This morning we awoke exactly at UK New Year - 11am. Another beautiful day in Sydney, we decided to head into town as soon as we were ready, having a small breakfast as it was basically lunchtime!
The ferry that would take us across came into the wharf crowded with people. Manly appears to be a popular bank holiday destination, so we were glad that we were going against the flow of the crowds. We nabbed a spot right on the bow of the boat and enjoyed the breeze on the way over.
Once in town, we headed north west out of the quay towards harbour bridge. This took us to The Rocks, where there are some nice shops and cafes, from which we first procured a steak sandwich for lunch. Next I went into a shop and picked some flip-flops, as I'd managed to leave my old ones at a triathlon a while ago and could do with some more. When I took them to the till, the guy asked me "Would you like me to take the label off so you can put your thongs on now?". Thankfully I took a while to process this odd sentence, so rather than an "*Excuse* me?!?" he got a blank and slightly confused look...
Thong incident averted, we carried on towards Harbour Bridge, and went up the steps onto it. The bridge was an amazing feat of construction - more rivets than I've ever seen on one structure! The view of the Opera House was pretty good too!
By the time we'd crossed we fancied a dip, so we headed to the North Sydney Olympic swimming pool. The water looked blue and inviting, and the swimming lanes not too busy. We paid to go in, changed, and I then plonked myself in the deep end. Bleurgh!! The water was salty! A great temperature, but truly horrid to taste. 1300 m later an is demonstrated how good my swimming position can be with added buoyancy (it was as good as wearing a wetsuit) but also how much water goes into my mouth whilst swimming...
Thankfully the showers were fresh, so feeling revived we wandered back over Harbour Bridge and this time went easy from the quay to Mrs Macquires' Point. Here we found the botanical gardens and remnants of the previous night. We decided our view was better, although where you could see through all the trees the glimpses of the Opera House framed by the bridge were good. We then went on to the Opera House, admiring its tiled curves and splendid setting, before catching the ferry back to Manly (again pleased that the masses were headed the opposite way).
In Manly, we sourced a tasty Thai/Vietnamese place for dinner and then strolled along the beach, watching the surfers and reading pictorial signs on surfing etiquette. There was also a sign saying "Rowers wanted - surf or stillwater, experience preferred - male or female aged 18 - 35", evidently it's a transferable skill to have.
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