Kicking off the cruising season, the
MS Statendam of Holland America Line was in Sydney last week. The company's thirteen ships cruise Alaskan waters during the northern summer (May to September) and then sail down to the Carribean or Hawaii for winter except the MS Statendam which travels further south and sails around Australia and New Zealand between November and February. This luxurious ship carries more than $2 million worth of art and artifacts on board. She is on a 14 day cruise here (
view detailed itinerary).
I caught her on Friday morning at 7am as she had just docked in at Circular Quay : the gangways (here still down) were in the process of being installed so the passengers could disembark. It was wonderful to be allowed so close to the ship.
Cette semaine il y avait un paquebot en escale à Sydney: le Statendam de la compagnie Holland America Line. Cet armateur possède treize bateaux qui naviguent en Alaska durant l'été (de mai à septembre) et redescendent vers le sud (Hawaii ou les Antilles) en hiver. Le Statendam, lui, descend jusqu'au Pacifique sud et passe la saison de novembre à février entre l'Australie et la Nouvelle-Zélande : voir ici le programme de la croisière. Ce navire à la déco luxueuse transporte pour plus de 2 mllions de dollars d'oeuvres d'art à bord.
Je l'ai photographié vendredi à 7h du matin alors qu'il venait d'accoster et que les passerelles (encore baissées ici) étaient en train d'être installées pour permettre aux passagers de débarquer. J'ai été ravie de pouvoir approcher le bateau d'aussi près.
As much as I would like to avoid clichés, I have to come to terms with it: Christmas is closing down on us, the signs are all over town! This little café on Pier Two of Circular Quay has added traditional Christmas stencils on its windows: holly, snowman, Santa... - feels a bit odd under this bright sun! You can catch a glimpse of the Opera house in the background...
