First real post

Ok, I have been trying to get to this for ages but this is the first time I have actually said, "that is it, I am going to do it". I cant put any photos up but I can write.

Last Friday my husband and I left home to go on a cruise that our wonderful children brought for us for our 20th wedding anniversary. We got up at 5.30 am to get ready to leave at 7.30, we had to drive for an hour and a half to get to the airport where we boarded a plane to fly to Sydney, it is a very aprehensive thing to get on a plane waving goodbye to your children knowing that you are not going to see them for 10 days. We got into the plane, (as Aaron Wilbourne says you get in the plane not on the plane, do you know what on a plane will do to you?) and watched the 4 beautiful faces that are our children for as long as we could. Then we were in the air and less than an hour later we were in Sydney, after meeting a lady from our home town at the Sydney airport while picking up our bags, we caught a taxi to take us to the ship, our mouths fell open seeing the size of her, I know this ship is only a small one but it is huge for country people like us who only see ships on TV. We boarded the ship after taking some photos and watching a contortionist so some street theatre. We thought we would check in our bags and then go and get some lunch, but after we checked in the bags we were told that our rooms weren't ready yet but we could eat in the cafe up on deck 9, so we found our way there and beheld the biggest buffet we had ever seen so we grabbed a plate and wondered around trying to decide what to eat first, we picked fish and chips and a corn salad and a chick pea salad, (yes kids Dad ate the chick pea salad LOL!!) not just any fish and chips though this food was 5 star. Then we wondered around and took in the sights of Sydney from the ship. There was a lady who had started running laps of the ship, we thought she is really getting the feel of the place early. While we were out a plane flew overhead and started sky writing, the first letter was a J so we thought he will write Jesus, and he did, then he kept on going and ended up writing Jesus all about life. A Good Friday Message I guess. We got some photos but the first words were gone before he finished the last. At 6.30pm we set sail, I guess thats what you call it. Thankfully we weren't like Mrs Bucket when she went on the QE2!!! So we stayed out side till the Sydney harbour and Skyline disappeared from view. Yes Dan we did see the tower after the ship started to sail. At 8:30 was our dinner time, we were so tired and not feeling very well. We were introduced to Teodore from Bulgaria as our waiter and Daniella as our assistant waitress,(not sure where Daniella is from yet) Our glasses were filled with water and a selection of bread rolls were offered I picked a sour dough, Mark had a wholegrain, the next time around i think we had onion, or savoury. I cant remember what we had for entree but I think the flavours were Andalusuan it was beautiful any way, for Mains I had Roasted Rib of beef, with a rosemary baked potato. Mark chose the pan fried sirloin steak, we were so tired we passed on desert. The next day we were all at sea, we had all day to explore, which was a good thing as we had our bearings in the harbour but as soon as the ship started moving we lost all bearings and took the wrong lift to our room and then turned the wrong corner, we were still on level 2 but we were heading to the front of the ship instead to the back to our rom, in our wonderings we found quite a few other people doing the same thing. We headed back up to the top observation deck and the lady was still running around. Breakfast was room service and we chose a fruit platter coffee and a selection of danish pastries, we took a photo because the milk that was offered was Devondale, so that was a bit of excitement for us maybe we will put it in the next devondale paper. Lunch we chose again from the buffet and dinner was formal so the suit and little black dress came out food again just wonderful: entree, smoked fish tapenade; main, Roasted Duck with steamed shredded beetroot; I don't remember what dessert was but we weren't aloud to leave before dessert again, Teodore wouldn't let us. Yes I ate the Beetroot, well some of it, and Marks main included asparagus and yes he ate that too. Rob one of the men on our table decided that he would be game and try escargot, Teodore said if he didn't like it he could get something else, so Rob tried it and was pleasantly surprised. I am now hoping that it will come back on the menu before the end of our cruise so I can try it. After dinner we went to a comedy show, which was brilliant, the comedian was a singer and took off heaps of different singers, he was great.

Day 3: more of the same, all day at sea. Breakfast same as yesterday but this time we added cereal, lunch something else from the buffet. This buffet is so dangerous I will fill my plate and then decide that I just need to get a bread roll or some cuttlery or a drink (all very innocent) and the I will see some thing that I need to try, there are so many foods that I have heard about on the net or in books and here they all are, so what am I to do, I have to get another plate and fill it up too!! Our friend is still running, we havent started that yet but we always try and take the stairs, which is handy being on the 2nd deck and the main food is on the 9th. Entertainment tonight was a violin solo, The first song we heard him play was called the hot canary, and it sounded just like a canary swinging in a cage, and then you could hear the cat go MEOW. He played everything from Classical to Gypsy, all his own work, He was amazing. My girls would have loved that show.

Day 4: Ship docked off Airlie Beach, we were up early and had breakfast if the Windjammer Buffet, see above paragraph about yesterdays food, there are eggs of every kind, bacon (crispy and soft) sausages, hash browns, pancakes, breads and pastries, fruit, bircher muesli, porridge, grits, biscuits and gravy, cheeses, smoked salmon, add to that standard boxed cereals, yoghurt and heaps more. Any way I was saying that we had to be up early to catch a catermaran out to the barrier reef to spend the day snorkeling, the cat ride was a bit rough and there were alot of green people hanging off the end, we were all right but only just. After doing a quick check out of the underwater viewing area and having a cup of tea and buying an underwater camera we put on the snorkelling gear and jumped in. I hadn't done this since I was 15 and then I had done it once before when I was 13. When I was 13 I was very frightened and got quite panicky, it took Dad quite a bit of encouraging to help me gain my confidence, but the I didn't look back, however this time as we were swimming out to the reef, which isn't far, I got really panicky again and had a really hard time telling myself to realx, I knew there was nothing to worry about but it still took every thing within me to keep swimming. I did have to go back and change my goggles as the ones I was wearing were too big and leaked. The next time I jumped in I was fine, and we swam for about 2 hours. As I was swimming I realised that I was fulfilling a lifelong desire to swim in a coral reef with the love of my life. How romantic to be swimming in one of the most beautiful places on earth holding hands with the one you love. Lunch was served on the cat, which we almost missed, but one of the attendants quickly grabbed a couple of plates and filled them with salad and cold meat, which was really sweet of her. Suddenly we were headed back to our ship. We were too tired to wait for dinner so we grabbed something from the Windjammer, and headed to bed.

Day 5: Docked in Cairns, Dad picked us up from the ship after we sent him on a bit of a wild goose chase thinking that the ship was docking somewhere else, but it was all good in the end. He took us back to his place and we were able to do some washing, then we headed up to Kuranda where we had yummy wild Baramundi in the Pub for lunch, after which we wondered around the shops which were nice but all very touristy, then Mai bought us tickets for the sky rail which is a cable car that runs back into carins. The weather was rainy and foggy and we weren't able to see far but it was still really spectacular. We got off very quickly at Baron Falls which was flooding and raced back to the skyrail. Dad picked us up back in Cairns and we headed back to his place for a coffee, then took some photos of us infront of the boat. We were back on the boat in time to see the movie "The Blind Side". It finished too late for us to have dinner and when we went up to the windjammer it was closed for cleaning. I suggested the nest day to Teodore that we thought of coming in late to the restaurant and seing if he could sneak us some food, he laughed and said "of course I would find you something".

Will post more later when I pay for another internet plan.