Grandma and Grandpa Smith arrived in November. They were on a 75 day cruise which docked in Sydney for a couple of days. We had the opportunity to host them for Thanksgiving dinner at home. The children and I enjoyed touring their cruise ship. Here's Sally's account of their visit:
We had 2 days in Sydney. What a beautiful city it is. I wish we could have spent another couple of days there. We spent our 2 days visiting with Richard’s son David, his wife Catherine, and the 4 grandchildren, Neo, Zoe, Tristan and Clara. Upon our arrival in Sydney, David met us at the cruise terminal and we took the train out to where they live in Copacabana. The train took about 1-1/2 hours, then we drove another 20 minutes to their home. Catherine prepared a lovely Thanksgiving dinner and baked the most delicious cake which was madefrom baked merange (Pavlova) with fresh fruit on top. After dinner we all walked down to the beach and took some pictures. The kids had a little time to play in the sand before making the trek up a very steep hill back to the house. After recuperating for a while, Catherine drove us back to the train station where we boarded the train back to Darling Harbor to get on the ship.
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| With Grandpa Smith on Copa Beach (Grandma Sally, Photographer) |
The next day we took the shuttle into town and met Catherine and the kids by Circular Quay. While we waited for their arrival, we were able to walk down to the harbor and get a look at the Sydney Opera House. What a magnificent building it is. When they arrived, we all took the shuttle back to the ship so they could have a look at our living arrangements. I think everyone was impressed with the luxury of the ship. We had lunch on the ship at the Lido Buffet where there were lots to choose from, including everything a kid could want: sushi, hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs, fruit and lots of desserts. (We even managed to pack up a few cookies for their train trip back home.)The kids got to check out the life-size chess set and play a little ping pong on the Lido deck, and shoot some hoops and play a little shuffle board up on the Sports deck. The time flew by much too quickly, and we said our goodbyes and put them back on the shuttle to town to catch their train back home.
