Typical day at sea--NOT

SAILING to SYDNEY--Thursday, March 11, 2010

How do we spend a typical day at sea on a world cruise with 60+ sea days? After we get up and are dressed, we stood in a long line at the Pacific Lounge for the mandatory Australian Inspection (our deck drew the 8 a.m. slot), ate breakfast at the Panorama Buffet,listened to a port lecture on what to do while spending the weekend in Sydney, and had lunch with an Oscar-winning filmmaker (yes, you read that right, and no, this was not a typical day for anyone). Arnold Schwartzman won an Academy Award for his documentary, Genocide, on the Jewish Holocaust. It probably helped that he had his friends Elizabeth Taylor and Orson Wells narrate the film. He is even better known as a designer of the posters and programs used for the Academy Awards. He was a speaker on the ship and was accompanied by his wife, Isolde, who is a member of Cruise Critic so they came to our last luncheon on the second segment of the cruise. She complimented us on our blog, which she had been following, so we sat beside her, not realizing who she or her husband was. He is a very active 74-year-old whose work was forcing them to get off the ship in Sydney and take a taxi directly to the airport to catch a plane to Los Angeles so he could concentrate on his designs for two museums. Both he and his wife were delightful. We compared notes on how much we had enjoyed our port days in New Zealand, how we were disappointed that the direct feed from this year's Academy Awards program did not work on the ship and how they enjoyed visiting his sister and her family in Perth, Australia, the world's most isolated city.

The sad part of the luncheon was saying good-bye to Harvey and Carol, and Amelia. Amelia's husband, Ken (a very good name), was flying from Los Angeles to spend Saturday night with her in Sydney and then fly back to LA with her. What a great guy! Please remember to follow us and comment on our blog whenever you like. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Now that we were on a first name basis with Arnold and Isolde, we attended the Art Deco Architecture lecture he gave. Art Deco is his passion, and he has written two books on the subject. Even after the lecture, we are not sure that we can describe the style but we saw a lot of beautiful photographs that he had taken around the world of Art Deco gems. Then we took part in the "Oscar" Auction of Oscar Memorabilia designed and donated by Arnold. Ken bid on the program for the 70th Annual Academy Awards. The front cover centers around a wheel with the Oscar-nominated films for Best Picture that year. It was a very good year for Hollywood films--As Good As It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential and Titanic, the big winner. We need to decide how we will display this treasure.

Okay, so it isn't every day one goes through immigration to Oz, considers options for touring Sydney or dines with an Academy Award winner and his wife. But a world cruise is full of surprises and adventures. We feel so fortunate that we are having this incredible experience and wish that all of you who are reading this blog will consider it as a possibility in your future. Our port lecturer summed up our experiences by quoting an Old Chinese proverb, "A man who travels 500 miles knows more than a man who reads 500 books." A trip to the destination of your dreams could be worth an entire library!