt. Cook

Mt. Rainier in Washington State, had perfect weather, a rarity there

Hike to top of Rocky Mt outside Wanaka for a 360 view of the mountains and lakes

Beach walk at Motukiekie beach, spectacular cliffs and rock formations

The best event for me was dressing up as the Prez and Kathy as Hillary for the Halloween party on the cruise!

Second was the Shotover Jetboat ride through the canyon in Queenstown, exciting!

Everything was wonderful, even walking in pouring rain at Franz Josef Glacier or body surfing in Kauai.

Looking Back

The trip turned out pretty much as I planned or thought. It was always a bucket list item to go "down under". Because of the cruise we were able to visit places we would never had the opportunity to visit, Fiji, New Calendonia. I also had forgotten how beautiful Hawaii was. We had great friends to travel with in New Zealand and Hawaii, which we enjoyed sharing our experiences.

We traveled approximately 24,000 miles on air, ship and car. Amazing!

Details

bnbtraveling — Sun, 19 Nov 2017 06:48:00 GMT

OK, so I thought it might be a good idea to give you some websites you and check out to get a better view in some cases of some of our adventures, enjoy!

sydneyoperahouse.com

featherdale.com.au

bushandbeach.co.nz

lakewanaka.co.nz

wildearthwines.co.nz

hermitage.co.nz

realjourneysltd - to get views of glow worm caves and Milford Sound

shotoverjet.com

Bill and I head home today. Dan and Kathy will leave tomorrow. We have enjoyed our time in Hawaii and will follow up with thoughts from each of us on our journey. Stay tuned for those stories. Aloha and Mahalo!

Heading to Queenstown

bnbtraveling — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 16:46:00 GMT

We drove 2-1/2 hours today to Queenstown, the third largest city in NZ. OMG! Instead of Wow, cannot believe the beauty of this place! We rented a house for our last accommodation and we overlook a beautiful inlet, a lake, the pastures, and the incredibly beautiful mountains!! It is all here and incredibly amazing!!

Fun and entertainment in Qtown? We booked a jetboat ride, of course! Shot over Jetboats, again I will get the URL so you can watch the video of how much fun we had!! 30 minutes of power reving action on a jetboat with dual 350 engines and flat bottom that runs on the power of the water. On a river through a canyon. Wet and Wild!! If this was something the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wanted to do, good enough for us! SO much fun!

Back home for a margarita before heading to town center to have a Mexican dinner - YUM!

Tomorrow will be laundry and repack day as we leave for Hawaii. Got to wrap our minds around a 22 hour day that will take us from one hemisphere to another and across time zones to gain our day back that was lost during the cruise. Fun in the sun before heading home and this odyssey comes to an end. We began the journey in Polynesia and so we end the journey in Polynesia.

Stay tuned for a few more details...

Te Anau

bnbtraveling — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 13:03:00 GMT

Well, we have now arrived in the Southland of NZ. After a 4hour drive, we arrived at beautiful lakeside resort of Te Anau. We were able to check into our B and B, so we would be ready to take the boat ride across Lake Te Anau to see the glow worm caves and nature center we had booked before leaving home and were anxious to see.

I will find the URL to share with all of you so you can see the insides of the cave. If you have ever been to caves or caverns, you know that the insides are dark and dank. These caves have high ceilings up to 22 meters! Also a rushing river of water that made an unbelievable roaring sound! We were in a small boat that was on a track that took us deep inside to the back side of the cave. It was very dark and we were asked not to make any noise to disturb the glow worms. Then the show began, as hundreds of tiny flickering lights lit up corners and crevices of the cave. It seemed a bit unreal and for a brief time, I was thinking that these were simply fiber optics! Once outside we went down to the nature center to learn more about their life cycle, eating and mating habits, it became clear that we had viewed an important part of a delicate ecosystem for this area of the country. Quite interesting!

