Money is a funny thing down under! One of my favorite coins doesn't even exist, the penny, no $1 dollar bills and coins almost as big as your fist, which are only worth .20 cents each. The two dollar coin is brassy gold in color, the size of a dime and four times as thick. Their dollar is a coin about the size of a quarter and the fifty cent piece is just a little smaller the .20 cent piece. The larger the monetary value the smaller the coin and vice-versa. Go figure - It's an upside down world over here! You can buy ferry tickets or bus tickets with a twenty dollar bill and get a whole pocket full of change back, which causes you to try and figure out what to buy just to get rid of the cumbersome coins. Makes you feel like you are playing tiddlywinks. We sure do miss our US money!
We switched our dinner to 8:30 p.m. seating and now we get to bed around 2 a.m. but on a nicer note our afternoons are much more laid back. New table consist of a couple in their mid fifties from UT, Lea and Joe, our two young NY people, Morgan and Nora, and Betty and Nancy from Australia who are 88 and 90. I asked Nancy and Betty how they got to be travel partners and they said they had been good friends for a long time. They asked Candice and I how we knew each other and they about fell off their seat when we told them we were mother and daughter. Nancy said, "So you produced her?" Why that would be a yes! They still can't get over it but I figured when you get that old everybody looks younger than they really are. Betty and Nancy are getting off in Hong Kong, the rest of us are in for the long haul. We are down to 230 Americans with 1,038 Australians leading the pack.
I must report back that I went to pick up my winning photo and certificate from the photo contest and they presented it in a nice leather bound 12" x 12" photo album with the Cunard logo embossed inside. Very nice and even boxed up. Much more than just the certificate that I thought I was getting. Another photo contest is underway but I think I'll pass on this one.
Melbourne
So Melbourne was a big city. second largest in Australia. They have the world's fourth largest transportation system. Trolleys, trains, trams and buses everywhere! They will hold the Formula 1 Grand Prix in March but I can't imagine where the course will be since there are trolley tracks all over the place with the electrical wires overhead. We took the shuttle bus into the city and climbed the Tower of Remembrance, a tribute to all those who served in the wars for Australia. We climbed to the top for a good view of the city and some pictures. Right across the street was the Royal Botanical Gardens, which was spread out over quite a few acres. We noticed that the lawnmowers even have license plates assigned to them. Too funny! Very nice gardens/grounds and plenty of diversity with plants and trees from all over the world. I don't know what they feed these trees but they are huge!
Coming out of the gardens backside we crossed the street and walked the banks of the Yarra River into the city center. The college rowing team's boathouses were positioned close to the center of the city and we saw some working out on the river. It was quite the city and more college freshman initiations going on in the public squares than you care to shake a stick at. We rode the city tram all the way around the city to get a good look before making our way back to the shuttle bus stop to go back to the boat. They have some really neat buildings and they claim the tallest building south of the equator, the Eureka Skydeck. On the 88th floor they have a glass platform that overhangs the building, so you can stand out there and feel like you are suspended in the air.
That night was our big 'off-the-boat-dinner' that started with a Captain's cocktail party on the ship. Everyone was preassigned a coach number (#3) and a dinner table(#1-couldn't figure out how we rated that one!). So after two really good whiskey sours and some good hors d'oeuvres we were called out to our coach. We drove back into the city and along the way we got a personal tour and history lesson of Melbourne. When we got to the Art Gallery they had a red carpet 12' wide all the way to the building's entrance from the curb and of course the ship's photographers were there like the paparazzi, all over the place snapping and flashing their cameras. We felt like we were in Hollywood on the red carpet. They had some Aborigines playing on their didjeridoos, all painted up and some dancing around out front. The outside front wall of the art gallery was a water fountain that stretched all the way across the front entrance. Once inside we met the VP of Cunard, Peter Shank, and the Captain. Then we walked down another red carpet lined with a boy's choir (but we didn't know they were a choir until they sang for us before dinner - very good I might add) from Melbourne and there was a band playing on the stage for the evening entertainment and dancing. On through the door to an intimate darkened gallery that had tables of ten set and decked out to the hilt. The ceiling was an entire piece of artwork made out of stain glass with the last of the days light shining through it and gardens out back. The venue looked like a really ritzy wedding was going on. Chairs covered in silk and tied with white silk ribbons, large beautiful vases with white bouquets of roses and other flowers sitting about three feet off the table. Each setting had four glasses; two for wine, red and white, champagne, and water.
