Arriving in Sydney mid July and the sun is shining. What would you do if all you had was a few days in this iconic city? It was our first day and we chose to hang out on Manly beach for a few hours as it was close on 22 degrees…not bad for a winters’ day eh?! The beautiful Sydney Opera House is best seen from a Captain Cook harbour cruise or ferry boat in my opinion unless of course you have climbed the famous bridge and marvelled at its site from way up high, but we’ll leave that experience (I’ve climbed it 3 times already over the years) for another time. You have to get the classic tourist photo shot if you can and here it is!
Manly beach reminds me of classic British beach resorts like Paignton in Devon and Brighton but with a fraction of the crowds. Ok it is winter but even in summer it’s not nearly as busy, trust me.
Building sandcastles with Tom & Reilly is fun before finishing with ice cream – delicious but messy! A while back it would have been old fashioned fish and chips for us for lunch but nowadays we’re all too health conscious! I envied the surfers gliding in and out of those beautiful waves. Perhaps one day when time allows I will get some lessons, I’ve got reasonably good balance and am confident enough so we shall see… meanwhile, back to reality and the sandcastles!
A walk around the Rocks area once off the ferry and one of those amazing cupcakes saw us back to the Cambridge Hotel in Surrey Hills – a fantastic location, full of character, restaurants and locals (always a good sign) for those not needing a harbour or opera house view of course. The bus trip to circular quay took just over 10 minutes and was no problem for us with our ‘Phil & Teds‘ double buggy.
A few beers with my good friends at the Clock hotel & pub and restaurant in Surrey Hills…what a way to finish up the day!
