Sydney

Thanks to messing up my flights and arrival dates, I ended up with a free day in Sydney before
I fly to Cairns. Which was fantastic. I got to go to some of my favorite places. (I lived just outside
Sydney 8 yrs ago for a while and spent most weekends exploring the city.)
I arrived before dawn and planned to drop my suitcase off at my hotel before heading out. Luckily they had my room ready so I got to change and shower before doing so. (Which I believe everyone appreciated!)
I got the train into Circular Quay and stopped at the first cafe to get some breakfast. This was probably a bad idea as bacon, eggs and a tea have never cost so much. But the view made up for it.

View at breakfast

After breakfast I headed around to the Opera house and then the botanical gardens, where I haven't been before. The Opera House was lovely, as usual.

In front of the Opera House

In front of Circular Quay

 The gardens were beautiful. One reason I wanted to go was the gardens contain Mrs. Macquires' chair, which is where most of the photos taken of opera house and harbor bridge are taken from. Unfortunately there were about 20 bus loads of Japanese tourists there at the same time. But it did mean there was someone to take my photo and I didn't need to explain my camera to them. :-)

From Mrs Macquire's Chair

In front of the Opera House and Bridge

The garden had lots of little sections. I really liked the pond and oriental section.

I love these trees

Lily pond

Walk in oriental garden

 The rose gardens were also lovely.

My favorite color

White rose walkway 

Main rose garden

There were also some lovely flowers.

They are also really serious about recycling. Everything!

Recycle your spare needles

I wanted to tour the government house but only the house is only open during the week.

Sydney Government House.

After the gardens I was exhausted so I took the ferry around to Darling Harbor. The ferry is the best
way to see Sydney!

Circular quay

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Luna Park

Maritime Museum

 I intended on having a nice lunch in Darling Harbor but I wasn't very hungry and couldn't decide to I ended up with a fruit salad, sitting on the harbor in the sun. Though it was a little unnerving when I looked around and realized I was surrounded by a large number of seagulls. I hate the seagulls in Sydney. They are obnoxious! Noisy, annoying and they steal food from your hands when they can. Still Darling harbor and cocklebay wharf were as pretty as I remembered.

Cocklebay Wharf

These trees were all around the wharf

View to Darling Harbor

Cocklebay wharf

 I got the ferry back to Circular Quay and headed to the bridge side of the harbor. ON the way back I was sad to see some of the changes they have made. The harbor is even more built up. :-( However, I managed to find my favorite bakery. We went there pretty much every weekend we were in Sydney and I loved the chocolate tiffin! I brought a couple of pieces of Turkish delight which were so good!

On the way back to Circular Quay

Best Bakery in Sydney

 Finally I got the ferry out to Manly! The ferry takes about 30-40 mins and is a lovely ride, though
a little bumpy yesterday. The town part near the beach is a little like Blackpool in parts, catering to the tourists. But there are some lovely bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes. The beach is very chilled out and with the waves, mostly full of surfers. I spent some time watched the surfers (and wincingly a lot when they wiped out) in the sun.

Manly Beach

Watching surfers

The beach

 I stayed as long as I could but it was getting chilly. On the way back to the ferry I picked up some sushi for my dinner. One of the other main reasons for visiting Manly is they have the best ice-cream in Sydney. It matches anything I have eaten in Italy!

Best Ice-cream in Sydney

After Manly, I headed back to the hotel for the evening as I was exhausted and the sun set by 5.30pm so it started to get cold. Unfortunately my hotel was rubbish. I had to go down to the hotel multiple
times. My radio alarm wouldn't work. My TV would only show my porn (apparently there are ways around paying for it!). The internet was awful and sooooo expensive. The restaurant was way to expensive to even consider (I didn't even ask about the bar!) There was no milk or tea in my room.
My door locks didn't work properly. In the end, I gave up and watched things saved on my kindle fire until I fell asleep which didn't take long!