Sydney Part 2: Manly, Book of Mormon and The Rocks

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Before coming to Australia, we had been told numerous times by numerous people that no visit to Sydney was complete without a trip to the north side of the harbour, out to world renowned Manly Beach, so Kevin and I packed our towels and set off. We took the ferry from Sydney harbor, a 30 minute trip across the open water. There were dozens of ships of all shapes and sizes dotting the water. Traffic was busy and it was fun to watch the sailboats make a quick effort to avoid our massive ferry, which has the right of way apparently. Sydney is a nautical enthusiasts dream, if I had a boat I would set sail for these waters immediately. Before long we arrived at Manly Wharf. It's a very picturesque beach town and although our legs were proper tired from all the walking the days before we were rejuvenated by the towns lively atmosphere and sprawling vistas. We spent a couple hours on the beach itself, sunning ourselves and taking turns swimming in the ocean. This was our first time swimming in the southern hemisphere. The water was warm and we both had a lot of fun diving into the sometimes giant waves as they rolled over us. Manly is a huge beach, but the weather was a bit choppy and there was only two flag designated areas where people could swim, which made for a bit of a cramped environment at times, but it was still lots of fun. After our swim we filled up at Havana Beach, one of the many restaurants along the surf, then we went for a walk along the North Head of the inlet. We walked and walked by the ever so blue sea and into the trails that meandered through the wilderness. Kevin discovered a bunker and two old gun entrenchments left over from WWII that we explored as the sun went down, then we decided we had better get back to town before we were wandering through pitch blackness. As the sun went down, wildlife began to wake up and we could hear creatures scuttling through the bushes and birds calling out to each other. We also saw a couple of HUGE spiders on a web as we walked through town and bats flapping out of the trees. It was a bit unnerving to tell you the truth, but also really cool. We returned back to Sydney on the stately cream and green ferry and got a beautiful view of the Sydney Opera House all lit up at night.

A good friend of ours, Ryan Bondie, is currently living in Australia touring in the lead role of Book of Mormon. Kevin had been talking to him about meeting up and he generously offered to buy our tickets if we won the lottery before the show. We showed up and had a happy reunion; we hadn't seen him since he had originally gone on tour with the show 4 years ago. He introduced us to a couple cast mates and they all entered the lottery themselves to help our odds. One of them was first called up and we got tickets, front row centre! I had never seen this show, even though I have always wanted to. If you ever get a chance to see Book of Mormon do not hesitate to go, it is a stellar musical that will be remembered for years to come. It has come to Toronto once or twice, but for whatever reason, it has always passed us by. It was so hilarious and seeing a talented friend like Bondie up there made it even better. He took us out for drinks after and we caught up and played board games with him. He is getting married in two weeks and we wish him all the best! It is always nice to see good, hardworking and talented people find success and happiness and it is well deserved.

We visited the Contemporary Art Gallery the day after the show, where we saw some really interesting and strange art, my favorite being a stack of plates piled high to the ceiling that I'm sure everyone secretly wanted to push over. We also visited an historical neighborhood in central Sydney called The Rocks where we took a tour of three lovely old terraced houses known as Susannah Place which had been conserved in its original state, highlighting different time periods from the 1850's to the 1970's. They were lovely, intimate snapshots of what everyday life must have been like over the centuries. Susannah Place stills stands largely because a building union persuaded by the local population, refused to knock the street down. Of course, the Rocks is a tourist's heritage delight today but fifty years ago no one considered the present would be of any interest to the future. It is something to consider as many cities back home race to create new developments as fast as they can, often looking to bulldoze the homes of the past without considering the historic significance that some of those homes might have for future generations. After we walked all around the Rocks we went up on the car level of the bridge to look out over the harbour, being charmed by the architecture and generally enjoying the ambiance of the place. In the evening we grabbed a burger at Meat District Co. a restaurant looking out onto Darling Harbour Bay. Let me tell you, if you are ever in the city be sure to keep an eye out for the Happy Hour specials that many of the local restaurants have. Sydney is an expensive city, but we found that these specials are a good way to take the edge off a little bit. The food was good and the views spectacular. It's the beginning of fall here, but for us it's as ice as a perfect summer day.



That about wraps up our time in Sydney. Next we take the train to Canberra, the capital city! We've got an AirBNB booked for the week and we cant wait to get to know another part of this wonderful country.

Till next time, cheers!

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