Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary come to stay

Both The Queen Mary (in all her enormous girth - she's one big girl!) and The QE2 spent a night in port in Sydney this week - to the excitement of all.

As the eloquent Morning Sydney Herald said:

TWO queens came to Sydney yesterday and their loyal subjects lost their heads. Crowds swarmed, roads were clogged and buses stalled late into the night as the Queen Mary 2 prepared to leave the harbour after a rendezvous with its sister vessel the Queen Elizabeth 2.

The scenes were reminiscent of the heady days of the British Empire, when ocean conquest was often followed by a spot of tea. At 23 storeys high, the QM2 took possession of Sydney Harbour. Too tall to sail under the bridge, too long to berth at Circular Quay, it made the Opera House look like the outhouse.

We got to see the QE2 across the harbour close to our apartment and a sneak of the Queen Mary's chimney accross the way (she was too big to come into the harbour).

To celebrate having such esteemed guests to stay, we then got to enjoy a great fireworks display.