Manly

I know it sounds like an interesting title choice, but there's actually a city in Australia called Manly and I decided that I wanted to visit it.  I went back to Circular Quay and I was happy to see the improvement I was able to make in finding it.  I bought a ferry ticket at Wharf 3 and hopped on the next boat.  The ride was amazing and took about 30 minutes.  The view as we pulled away from Sydney was breathtaking and it really was my first "Is this for real?" moment.  The water was smooth which made the ride easy and there were numerous sailboats out in the nice weather.

We pulled into the dock at Manly and right away I went to the scenic trail.  I didn't walk the entire 10K but everything about Manly made me want to live there:  the houses, the town, the views.  I also got to see the ocean and Manly Beach but didn't stay long.  I took the ferry back to the quay and the train back to Kings Cross.  I walked from there down Darlinghurst Road and to the Sydney Jewish Museum.  I didn't go inside (the cheap part of me is refraining from doing things that aren't free, if I can help it) but walked around the perimeter and scouted it out.

I went back to the hostel, got online, and then left again soon afterwards to try and find the pedestrian entrance to the Harbour Bridge.  Unfortunately I was unsuccessful, but I walked down to the quay this time instead of taking the train, so I was able to see a lot of things I hadn't before.  And it wasn't entirely a lost cause; I got fish and chips (I mean I kind of had to, I was right by the water) and sat across the quay from the Opera House and took it all in from there.  It would have been cool to walk across the bridge, but I still enjoyed just sitting by the water.

I leave early in the morning for Newcastle and later for Port Macquarie.  It's time to switch gears from big city to small town, because I won't make it to Brisbane for quite awhile.  Hopefully the stops will be fun and give me a taste of what it's like in the coastal towns of Australia.