March 18 - Our final goodbyes to the Globus Tour

Today is the last day of our Globus tour.  It has been a wonderful tour.  Our guide Sophie Lamaletie has been great. She has been a tremendous source of information and has handled each crisis caused by cancellations as a result of the Corona virus, calmly and efficiently.  She is the definition of a people person.  

The people on the tour have been fantastic.  They have a wonderful sense of humour and are very friendly and outgoing.  Out of a group of 29 people, there have not been any problems worth noting.  

The Canadian mob of Ellen and Darwin from Saskatchewan, Frances and Joe from Alberta, along with Jim and Sue, who are Americans from Virginia  but have Canadian sensibilities, and June and John from Minnesota, whose sense of humour has been a ray of sunshine each day, have made this trip memorable.  This is not to diminished the rest of the tour, who all have contributed to the immense enjoyment of the trip.

In the morning, we strolled from our hotel to the Sydney Opera House.  Sophie showed us the sites were the first houses in Sydney were built. Along the way we passed the Government General’s house.  It is a grand mansion with a large garden.

The tour of the opera house was very interesting.  Our guide told us tales about political fights that took place when the opera house was being build.  She told us about the three shells defining the borders of the main theaters, the small studios and the restaurant and bars.  We then visited the different venues.  They were spacious and comfortable and I’m sure the acoustics are amazing.

For lunch we visited Bondi beach.  It was a warm and sunny day, so the beach was filled with surfers and sun worshipers.

After lunch we went on a harbour tour.  It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, with unique views of the city on a very modern boat.

Sophie then took us on an optional tour of the entertainment district known as the Rocks.  She told us of the history of district from the European settler’s and architectural perspective.  She also took us to several bars that only the locals would know about.

We had our farewell dinner tonight and keeping with the character our group, it was not a sad occasion but rather a celebration of the good times we have had during this tour.  This portion of our vacation and the people we have met will stay in our memory for a lifetime.