We were lucky enough to have a visitor from home for a couple of weeks! We packed in so much in two and a half weeks that I don’t think it would all fit on one blog post, especially when you add pictures too. Therefore I have split it up into smaller chunks; this is post 4 of ?, so if you haven’t already read the first parts, then I recommend visiting those posts first: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3.
From Berrima it was a relatively short hop to Sydney, and we headed to our rented apartment in Manly, driving under the harbour this time! We had fun and games parking the car, and then de-stressed with a coffee on the balcony overlooking Manly Beach.
We walked along the front to Hotel Steyne for dinner, one of the few places still open later on a Sunday evening. It also had quite a varied menu so there was something for everyone! Afterwards, we found a nice nautical themed bar called The Hold. We were kicked out at 10pm but as it was still relatively early we didn’t want to head back. I think we found the only other place open – The Wharf Bar, which was a little bit too loud and rowdy, so we gave up after one drink.
Monday was a much needed rest day after so much travelling, so we started the day with a leisurely stroll to Rollers Bakery for some of their delicious pastries, then continued along the water front to Shelly beach. We saw plenty of wildlife on route, including water dragons and brush turkeys. We climbed the steps up to the lookout, and were lucky enough to see a large pod of dolphins as they swam across the bay!
We popped into The Boathouse Café for a coffee before continuing our jaunt around Manly. We walked up the Corso and found the 4 Pines Brew Pub! Of course we had to test out their offerings, so had a beer and a delicious sharing platter to compliment it. We headed back to the apartment for a rest and freshen up, ready to head over into the city in the evening.
The views from the ferry as you travel from Manly to Circular Quay are brilliant whatever time of day, but the sun was just setting as we headed over and it was spectacular. Once docked in Circular Quay we walked round to the Overseas Passenger Terminal and up the escalator to the balcony for another view of the opera house (this time not spoiled by a cruise ship in the way)
We went into the Fortune of War, as Mark’s dad believed this was the pub he had visited 16 years ago – it was and it brought back some happy memories! We had already scoped out our dinner options for the evening and chose the Munich Brauhaus where my dish didn’t live up to the Austrian standards, but it was still pretty god.
On Tuesday we took a quick trip to Brisbane – to read all about that, click here!
On Friday we decided to visit as many places as we could on the ferry. This started with catching the ferry over to circular quay, and then to Watsons Bay via Rose Bay. It provided another great viewpoint of the city skyline as well as being a very pretty little place in it’s own right. Rose Bay is also where the Sea Planes are based so it was interesting to see those coming into land.
From the ferry terminal at Watsons Bay we walked over the gap and looked out over the Tasman Sea. We stopped for a coffee at Seasoned before strolling along the water front to pick out which house we would want (if only we could afford it)!! We saw a pelican hanging around the seafood restaurant, and assume it was hoping for some scraps.
We took the ferry back and had a short wait for the next one, so snuck over to Messina Ice Cream to test out their latest flavours, before jumping on the ferry to Cockatoo Island. It’s the site of a former penal colony so there was lots of information to read in the visitor centre when we got there. While nosing around, we inadvertently walked into an area where the silver gulls were nesting. We saw lots of cute baby gull chicks but also several angry mamas! They flew pretty close in an attempt to scare us off – needless to say the tactic worked!
Although you can see the Harbour Bridge from the Island, it doesn’t really feel like you are in the city anymore, and you can camp on the island as well – I definitely would be tempted when the weather is a bit warmer!
We ferried back to Circular Quay and then back to Manly. We went to Kazzi Beach Greek for dinner, which isn’t too far from the apartment. It was simple food and delicious! We next headed for Sketch Manly, as we had often see it’s sign offering Craft Beer. Unfortunately, there was only one beer on tap, so we tried that one and then moved onto the New Brighton Hotel
On Saturday we continue our mission of taking as many different methods of public transport as we could, and took the tram from Circular Quay to the Queen Victoria Building – one of my favourite buildings in the City Centre. We had a walk through before heading to Hyde Park and through to St Mary’s Cathedral. The bridal party had just arrived and were having photos on the steps, so we couldn’t go in, but we enjoyed the floral displays in the garden before turning round and visiting the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park. What was interesting was they had a soil sample from each town in NSW that had lost someone in the war. It was striking and a very unique memorial.
We then set out to find the Crown opposite the Vibe Hotel Darling Harbour, where Mark’s dad had drank and stayed on his previous visit. Unfortunately it was closed, and it wasn’t clear whether just for renovation or permanently. Instead we stopped at Harry’s Bar for a drink, before walking to Darling Harbour and getting the boat from Pyrmont.
We headed back to Darling Harbour in the evening, and went to the Helm Restaurant. The food was pretty good but the music was a bit loud. We were there for the fireworks however, and we found a great spot to watch them on Pyrmont Bridge. We headed back to Circular Quay to catch the ferry but had a 40 minute wait. We made the most of the time and popped back to the Fortune of War bar. Saturday night was definitely rowdier than previous evenings, and we almost ended up in the middle of a fight and watched someone queue jump into Hotel Steyne before being marched back out!
On Sunday, we had a quick breakfast at the apartment before getting the bus to Manly Wharf, hopping on the ferry to Circular Quay, then getting on the tram.
At this point we split up – Mark and his dad headed to Moore Park for a tour of SCG and a walk to the Allianz stadium. I had had my fill of cricket by this point, so I headed to the QVB for a bit of shopping then grabbed a drink and went people watching in Hyde Park
On meeting back up, we did a bit of souvenir shopping before heading to the Lord Nelson – the oldest hotel in Sydney – for a well deserved beer.
That evening we celebrated our last night in Manly with a visit to Hugo’s; we had a window seat and a lovely view over Cabbage Tree Beach.
Monday was a day of mixed emotions! We had breakfast in Kazzi Greek before a slow walk up to Manly lagoon. We headed back to the apartment so Mark’s dad could pack ready for his flight home. Once finished, we still had a bit of time before heading off to the airport, so we wandered back into Manly and bought a late lunch.
We had fun extricating the car from the garage, before driving to the airport to say our (tearful) goodbyes. Until next time!
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