Tricia’s Travelogue

Last night we had another great meal at Harbourfront Seafood, just a short walk down the boardwalk from our hotel. We had a front-row table, with a great view and excellent people-watching. To start, Charlie had half a dozen oysters, and we shared chargrilled pita with taramasalata and salmon roe. My main course was grilled mulloway (a white fish) with blistered tomatoes, capers, and olives. I ate every bite! Charlie chose spaghettini with tiger prawns, spinach, and lemon butter, and we shared a Greek salad with the best feta we’ve ever had. For dessert, we shared a  chocolate  and mandarin mousse with chocolate crumb and salted espresso cream, which was as divine as it sounds.  Once again, we began consuming it before remembering to photograph it.  Sorry!   We didn’t finish our bottle of wine, so we asked them to close it so we could take it with us.  The server said they weren’t licensed for that, but came back later to say, ‘if we see you leaving.” So. ....

Last night we had a really wonderful dinner at Pony Dining, which features a wood-fired grill.  I ordered a Cherrywood Old Fashioned, with Woodford Reserve and cherry bitters -- so good! Charlie had some red Australian wine that he enjoyed. For appetizers we tried wood-fired flatbread with baba ganoush and a macadamia-crusted Gruyere soufflé with romesco sauce.  Both were very good, especially the soufflé, even though it wasn’t very photogenic. For our wood-roasted entrees, I had the spatchcock chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies while Charlie had rack of lamb (not pictured). Delish!   For dessert, we each had the wood-roasted macadamia and salted caramel tart with creme fraîche, which must be on the menu in Heaven. Plate-lickin' good!  Sorry about being too excited to stop and take a photo. . . . Early this morning we got to see the Celebrity Edge ship docking. This morning we enjoyed another delicious breakfast in the hotel. My plate included eggs over ea...

We were both awake extra early (thanks to yet another time zone change), so we were able to see the lights of Sydney as we entered the port before dawn.  We enjoyed our coffee on the balcony as we sailed slowly toward the cruise terminal. Sydney Opera House (taken by a fellow passenger) View from our balcony when docked We headed down to Deck 5 just before 7:00, and we were ushered quickly off the ship and through Passport Control and Customs, which went like clockwork, with no standing or waiting.  We found all of our bags and left the terminal, heading for our hotel, the Park Hyatt Sydney, which was within sight of the ship.  Definitely do-able, even for septuagenarians schlepping a total of five bags, plus a backpack.  I took these photos as we walked towards our hotel (seen in the first pic). Bellmen met us as we rolled into the entranceway and took charge of the bags, delivering them to our room shortly after we got to our room. Our room is lovely and big, with ...

We enjoyed a very good dinner last night in Coastal Kitchen.  For our entrees, we had broiled shrimp, served over mashed potatoes with spinach and asparagus (me) and duck bolognese orecchiette with ricotta (Charlie). We skipped dessert, but I got a soft-serve ice cream cone on our post-prandial promenade. Yum! This morning we followed our routine, walking on Deck 14. I went for one last crafting gathering, and we’ve set up a group chat to stay in touch.  Charlie did well in the casino, on a penny machine! He also had some balcony time and caught this photo of the North Star observation capsule. I know that some of the Kimbros participated on a previous cruise, but we aren’t brave enough ! We are now mostly packed and will finish after dinner, so we can leave our bags in the hall tonight.  We’re getting an assisted departure from the suites concierge, and our hotel room will be available, so we should be off the ship early tomorrow. The hotel is about 300 meters from the d...

Thankfully, the ocean is much calmer today.  We still feel disoriented when walking at the very front and back of the ship, but otherwise it’s not too noticeable.   We’ve had our usual morning routine, and we’ve been to Chops Grille for lunch.  It’s been a while since I’ve posted food pics, so here you go: Shrimp cocktail  Caesar salad topped with a filet Asparagus, fries, and mac & cheese  We also had dessert — key lime pie for Charlie and chocolate lava cake for me—but I’ve posted those before. Here’s our location as of about 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. I’d love to meet a Whangarei resident! Tomorrow is Charlie’s birthday, and we’ll be packing up to disembark early Friday morning. That’s it for today!