Brisbane and Sydney

BRISBANE:

Today, I tagged along with my good friends from the ship, "The Ringmasters"; these four Swedish singers are the current Barbershop World Champions. A group of Brisbanian(?) 'barbershoppers' met us at the ship and gave us a tour of the city.  The weather was perfect and it was great to learn about Brisbane from real locals, rather than a tour guide spurting out endless facts.

SYDNEY:

My first 24 hours in Sydney were pretty unforgettable.  The day began with my friends and I doing the famous “Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb.” This 3 hour experience over 8 lanes of car and train traffic on the bridge's maintenance grid culminated in an incredible view of Sydney Harbor, the Opera House and the Celebrity Solstice from 400 feet above sea level.  Afterwards, I sampled some local beer and ate my first kangaroo burger! (which was actually really good)  That night, my friends and I went to a famous jazz club to hear the CD release concert of a saxophonist who’d spent his last 10 years living in Singapore.  It was really cool to hear what experiences inspired his music.  Later that night, we ate meat pies in China Town and had beers in Darling Harbor.   I’m excited to continue exploring this city, since our ship will overnight here every 12-14 days through April.  

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  :-)

Downtown Brisbane from a riverside park.

The view of Brisbane from the highest lookout point (nice photo-bomb Jakob!)

A 'farewell' dinner at Silk (the ship's Asian-Fusion Restaurant) for some good friends.

We made it: The top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge!  Woo!

My first kangaroo burger (Sydney)

A CD release concert at a Jazz Club in Sydney