Bit of a Blog : Solstice : Auckland – Fremantle – Sydney : February 14th 2016

[NorbertsNiece]

The Queen Vic means something very different to UK followers of this blog.....

It's huge..... and when you arrange to meet someone at the Hoho stop you need to be specific as there is more than one nearby stop that's how big it is.... just saying....

 

They sell pretty much anything..... and don't vouch for the authenticity of anything either.... even the ones that claim to be authentic re-sellers I have my doubts.....

 

 

 

Followers may recall my passion for the label 'Desigual' I could not be tempted here at all.

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

I took this to remind me that I didn't take pics of chicks and hens in cages..... didn't have the courage to ask the question but am assuming they're for laying and not for slaying.....

 

 

Wholefood and organic section

 

 

Then loads of shops in a market setting selling awesome produce

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[NorbertsNiece]

Batman.....

 

 

More about the Queen Vic here

 

Yarn bombing..... it's a thing......

 

 

Different kinds of trams traverse the city.... and within a certain area they're free.....

 

 

 

The Royal Arcade

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

The Block Arcade Ceiling

 

 

I did look in the window and resisted.... an Australian brand with an international market

 

 

 

There was a line queuing outside, again I resisted

 

[NorbertsNiece]

The fine shopping labels are here too

 

 

The architecture is so eclectic

 

 

Underground Art..... literally.... an exhibition below ground

 

 

 

 

The steps at the station are heated to keep them dry and prevent people slipping. Australia's first public steam train ran here. The 13 clocks are part of the original design although they are now run electronically.

 

[AntjeG]

Linda, thanks again for this wonderful blog. I was on the Solstice last year and am just re-dreaming my trip.

 

May I suggest you keep the HoHo ticket. If you present your old ticket (no matter how old!) at the HoHo bus of the same company anywhere in the world you get a 10% discount.

There are more of them in these Australian cities:

Sydney (as you know), Perth and the Blue Mountains. So if you plan a trip to the Blue Mountains from Sydney you take the train to Katoomba and then take the HoHo Bus in the mountains. I loved it!

[NorbertsNiece]

This is Chloe. Desciption taken from the Young and Jackson's site here

 

She is a Melbourne icon, mascot for the HMAS Melbourne, an extremely fine work of art; she is an ingénue, a nymph, a celebrity. She is Chloe, the famous nude portrait which has graced the walls of the Young and Jackson Hotel since 1909.

 

Throughout her life, Chloe has kept company with artists, poets, wharfies, Prime Ministers and drunks, soldiers, sailors, celebrities, bushies, labourers and art connoisseurs. Her history involves transformation, death, intrigue, love, war, depression and passion.

 

Chloe now hangs in Chloe's Bar

 

 

 

Federation Square

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

Linda, thanks again for this wonderful blog. I was on the Solstice last year and am just re-dreaming my trip.

 

May I suggest you keep the HoHo ticket. If you present your old ticket (no matter how old!) at the HoHo bus of the same company anywhere in the world you get a 10% discount.

There are more of them in these Australian cities:

Sydney (as you know), Perth and the Blue Mountains. So if you plan a trip to the Blue Mountains from Sydney you take the train to Katoomba and then take the HoHo Bus in the mountains. I loved it!

 

I did not know that..... as it is I keep forgetting to ask for a Senior discount.... I think I threw the ticket away already..... am trying to keep tidy here.... am going on a tour to the Blue Mountains arranged by my TA. Thanks for the heads up though..... have used Hohos in other cities in other countries.... x

 

--------

 

Clocks go back half an hour tonight. Tomorrow there's a meeting for those on B2B and I've arranged a group thing for some friends..... more about that tomorrow.

Edited February 28, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[AntjeG]

I did not know that..... as it is I keep forgetting to ask for a Senior discount.... I think I threw the ticket away already

 

I don´t think there is a senior discount with this company. But here is the solution to the discount for a ticket which has been thrown away:

Order your ticket online with them and add the voucher code LOYALTY10 to your basket - the result is the same (10% discount). They email the ticket to you and you present a printed copy of your email to the driver.

[NorbertsNiece]

I don´t think there is a senior discount with this company. But here is the solution to the discount for a ticket which has been thrown away:

Order your ticket online with them and add the voucher code LOYALTY10 to your basket - the result is the same (10% discount). They email the ticket to you and you present a printed copy of your email to the driver.

 

Thanks...... great info.....

 

______________

 

Current status...... when you've been saving up the pillow chocolates and scoff them in the style of a midnight feast only it's not midnight and there's nothing else in the room to eat..... and there's no milk....

 

[NorbertsNiece]

Captain Yannis came on the PA around 7am. Another medevac.

We are slowed to 5Kts at time of writing. Requests from onlookers to avoid flash photography.

 

Our heading is 356° pretty much due North just to the east of Port Lincoln.

 

Turned on TV. Saw helicopter hover over helipad and 2 crew descend via line. They have gone below. Helicopter is no longer in view.

 

Channel 5 on TV now unavailable.

 

Prayers for the lady concerned.

 

TV came back on...... saw stretcher being raised.

 

The bird has flown. Whole operation took 30 minutes.

