Marci and Steve Go Back to Europe

We've literally got about 30 hours to see as much of Sydney as we can before we meet up with our friends on Wednesday at 6PM. And we vow to make the most of it. I've got a list of about six musts that I let Steve vet and although he doesn't tick anything off, I know he's thinking that I am making a killer schedule.  We start off the day with a coffee and the first Opera House tour at 9AM. The structure is surely impressive, the tour not as much, but since there is no Opera or symphony while we are right at the Rocks, the tour is the best we can do to peek inside. The architect was Danish, and the design shows it - from the two-woods paneled concert hall that the Kimmel Center is surely a total knock-off of, to the incredibly comfortable sleek seating that has stood the test of time, like all Danish design.                                             ...

Traveling by plane always has its issues. Our day started with a quick and easy drive to Cairns airport. We left around 7:15 for an 11:35 flight, the actual drive there is only an hour.  We stopped in Palm Cove for breakfast. This was a small beach town, maybe 20 minutes outside of Cairns, that had looked lovely in our research but a bit too small and far from the reef and other attractions. We didn't want to be driving an hour every day right off the bat to get to Mossman or Daintree or PD. Someone should have convinced us otherwise.  The town was an idyllic small beach cove lined with palms and beautiful hotels and plenty of choices for lovely meals. It lacked the hustle and bustle of PD and you could see yourself easily walking the beach and lazing at the pool.                                                        ...

The WTF Returns........this will be #A1.....Let the games begin!!! On most travel days we don't do that much that is noteworthy, so Marci gets the day off, and Steve posts a odd photo to stump the blog readers.....and always a prize for the winner!! 👍 First, let us review the rules:     Only one guess per reader ( looking at you, KP).     You must both identify what it is and say what it is used for.     Winner is first correct answer received based on time stamp of your reply.     Remember - if you reply via the blog comments, everyone who reads the blog will see it......and if you just hit reply , no one will every see the response, including me...because you have replied to a computer... Best way to play is an e-mail to us at sjs123sjs@gmail.com. So, here we go...... this is found all over & usually outside.               Good Luck - winner gets 2 cocktails wit...

It's a bit disconcerting to travel completely around the globe to a country you've never been before and not have it feel foreign. I guess it is mostly that there is no language barrier or it's a newer country or the Coral Sea looks a lot like our oceans and the palm trees look like Hawaii - all things we see and places we have been.                                                                      Even the accent is quite easy, rarely needing to ask a second time for anything. They use the dollar for their currency and it's not too far off from ours, so the prices for a flat white or a ginger smoothie seem quite normal, just a tad 'we're on vacation' indulgent.  There's much less diversity, mostly white and Asian. The Aboriginal people are sprinkled about and they stand out by not only their da...

                                  Port Douglas is a cute little beach town, somewhere between Ocean City and maybe Passe Grille, Florida. It's family friendly, has lots of coffee shops and restaurants, ranging from wood fired pizza to Mexican, Thai to 'upscale'. It has the requisite beach shops, some high end fashion and a few art galleries. Accommodations range from campgrounds to motels to resorts to posh apartments. The beach is named Four Mile Beach...in a country that uses kilometers, go figure. There is one spot to rent chairs and umbrellas and two beach cafes. You really can't swim here in November, not because the water isn't warm but because the Killer Jelly fish have descended ( no, really, killer jellyfish ....).                         So to keep you coming in stinger season, a big playpen net is erected an...