Tasmania Tomorrow...

Saturday, February 11. At sea. Calm sea, blue sky. 90 more days to go, 39 down!

A sea day today after two days in Sydney ending in a glorious Sail Away last night under the Sydney Bridge and past the Opera House, possibly our last trip under that Iconic Bridge.

We had a busy enough but relaxing day today. A later-than-usual breakfast, a longer than usual walk, one talk on upcoming Tasmania and what I call a lecture… educating us about A Nation Of Convicts: The origins of European Australia. Interesting indeed.

After lunch, the we and the Cutlers went over the upcoming Shore Excursions for two months: to Mid April 15. Planning the last month on the ship is a bit easier as it is in Western Europe. The ports are in rapid succession and we will make our minds up what to do depending upon many factors. 

Tonight we went to a fancy restaurant. It is important for 'Us Four' to have a proper meal together once in a while. The two fancy restaurants on board are in addition to the cafeteria-style buffet and the main Dining Room. In the main dining room the meal can take 1 1/2 hours, which is sometimes too long, every night!

We are in to Tasmania tomorrow morning, at Port Arthur, then moving on to Hobart, a short distance away but still in Tasmania, early evening: to Hobart.

Fellette and I have been to Tasmania a few times, by ship and on a land tour. The place is/was fascinating. A visit to Tasmania illustrates the history of early days of the country and its Convict Past. I have always had a serious interest in Australia. My interest might be because of an Aussie called Keith Stafford, I met Keith in Europe in 1960 when our paths crossed when we were Scootering around Europe, and kept bumping into each other on the Youth Hostel Trail, starting February 1960 in the Nice, France area. Keith had his own scooter, I was doubling with a Canadian friend who turned out to be a dud: Keith and I just hit it off.

We lost track of each other due to miss-communication several months later. Fortunately we had exchanged addresses. We connected later and exchanged Christmas Cards, each of us met a young lady, got married, had children, had our lives, got older, and have visited each others homes; us to his on more than a few times. Our last visit was January, 2020. This ship bypasses Melbourne, where Keith and Jenny live and the route made a visit impractical this time. Sorry Keith!

A Good Day at Sea...

A common sight at sea.

Dinner tonight, to celebrate life!