Day 2

Day 2

We began the day with another quick breakfast at Hungry Jack’s, watching the morning traffic – foot and car – go by. We took the monorail (one of Sydney’s many, many forms of transportation—walking, monorail, metro, taxi, ferry, train, bus) to Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour is absolutely fantastic. Seaside paradise—interesting architecture (very fair-like), great views of the skyline, plenty of shops and places to eat. We went inside and toured the shops, including an Opal shop and an Aboriginal Art Gallery that Jay loves—he bought an aboriginal painting on his last trip, and is searching for another one for the collection. That particular art gallery is the only aborigine-owned gallery in Sydney.
Next, we went to the Chinese Gardens of Friendship: a lush, tranquil spot in the busy city. Beautiful rock formations, vegetation, carvings, and even a waterfall. We continued our walk around the Harbour—plenty of kid-friendly activities abound—to Cockle Bay Wharf where we had lunch. We ate at Nick’s , our finest meal to date. We dined al fresco, yet shaded by the grove of plants, overlooking the harbour. I had Australia’s famous fish, Barramundi (grilled, served with chips) and Jay had chargrilled king prawns in a chili sauce (messy but good!) with salad. It was a fresh and delicious, leisurely meal in a perfect location. I once revealed my American-ness by asking where the “restroom” was. In Australia, they’re a lot more frank…they just call it the toilet.

We walked back to Circular Quay about 2:30pm—the place to depart to anywhere else in the city—to take the ferry to Manly Bay. Because it’s winter here, it starts to get dark, of course, around 5:30pm—so we wanted to see Jay’s favorite beach before dusk. The ferry is the ideal way to travel, in my opinion. Close-up views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, as well houses on the coast, the North, South and Middle Point cliffs, etc. The ferry ride took about a half-hour.
Manly Beach is definitely a relaxed counterpart to cosmopolitan Sydney. The store-fronts look straight out of the 60s. Lots of kids, joggers, etc. We sat on the sidewalk benches and watched surfers and the open expanse of water, as the sky turned pinker around dusk. We had dinner outside on the picnic tables: I had ham and pineapple pizza, Jay had beef kebab. It was dark by this time, so we caught the 6pm return ferry to Circular Quay. The lights on the water were absolutely STUNNING. The skyline is the prettiest I have ever seen. Glowing. Took many, many shots to get a couple decent ones.

Walked about a mile back to the hotel from Circular Quay, passing the familiar sites by now of Pitt Street. All this walking each day has left us exhausted but happy.

On day 3 (second full day) our luggage is still not here. It was supposed to be in this morning. Unfortunately, Quantas gave us the wrong information, and as of 8pm on the 27^th, our luggage is still sitting in Los Angeles!!! At this point, we hope it gets here before we leave for Darwin! I am really frustrated. One or two days without luggage, I can have a sense of humor about. Three to four days is unacceptable. Keeping fingers crossed.