Now to find our table, #1. Starting at the far right of the room we found tables 4, 5, 6... but no table one. Walking to the other side of the room we found table 50, 51, 52. Where in the world was table one. More crisscrossing the room, then a question posed to a hostess, ah, table one in the corner of the room and towards the back. Yes, that is the world on an upside down, down under manner! We had a good laugh, found our name cards, sat down and introduced ourselves to our table mates. Candice and I were split up between two of the Cunard staff members and we also had a retired doctor and his wife from Virginia and another couple in their early sixties from Michigan.
Dinner was to the nines with appetizers, surf and turf (fillets), and not one but three desserts on one long plate. Chocolate Mousse with crisscross white chocolate netting surrounding it, a lemon zest tart and a fruit tart. The entire program and the venue were just awesome; nothing but the best! Definitely worth writing home about. Cunard knows how to thank their customers in first class style! Needless to say, our ship did not sail at midnight! We didn't get back to the ship until 11:30 p.m. and there were still plenty of people to get shuttled back yet.
Adelaide
Adelaide was another port we had to be shuttled into, 40 minutes, but the drives are always interesting and the surrounding suburbs are very quaint. The housing architect is always interesting to see. Adelaide is like a bedroom community with a large city plucked right down in the middle of it. After being dropped off in the city center we got our bearings and took a tram out to Glenelg Beach. The town was established in the late 1800's. The tram went all the way downtown to the beach front and town square, just a couple of steps and you were on the beach. A quite day at the beach, no crowds since it was a weekday. I saw the birds out on the sandbar pounding their feet into the sand at a really fast pace. I had never seen this before and I assumed they were searching for food, maybe trying to bring the small shells to the surface. I was so intrigued by this that I tried it myself to see if anything would rise to the top. No, nothing and it seems like they never got anything either, so I really don't know what that was all about but I gave it shot. Must be this upside down world again!
After eating gyros for lunch, we ventured down the street to have a look around the shops. I spent my money wisely - on chocolate at Haigh's Chocolates. I spotted a store in Adelaide before catching the tram out to the beach but decided, why wait when dessert was now. Haigh's was established in 1915 and they had a boutique style shop along with boxed chocolates. We picked out some truffles, solid chocolates and a cappuccino bar. Well waiting for the tram to go back to Adelaide we started sampling our goods. Oh my gosh! The rum truffles were to die for so I quickly decided that I had to buy some more of these at the Haigh's in Adelaide before we got back on the bus shuttle - and I did! I think I could live on those things! Candice thinks she can live on the dark chocolate ganaches.
We got back into Adelaide and walked around the convention center, the railway station, down to the river and headed over to the Art Gallery of Australia. Sarah you would have loved this place. Funky new art in a quite a few of the new galleries mixed with periodical artwork and some Aboriginal gallery works too. Saw the Old Parliament House and the Government House too before catching the bus back to the ship.
When we got back to the ship we were met by 1,000+ people swarming the parking lot and beach area. Seems the Queen Victoria is the largest ship ever to dock in Adelaide and it drew quite the crowd on it's maiden port stop. We were the talk of the town (along with the AC/DC concert tour that we've been running parallel with since New Zealand) and the news media helicopters were flying over head and filming while large party boats were cruising by in the water filled to the brim with people trying to get a close up look at the ship. It was like a fourth of July festival but without the fireworks. The captain kept blowing the ship's whistle for the crowd and as we sailed away people stretched all the way down the rock jetty, waving and taking pictures, just kept getting smaller and smaller by the minute. It was a sight to behold. Candice and I kind of got a tear in our eye as we sailed on past the crowd. I wished they all could have sailed away with us!
Sandy
Sounds like you guys are having the 'Trip of a Lifetime'!!!
I sure am glad you're headed in the opposite direction of the possible tsunami that's headed for Hawaii! Sounds like the American Samoa got hit a little - no damage reported so far! I think you guys have a few angels watching over you on this trip!
Utt Oh...Seems like the backside of Australia might get some tsunami waves. I hope you guys plan on staying off the beaches today.