Monday, 18 January 2010

A weekend in Manly ....

Whilst I am in Sydney, my weekend days are on Sunday and Monday, which is a little different, but perfectly acceptable.  This weekend was my first real weekend, but I needed to stay close to Manly to keep an eye on the parent-free children.  As in China, my weekends here will be quite different to the weekends I'm used to, filled with hockey and horses.  However, beach-filled weekends could be quite enjoyable!




Manly beach - a perfect length for a walk/run



I began the weekend with dinner at the Manly Wharf Hotel which has spectacular views over the harbour.  The night ended with a stroll around beautifully lit St Paul's Cathedral, a majestic building on the hill overlooking Manly.





Sunbaking on the rocks?!  Actually a great idea!



On Sunday morning, I went for a long walk on the beach, followed by a swim at the Freshwater rockpool.  Here, I discovered the joys of sunbaking on rocks instead of sand, which I find too messy and irritating when it gets inside my book and my sunglasses.  In the afternoon, I wandered through the Manly markets and picked up some fresh fruit and veg before having a nanna nap.  On Sunday evening, I ventured into the city on the ferry to see Avatar in 3D (a great movie despite the fact that I'm not a sci-fi fan).  Before the movie, I ate my favourite Chinese dish (mapo dofu) in a genuine Chinese restaurant.




Sydney Harbour Bridge from the ferry


Monday was a lazy day filled with errand running, reading, napping and walking.  My favourite part of the day was a brilliant yet dangerous discovery - two second hand book stores with cheap books!  Here, I found The Long March and Paprika Paradise, a book about an Australian returning to his roots in his parents home country of Hungary.  And today, it's back to work - we're off to the Taronga Zoo!


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