Day 2 - Sleep in Sydney

Ahhhhhhh

I usually don't comment too much about sleep in my blogs, but I have to say, that last night was one of the best sleeps I've had in a very long time. It might have something to do with the fact that I could barely keep my eyes open by about 9:00 PM local time. The bed was much softer than we are used to so I was expecting the back to be a little sore in the morning; but it was not so. I'm not sure I moved. Like at all.  And with that, jet lag seems to be staved off. Both of us were able to transition pretty easily by just staying up those first two nights.  I hear that the trip back home is not as easy - but we have some time before that happens.

We woke up at about 7:30 AM to begin our day which was to spend the morning and early afternoon at Manly Beach. Two quick showers and we were off looking for a spot to have some breakfast at a little place called Avenue on George. Being downtown and on a Friday morning, it was half full of business people from the surrounding area. Laureen had a memorable muesli and I opted for an omelette; as well as both having a Caramel Latte.  Nice way to start the day.  The waitress also loaned us her access card so we could use the facilities before heading down to the ferry. That was kind of her.

We then made our way down to the Circular Quay (harbour) and to Wharf 2 which is where you can catch the fast boat to Manly Beach. They have an interesting system here where you can tap your credit card to let you in through the gates. We were not really paying attention to the fact that there is a Side A and a Side B for each wharf; and as it turns out, we were on the wrong side.  Once we noticed this, we were able to tap our cards out and then back in on the other side.  Whew. Not sure exactly where we would have ended up, but it would have certainly made a great blog entry.

We waited just a few minutes for the ferry to appear and then waited a little more for the shift change before we made our way on and to the upper deck so we could enjoy the view.

The Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Opera House and Downtown

We got chatting with a German couple that sat beside us who had arrived in Sydney on an MSC cruise ship.  The cruise they were taking lasts 4 months and they are right in the middle of the journey. It both starts and ends in Marseille, France and goes from January to May.  I found this which seems to be what they were describing: MSC WORLD CRUISE. I was curious as to what something like that would cost, so I asked and they told us that it was 23,000 Euros per person. Sounded like an amazing trip!

The German Couple on the World Cruise

It was a short 20 minute trip to get to Manly Wharf. We said goodbye to the German couple and made our way to what is called "The Corso". This is a strip of shops that lead down to Manly Beach from the ferry terminal. 

The Corso

While we walked along this charming street, we wandered in and out of the various shops along the way. In one of the shops we found Oma in her natural habitat.

Oma in her Natural Habitat

However, once you got to the end of The Corso, the view changed to this:

Manly Beach

I have to admit, this is quite the place. If we were spending a week or so in the area, I could see myself coming down here every sunny day. We walked down onto the sand and then found a bench nearby to have a seat and just enjoy the view. I went for a long walk down to the other end of the beach just to get a few more good picture angles. 

The Selfie at Manly Beach

Manly Beach (looking North)

Manly Beach (looking South)

South end of Manly Beach (looking South)

South end of Manly Beach (looking North)

We spent all of the morning and into the afternoon just enjoying the beauty of this place. I even collected some sand to bring back home and add to the collection. Not sure how this started, but I have sand from beaches from all over the world that we have visited. 

At about 1:00 we decided to have some Gelato for lunch (ya, we're on vacation - so Gelato for lunch is allowed) at Gelato Messina. Yes, it was VERY good!

We wandered back to the ferry terminal to head back to our hotel for a little cool off time before heading out for dinner and then our night tour of Sydney.  I took a few more photos near the terminal. It's no wonder people love it here, everywhere you turn there is a photo op.

Manly Cove Tidal Pool

Manly Wharf

Just a Bird at Manly Wharf

The trip back to the Sydney Wharf was nice a breezy. A welcomed cooldown from the near 30 degree C day at Manly Beach.  This is a great opportunity to get a few unobstructed photos of the Sydney Opera House. 

The Sydney Opera House and Downtown Sydney

Another Opera House Angle

Sydney Opera House Side View

We walked back to the hotel to freshen up a little and relax before heading out for dinner and then our night tour of Sydney. We chose the The Edinburgh Castle Hotel pub for dinner as it was right close to where we needed to be for pickup for the night tour. We grabbed an Uber ride and Vijay, our driver, made sure to share all the great places to eat and some places to visit while we made our way through the thick late afternoon traffic. Dinner was Fish and Chips (even the mushy peas were tasty) and a vegetable nacho plate. 

When we were done we walked down the street to check things out and wandered in to a games store. Found a couple of Ticket to Ride games we had not seen before - but did not make a purchase. Not interested in filling up the suitcases at the beginning of the trip. We then wandered into the hotel where we waited for about half an hour for the tour to begin.

Chen was waiting for us as we made our way to the pickup location.  He would be a our guide for the evening. As a native Australian, he was well equipped to provide some commentary on the sites we would see. There was also an American couple and an Asian mother/daughter. Six of us in total. We made our way around the city and stopped at a number of locations to take photos. 

Downtown Sydney

The Harbour Bridge

Sydney Opera House

The Bridge and the Opera House

The Opera House and Downtown Sydney

Downtown and The Harbour Bridge

The Opera House (it never get's old)

All in all, it was a fantastic day and we are already looking forward to tomorrow's adventures.

Curt & Laureen in Sydney, Australia.