Next day we decided the guys had done enough driving so we took a bus tour to Milford Sound. Which is really a fijord, because it was carved out by a glacier. Everything in this area is within Fijordland National Park, a gorgeous park full of all kinds of natural wonders! An hours bus ride from the town through the mountains dropping from 940 meters to 200 meters down to the sound. Got off the bus and boarded a boat to cruise through the sound to look at waterfalls, rock formations, seals and a real surprise, a pod of bottle nose Dolphins! They dropped us at the observatory where we went below the water level to view the marine life in the sound! So Cool!! Wonderful to see things above the water and below!

The bus ride back giving the guys an opportunity to see some scenery and it was another awesome day in NZ. Back to the thriving metropolis of Te Anau, dinner and bed to rest for another adventure!

Tramping through Hooker Valley

bnbtraveling — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 04:02:00 GMT

OK, that title needs a little explanation. Let's look at the NZ dictionary for an explanation of terms:

Give Way means Yield

Slippery when frosty means Slippery when icy

A Slip mean a slide (like a mudslide)

A lift is an elevator

Lovely means something is nice

Brilliant means you like something or someones idea!

Tramping means hiking

A track is a path or trail

1 kilometer equals approximately 6/10 of a mile

So, on Monday morning, we awoke to a lovely snowfall. It only lasted about 30 minutes and melted at our level quickly but left a fresh dusting of snow on the mountains! Lovely! Mpunt Cook was still not visible to us at our vantage point due to the snow, wind and fog. Of course, Dan and Kathy decided they would hike in to see if they could get a better look. So, not to be out done, Bill and Bonnie also decided to investigate. This particular track goes through the valley floor between the mountains named Hooker Valley. So, we tramped through Hooker Valley!

Get it? Got it? Good!!

Our friends are the hikers. We are the walkers. This particular track is over varied terrain with 3 foot bridges spanning several spots over a river. We did not make it to the end, however, we did manage to make it to the second bridge and walked approximately 4 miles round trip! Not bad for a couple of senior couch potatoes!

Very exhilarating as the temp was only about 40 degrees and the track took us along a river and the valley was a bit of a wind tunnel. We enjoyed beautiful views along the way, but my foot was telling me it was time to turn back.

Thanks to Dan and Kathy for the encouragement to tramp! NZ is a beautiful country and sometimes hiking is the best way to see it! Congrats to them as they did make the entire hike and captured some photos of Mt. Cook. Glaciers hide up in these higher elevations, it is truly amazing.

Next adventure awaits, we are off to Twizel. A small town about an hours drive from the park!

We have enjoyed a myriad of accommodations on this trip. Just to round things out, we will spend the night in a farmhouse that is over 100 years old. This land used to be a sheep farm but now raises cattle. Like many in NZ, they are finding that cattle are less work and more profitable. Anyway, a descendent of the original owners still lives on the land and manages the farm, but in addition has built and manages cottages for travelers. We stayed in the original 3 bedroom 1 bath farm house. Rustic with a few modern conveniences, it was lovely!

We went to a restaurant in town and had the best rack of lamb for dinner that we had on the trip! So, if you're ever in Twizel be sure and stop by Shawty's!!

Home to bed under a "dark sky" with beautiful stars. Off tomorrow for a long drive to Te Anau.

Majestic Mount Cook

bnbtraveling — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 14:51:00 GMT

WOW!!! We keep using this word but honestly if you saw this landscape you'd be hard pressed to think of another descriptive term.

We arrived to Mount Cook National Park in the afternoon. Cloudy and drizzly. The top of the mountains were covered in clouds, no sighting of the mighty mountain as yet. We checked into the only hotel in the area, The Hermitage Hotel. Originally built in early 1900's. The Hermitage has been destroyed and rebuilt twice, once flooded by a swelling river and secondly by fire as they neared completion of the rebuilding! Third time is the charm as the hotel has stood and been added on to several times sinc the late 1940's. A beautiful old hotel with lots of woodwork and massive fireplaces in the lounge and dining rooms. Definitely a treat along the way as we have been staying in small b and b's, that are lovely but small.

