November 19, 2024

MARTINIQUE, Part of French West Indies.

View of harbor and Cathedral from the SHIP. We were docked at capital city, Fort de France and rented a car from nearby Airport to explore the island. The nicest beach was stated to be at far southern end of island called Pointe des Salines, from which you can see St Lucia. Drive took a little over an hour - windy roads with not much to see on the island interior - 3 McDonalds, 1 Burger King, 2 Carrefours, etc., a lot of albino cows / steer and alot of cars on the road. Southern end of island has much fancier resort type homes. A lot of French families at beach, was topless and had good number of vendors for clothing and food. We relaxed here for couple of hours. Sand was super soft and could walk right into water. The water was not as clear as St Lucia, a lot of sea grass floating in water.

After Lunch we hugged the coast roads and traveled thru Sainte Anne, Le Marin, Sainte Luce to Le Diamant - it was raining, sometimes heavily and we stopped for brief looks and scenic overlook of Diamond rock rising out of ocean next to pitons. Then we cut across to Les Trois Ilets, which is where ferry ride from Fort de France would take us. Wanted to see if we wanted to return next day.

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Last ferry had already stopped at by 5pm, and we had another hour plus drive back to airport, then a car rental shuttle to airport grounds to a taxicab cue and then finally a ride back to Ship. We got back to port after dark, got quick showers and made dinner by a little after 7pm! Lovely day and evening, Ship looked so nice in harbor & there was a nice breeze too. Ahhhh!

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE TOUR, AUSTRALIA

By Patricia Patrick • February 23, 2026
I love a good architectural tour and even though I did this one last time I was here, the story is so interesting, I decided to do again. Plus they are always updates and changes in operations at the Sydney Opera House . This tour didn't disappoint - I saw new theater spaces and gained new insights to the story of it's construction from concept in 1958, to it's opening in 1973. The drama that played out for Danish architect Jorn Utzon , who won the commission out of 300 submissions and never got to seen the final building.He was fired by local politician, in election year, when project was grossly over budget and schedule. The building is an engineering marvel and I love so many of the details!

NEWTON SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Street Art & Food Tour

By Patricia Patrick • February 23, 2026
I love to get to know an interesting neighborhood when visiting a big city. Newtown is a creative, fun and slightly edgy area in Sydney known for its' preserved Victorian architecture, street art and it's lively, friendly food and bar scene. There is lots of live music, quirky bars (they call hotels) and the population there is the largest LGBTQ community in Sydney. It's young and vibrant with the University of Sydney right there. Great if you want a place with personality over polish!

SYDNEY HARBOR, AUSTRALIA - ICONIC MOMENTS

By Patricia Patrick • February 21, 2026
Sailing into Sydney Harbor is one of those iconic moments that will stand out in my memories for this adventure! Sydney is one of a few natural harbors, worldwide, like San Francisco , known for its sparkling waters, landmark sights, spectacular events and hundreds of miles of shoreline.