Sydney

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Hello Sydney - we flew overnight and gained 3 hours in the process- we eventually found our Uber driver who was about to take off with the wrong passenger! Once in and after blaming everyone else but herself for the mixup we set off. 45 mins of mind numbing babble ( she wouldn’t shut up) we got to our Airbnb in Manly and collapsed.

Great spot with great views and even better the son of the owner who was supposed to stay all week with us left after 2 days and we had the apartment to ourselves- result!

That evening we met a friend of Jacks, Matt and his girlfriend Meg for dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the Wharf -sombrero alert! Great to see them both and they advised us on what to do and where to go in the area which was useful.

As a result the following day we walked from Manly to Spit a great walk up and down the hillsides skirting the various bays in about 35 degrees heat. Stopped at one cove and had to go for a dip.

Next day we went into Sydney itself. The ferry across from Manly was fun and coming into the Harbour and seeing the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour bridge was terrific. The 2 days we had in the city (one with a guided walk) were spent walking around the city hitting the
Opera house, the Modern Art Museum, the Queen Victoria Market, the Botanical Gardens, Darling Harbour the Martin Place memorial where a number of innocents were killed by a line gunmen and and the Rocks area.

We were also fortunate to find out that Opera Australia were performing in the Domain (big park in Sydney) - a great evening cut short by rain.

Sunday saw us hosting Mat and Meg for breakfast before we met with my cousins daughter and her family who have lived in Sydney for 11 years. Michelle, David with their 2 children Jess and Ashlee. We spent the afternoon with them and it was just like they were family ( funny that)! Had great fun racing Ashlee on the the north side of Sydney near the harbour bridge when we got there (Jess was far too mature). We even managed to meet up with Michelle and Ashlee for ice cream a few days later when we walk fed from Bondi Beach to Coogee again in hot sun - beautiful walk though.

While in Manly we also met up with our friends (Clare & Hugh) son Tom who was managing a bar in Manly, The Belgrave Cartel. He had been working there for 5 months but only 3 days as the manager. It was a great bar, very sociable & Tom was in his element. Great to see him!

We really enjoyed staying in Manly & just catching the ferry into Sydney. Greater Sydney with all the water, bays & beaches was fabulous.

Now picking up a car to drive to the Blue Mountains!

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