The hotel also has The Sir Edmund Hillary Centre. A museum and movie about his life and feats accomplished during his lifetime. Displays of climbing equipment and logs of climbing huts along with accounts of those who took on the mountain. Some won and made it to her summit and some did not. Hillary, as many climbers do, used Mount Cook to prepare for his ascent of Everest. Hillary gained notariety for his climb of Everest, but he did many good works for the people of Nepal after his famous adventure was over. He was beloved by the people there and always treated as a hero by them!

We toured the museum and then enjoyed a delicious dinner in the Panorama Dining room. Unbelievable view of the mountains as the sun sets and lights up the now visible monolithic stones in front of us!

33 degrees at bedtime - thank goodness for room heaters as they do not have central heating and air conditioning. Toasty and comfortable nights sleep to prepare for our hike tomorrow.

Hiking Anyone?

Wine Country

bnbtraveling — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 10:45:00 GMT

Now anyone who knows us knows we love wine! We wouldn't miss out on an opportunity to drink some wine and that's exactly what we did.

Booked a tour for the four of us and let David do the driving! Visiting four wineries in the Otago Region of NZ.

Gorgeous day about an hours drive from Wanaka. First winery, Wild Earth, had food pairings and it was spectacular! To get to the winery, we had to cross a foot bridge across a gorge with riverbed below where folks mined for gold back in the mid-1800's. Second, was a corporate winery, scenery more spectacular than the wine. Third and fourth were small family owned and operated vineyards. They spoke to us about their wines and it was so heartfelt as they have been part of this land for generations. The wine industry in NZ is only about 20 years old, but they were farms and pastures before the creation of vineyards.

Awesome to have a more relaxed day.

Monday morning, Dan and Kathy are heading out for a hike and Bill and I will enjoy a walk around Lake Wanaka, lunch and shopping in town.

Only 40 degrees this morning, but we are hopeful of a warm up this afternoon. Wanaka is really like a ski resort town. They are a ski destination for Kiwi's but in comparison to American resorts, quite small. Weather is very erratic here. We arrived in a rain storm That lasted into the next afternoon. Experienced an overnight snow on the mountains that closed the road to Milford. Then, had a lovely sunny day with temps in the mid-fifties. Was glad for the sun as we have a long drive to Mount Cook. Sunny will be better than rainy for the guys to drive on these winding roads and on the opposite side of the road. They have done great! Kathy and I have no interest in driving.

Loved Wanaka but time to move on!

What a Wonder!

bnbtraveling — Mon, 6 Nov 2017 09:07:00 GMT

What an amazing area of the country we are now in. Took a trip to Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, amazing! Rock formations are stacked on top of each other like pancakes. Large holes or openings in the rocks create blowholes that allow huge surges of ocean water to rise out of them at high tide. Quite a roar when the water races in! Lunch and then a wait for low tide further down the beach, it flattens out and you can walk out where all this wild surf has been. Motukiekie Beach, extraordinary! Reminded us of the California coast highway views.

Traveling down the west coast from Hokitika to Franz Josef Glacier. Yes, there are glaciers in New Zealand and they are not easy to see. You either have to be a hiker Willing to climb or use a helicopter to see and/or arrive at the glacier for a little walk ( very expensive). They are tucked into the crevices of the montain passes. Of course, some of these are quite large but you cannot see them from the lower elevations. Frank Josef Glacier was so named by the explorer who found it for the Austrian Emperor. Highest peak is around 10,000 feet. Unfortunately for us, it rained all day and was very cloudy, we could not see a thing. Dan and Kathy being the true hikers started out for the hike to the overview when there was a break in the clouds, after an hours walk they reached the viewing point and still were unable to see much! They did capture photos of many waterfalls as there had been so much rain. They were drenched when they returNed to our motel. Hot showers to warm up and dry clothes and they were ready to go again!!

