Sydney: Day whatever

Oh, we also wandered down to Darling Harbor  (I think it was the day before Australia Day, which I'll get to shortly) for some self-portraits:

Then the nest day we decided to go to Manly Beach. We didn't make it to Bondi--we wanted to, but time ran out.

We took the ferry from Circular Quay ("key") which was a madhouse, but well-worth it when we got seats like this:

Ferry self-portraits!

Circular Quay ferry terminal as seen from ferry. 

Aussie cruise ship as seen from ferry. 

Opera house as--you guessed it--seen from ferry.

Onto the beach!

Manly is more local-oriented, less touristy than Bondi (at least from what I heard). But every time we said "Manly Beach," we said it in a very low, gravely, manly voice.

Or at least I tried to. It wasn't that much of a stretch for Justin.

We wandered around for a while looking for somewhere to eat that was not 6 million dollars, and were rewarded at a take-out (or as they say, take-away) with ENORMOUS pieces of fish for lunch. To wit:

Justin's fish & chips--each piece was like the size of a laptop screen:

 My ocean trout--enormous and excellent (that's what she said). I couldn't finish it all (sad face).

One of the best values in Sydney, where you can easily drop $50 for a sandwich and a drink for lunch for 2 people. (Had I realized Oz was so pricey I might have rethought our vaca plans--but at least we used miles to get here!)

I liked Manly. We wandered the beach and then did a walk into the hills of Manly. It was hot, though. The thing about hot in Australia is that if the sun goes behind a cloud, it's actually cold. But when when it comes out, you're seriously ON FIRE. You feel yourself cooking. I didn't even feel like that in Brazil. Well, maybe in Brazil.

What, you think you were going to get a classless bikini shot? Jesus. No. What do you take me for? 

Not sure you want the bikini shot of this guy either:

Hangin' with the local photobombers.

Coastal walkway along Manly Beach:

We decided to go for a walk and spotted this:

The walk takes you into the hills surrounding Manly. (I could call it the bush, but I would start laughing. As I am now, writing this.)

Photos really don't do it justice -- it's beautiful:

Panorama shot from Justin's iPhone:

There's a tunnel/bush joke to be made here. Just don't tell my PT about my turned-out right foot.

After the walk, we explored the town of Manly. And we saw our first random cat of the vacation!

And a one-legged bird!

I am STILL KICKING MYSELF (with my turned-out right foot) for not getting the sequined multi-colored miniskirt at this store. I mean, come on: The fact that it was named for how tall I am was a sign, right?! And: It wasn't unreasonable, but I didn't want to have to deal with it for three weeks in my suitcase. Yet shipping is prohibitively expensive. SIGH. 

This sign reminded me of something you might see in Portland.

Onto Australia Day celebration in Sydney...