The view from our Manly Surfside apartment
The view of the Opera House from the base of the Harbour Bridge
The view of the Harbour Bridge from the Opera House
08.08.08: We boarded a late evening plane from Cairns back to Sydney. By the time we arrived, retrieved our luggage from storage, got a taxi and got to Manly, it was about midnight and we were beat. The apartment we booked for the week was not available for the first night (what’s up with nothing being available that weekend?!?), so we checked in to a “family studio” (a room with 3 beds) at Manly Backpackers. I’m glad we didn’t decide to stay there for the week, because it was a pretty tight fit and the place wasn’t all too well maintained. There was a sign indicating that you need to shut the bathroom door while showering or else the smoke detector would go off and you would be charged minimum $250 for a fire department visit. But when poor Tutu slid the door, it would just fall off the tracks!
The next day, we spent most of the next morning “moving” from there to another apartment with Manly Surfside. Check-out at Backpackers was at 10am and check-in at Surfside was not until noon. So, we had brunch at The Corso, Manly’s main pedestrian street. Afterwards, we found a weekend market, selling handmade crafts. Sean and Kai picked up some Uggs for a decent price. (I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t get a pair myself! It’s two weeks later and I still have only one pair of shoes, Keen sandals with socks…what a fashion statement!) When we were finally able to get into the apartment, I was ready to collapse. Unfortunately, we had to pass on going to my cousin Richard and family’s house for the celebration of his dad, Uncle Henry’s birthday. Luckily, the apartment was MUCH more equipped than the first, and was right across the street from the beach. We all LOVED waking up in the morning to a view of the beach, even though there were no waves all week. Later in the afternoon, I finally worked up enough energy to rent a board and go surfing in the little waves with Sean while Kai hung out with Tutu and Caitlin. It’s fairly rare for us to go out together. Usually we have to “take turns”, so it was a treat. Luckily we went, because it got even smaller later in the week and we would have been too busy to go anyway.
On Sunday, we took in the typical Sydney sights. We started by taking the ferry from Manly to Circular Quay and then walked over to The Rocks, a historical neighborhood, for lunch. After lunch, we strolled through their weekend market which sold more handicrafts. At the end of the market was the base for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Originally, Sean, Caitlin and I thought about doing the “Bridge Climb”, where you could tie yourself to a cable and walk over the top of the bridge. Tutu doesn’t do heights and volunteered to watch Kai. In the end, it would have taken several hours and hundreds of dollars, so we just walked the pedestrian sidewalk halfway across, back and over to the Opera House. It was just as well because it was a windy day anyway. At the Opera House, another UNESCO World Heritage site, we opted for a tour. It proved very worthwhile as we got to see the inside of the big auditorium, made of native timber from floor to ceiling, marveled at the architecture of the inside of the building which is just as impressive as the outside, and heard the tragic story of how the building’s architect still to this day hasn’t seen the completed building. (Note: I was so impressed with the Opera House that I told Sean if they hired me to do event planning and we could live in Manly, I might just do it.)
Monday came and we realized we still had yet to book flights or a campervan in New Zealand for the upcoming weekend. So, we ended up taking a “day off” to go online and get stuff done, and then do some shopping along The Corso. As it turned out, I finally found not one, but THREE health food stores in Manly. Their selection of organic foods seemed to be limited to non-perishable stuff. Unfortunately, we already stocked up for the week at a big grocery store chain, Coles, which has a very limited selection of organic food. But at least, it was good to see that Manly residents DO have more of a selection than the conventional grocery store chain.
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