The highlight of our lodging here was the pet lamb "Minty". 9 weeks old that was abandoned by her mother because her back legs were weak. We got to bottle feed her and she likes her bottle! Sutherlyn, you would have liked this little lamby! She followed the owner around like a puppy, so cute.

Saturday morning, we headed out for Wanaka. Following this western coast is just breathtaking! Very curvy roads, so around each corner is a new spectacle each so beautiful and unique. Still raining, felt bad for Bill and Dan to have to drive in such weather, sometimes pounding rain making it difficult to see.

After our long drive, we arrived at the scenic town of Wanaka. Nestled between the mountains and surrounded by lakes, you would swear you were in a ski resort. The sun finally broke through about an hour after arrival and we sat on our deck and enjoyed the sun with a cocktail before dinner! The town is filled with shops, galleries, restaurants and bars. Our innkeepers, Fraser and Anne, recommended a restaurant called Relishes. Good choice as we had a lovely meal before the fireplace and enjoyed a view of the mountains!

We are only a few blocks from town, easy walk to most everything, we are here for 3 days. Hope you enjoy the photos, Wanaka is beautiful.

The trek to Hokitika

bnbtraveling — Fri, 3 Nov 2017 12:23:00 GMT

We began our trek to Hokitika by car through what they call the "Southern Alps". To our surprise, we drove through majestic snow-capped mountains rising out of the ground to meet the sky! The photos included do not do them justice. At Arthur's Pass, we stopped for lunch and then began the hike to view the falls at the Devil's Punchbowl. Truly breathtaking! About an hour-long hike/climb, I was thinking of you Angela! Good path and lots of stairs, it was a good workout! For those of you wondering about my foot, it has been fine with slight swelling after activity but resting overnight and I'm ready to go the next day! I'm not ready for a 5k but feeling fine.

Back in the car to finish the drive to Hokitika, a coastal city on the western shore of The South Island. We arrived at our lodging for the next 2 days, The Villa Holiday House. A lovely Victorian style home built in 1914 for a prominent family at the time, the King's. The home was fully renovated in 2010 and is now a holiday rental. Lucky us!

Took a drive through the village, stopped at the grocery store to get a few things for our stay including some fresh fish. We had a lovely dinner prepared at home (first home cooked meal in about a month) YUM!!!

We are blessed to be on this trip and we are enjoying making memories of all the sights and sounds of this trip with our friends, Dan and Kathy.

Hope everyone is well. Good thoughts and lots of love, B and B

Happy Halloween - they celebrate in New Zealand too!

bnbtraveling — Thu, 2 Nov 2017 15:03:00 GMT

Travel today via Air New Zealand from Rotarua to Christchurch In the South Island!

Excited to meet up with our friends and neighbors, Dan and Kathy Miller At our B and B for tonight, The Travelers Rest! Could it be more perfect?

Fiona, our innkeeper was delightful.

Took a drive through city center, could see remnants of their earthquakes, but not having seen the before, it was hard to see the after effects. But, they are still rebuilding! Had dinner and went to bed. Big day tomorrow as we begin our adventures in the South!!

The Road to Rotarua

bnbtraveling — Thu, 2 Nov 2017 14:37:00 GMT

Rotarua is located in the central part of the north island. A 4 hour drive from Auckland through the beautiful countryside. Arrived mid-afternoon to the Sudima Hotel right on Lake Rotarua. Beautiful, as you can see by the photos but stinky! The lake is an actual volcanic crater that has geo-thermal sulphur pits below and around it. Much like our mud pits and geysers at Yellowstone.

Took a quick walk about town, dinner and bed.

Next morning, took a mile walk around the lake discovered some new mud pits! Then, went around to the Polynesian Spa famous for their thermal pools. The pools are open air with beautiful views of the lake and scenery beyond.

In the evening, we went to a Maori village and cultural show. These are the native Indians of New Zealand. Very interesting! Included a "hangi" dinner - similar to a luau, as they cook in earthen ovens too! Yummy!!