 

---------

 

Update on previous medevac...... the lady who accompanied the first patient was also an injured passenger. She returned, with arm in plaster, at our stop in Sydney.

 

---------

 

Heading now 261°...... guess today we may be upping speed at some stage..... probably overnight..... 13Kts now, we never came to stop.

 

 

Edited February 28, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[NorbertsNiece]

We have come quite a way off course..... speed now up to 17Kts

 

Edited February 28, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[Ciaranaman]

Oh boy! Two medavacs on one cruise? Hope the new patient is ok.

[GUT2407]

Never had a medivac, now you've had two in one cruise.

 

Hope all are well.

[NorbertsNiece]

Had the B2B cruisers meet..... pretty much filled the theatre with around 1100 of us.

 

Apparently at the time of the medevac we'd been surrounded by a pod of dolphins and a whale!!! The Hotel Director, John-Paul, is very funny. He said this was a trip of a lifetime which he'd already experienced 4 times! There are cases of flu on board and he stressed the need to continually wash hands and use the sanitisers.

 

We will be getting different guest entertainers next cruise. Someone called Chico is returning as one of the managers and will be organising (hopefully) a guest choir. They will also change the On Demand films on the TV. I've no idea what they currently are to be honest. Could take a look I guess.

 

They showed a film about the B2B process and described the passport situation. Christian, The Guest Relations Manager, spoke very effectively. They were having a Q&A session after the talk in the Quasar area after the meeting. Many people changing rooms. They have to pack EVERYTHING, including the hanger items.

 

Muster on turnaround day will be held at 515pm. As sailaway isn't until 8pm anyone who misses it will get a chance later on. Everyone has to sign out using their current Seapass cards. They can reboard from 11am. If you do reboard you cannot get off later in the day. As our passports will have been taken off us (tomorrow apparently) we will have transit cards for identity purposes.

 

The following offers are being touted for B2B cruisers and must be purchased this cruise:

 

30% off all build your own wine packages. No idea what that means but that's what I wrote down.

 

50% off all specialty dining (they're offering that this cruise already) will investigate that further

 

Bistro on 5 is getting a new menu. Tomorrow they are trialling a Sunday roast. They're offering 4 lunches there next cruise for $20pp for B2B-ers to book now.

 

There was a raffle..... gave away at least 3 Unlimited Internet Packages for next cruise. I didn't win. :mad:

 

I'd organised a small group of friends to visit the MDR galley this morning. Will do something similar next cruise. Will post the pics eventually. Was really impressed at the extent of the operation. Thanks to Executive Sous Chef Madhukan Lama for taking the time out to do this and to Brenda Dionne the Group Coordinator for arranging this for us.

 

There's an 'elegant tea' for Elite passengers this afternoon. Will be going to that..... should be interesting.

[NorbertsNiece]

My friend and I parted company and I headed downstairs to the museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

No.

 

Edited February 29, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[NorbertsNiece]

A theatre and live music venue; when it opened in 1929 the cinema had the largest seating capacity in Australia.

 

 

The statue of Robert Burns in Treasury Gardens; the memorial symbolises the contribution Scottish migrants made to the early development of Victoria

 

 

Seat of the Parliament of Victoria since 1855 (except for the years 1901 to 1927, when it was the seat of the Federal Parliament of Australia).

 

 

 

 

Any of my Rhapsody friends following? The plaque outside the Stamford Hotel

 

[NorbertsNiece]

One crossroads, four venues, 2 very different styles of worship.

 

Louis Vuitton

 

 

 

St Michael's

 

 

The Scots Church

 

 

Heading back to the ship on the Hoho

 

 

They are building the F1 track.... the first race of the season is March 20th when we disembark in Sydney

 

[NorbertsNiece]

Around St Kilda's

 

Built in 1878, the Hotel Esplanade, an iconic public house, was a prominent 19th Century resort hotel

 

 

 

 

The Palais, a live music venue

 

 

 

Edited February 29, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[NorbertsNiece]

there is a supermarket at the pier

 

 

Many bikers waiting to board the 'Spirit of Tasmania'

 

 

 

There are also many vintage cars which board the ferry

 

 

 

Edited February 29, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[Adidas4fun]

There are also many vintage cars who board the ferry.

 

Who knew it?

 

Tasmanians are perhaps a little backward.

[NorbertsNiece]

 

In case you were wondering about the teas served in Cafe al Bacio

 

 

 

Sushi!!! In Oceanview

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

There's nothing on the main course menu I fancy so I'd ordered a start salad as a main course.

 

 

 

Remember the berries I've had previously. I had that again.

 

Chuckle

 

 

Newport Power Station. This has a complicated story and I'm linking to the wiki page for a description here

 

[GUT2407]

Mrs gut often orders a starter as her man.

 

Gut on the other hand has been known to order a main as a starter:D

[Cassicruiser]

My gosh Linda, you did more in a day in Melbourne than I would do in a year!! There are some places in your photos that I haven't even seen, or maybe just not paid attention, and I've lived here for 17 years!! I think I need to get out more - :p! You certainly do make our lovely city look wonderful in your photos, and the same with Sydney.