Ok…. the next few need some explaining, just for context purposes. The Australian way of dealing with some let’s say, “unpleasant” realities mirror the attitude of their relatives in England. The open and sometimes crude (to our standards) ways of showing photos and the like are way more liberal than what we find here in the States. Their tabloid photos go far past anything that would be found in even the most liberal city newspaper over here. So…… the next few photos from the Melbourne Zoo show exactly what I mean. For those of you that are not familiar with their slang term for our collective posteriors, it is “bum”, which is bandied about with quite a bit of regularity even in everyday conversations.
The next two photos are of the Vows Renewal Ceremony that was held on Valentines Day. The staff really outdid themselves with the planning and execution of this event. The Central Plaza was decorated to the N’th degree, and no expense was spared in the preparations for this. The Captain was there to read the Vows, to be repeated by the Husbands and Wives. That 146-person Volunteer/made up of Passengers Harmony Choir was up on the top level and at the appointed time burst into song. At the same time, thousands of little cut-out red hearts came drifting down from up above. It was a sight to behold!
That’s it for now, thanks for reading! We are pulling into Airlie Beach, Australia and the anchors are dropping as I write this. Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating, and it is forecast to be stormy and rough, not good conditions for our Sea Safari and Snorkeling excursion that was planned for today. 🙁