Touring Auckland

bnbtraveling — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 13:42:00 GMT

Arrived late Saturday. Excellent views of the harbors. Decided a tour would be our best bet to get around and see the most. Went over the Auckland Bridge to Devonport. A small Victorian town, very quaint. Largest marina with approximately 1800 boats of various sizes. Stop at botanical garden, lovely! Then, an hour ride out to North Shore from downtown. Stopped to buy take away lunch. Steak and mushroom pie, warmed in a paper pouch and eaten with your hands like an American hamburger. Delish!

Continuung drive to Aritaka Park and Rain Forest. Start with 15 minute film at ranger station about the park, rain forest and their conservation efforts. Drive to black sand beach, walk about on the beach. Got back to bus and we had tea time with real China cups and biscuits. Wasn't expecting that!! Then, drive to the waterfall and rain forest hike. Wonderful look at the forest and nature of New Zealand.

What an awesome day!! We will more adventure tomorrow as we head to Rotarua!!

"Free" day in Sydney

bnbtraveling — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 16:33:00 GMT

Bought the Opal Pass to ride the ferries today. first ride: the Fish Market. Wharfs where all the fish is brought into Sydney for all the restaurants, hotels, locals and tourists. Walk along and see any and all kinds of fish and seafood you can dream of! Buy it to take home and prepare or buy it already fried or grilled for your lunch at the wharf. Needless to say, it was lunch on the wharf for us. Picnic tables set up all along the water to take your lunch and enjoy the sunshine. Oysters for Bill and lobster tail for me! Doesn't everyone enjoy lobster for lunch? YUM!!

After lunch it's a stroll back to the ferry wharf to ride back to Circular Quay to hop the second ferry to Manly Harbour. 30 minute ride and we have arrived at scenic Manly. A lovely walk along the Corso to the beach. Today is warmer than when we visited Bondi Beach. Slight wind and about 75 degrees. ToOK a stroll down to Shelly Beach and stopped to enjoy a glass of wine and watch some snorkelears in the rocky sea. Stunning views!

Back to the hotel to freshen up and a walk to The Rocks and Circular Quay. Found a beautiful spot to enjoy dinner alfresco while watching a gorgeous sunset oVerlooking the busy waterway and passers by at Sydney Harbour. Pinched ourselves and took another sip of wine!

Continuing the tour

bnbtraveling — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 20:25:00 GMT

Today started again at 7 am. Began with a 2-hour bus ride to the Blue Mountains, heading west from Sydney.

A fantastic day with our guide Peter, filling our hearts and minds with stories and memories of Sydney and the WA ( Western Australia).

Our coffee break was at a lovely victorian style village called Leura. An aboriginal word meaning lava. Why we don't know as there was no volcanic activity but there is rock! Thus, the Blue Mountains. Named blue because the mountain is covered with trees and when the sun is rising and the dew is rising out of the valleys, it casts a blue hue.

They are magnificent! Photos included and one formation called The Three Sisters, come complete with a dream story from the local aboriginal tribe.

Left the mountains and went to Fernendale Wildlife Park. saw koala, kangaroo and Bill and I got to pet a 2 year old dingo that they are training! awesome!

Ended bus trip by seeing the Olympic Stadium from the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Ended the day with a river cruise down the Parramatta River into Sydney Harbour. Beautiful and more photo ops of Harbour Bridge and Opera House!

Very busy and amazing day, back at 7 pm!!

Two day combo

bnbtraveling — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 19:59:00 GMT

We had purchased a 2-day tour package before leaving home to get the most from our time in Sydney.

Monday was day one of our two-day tour. We had a fantastic city tour of Sydney that included a trip out to Bondi Beach for our coffee break.

It was a beautiful sunny day but the morning was chilly and windy, as you can see by the photo of Bill bundled up and the waves crashing in behind him!

Warmed up in the afternoon as we finished with a lunch cruise from Darling Harbour to Sydney Harbour. Lovely!!