Since our return from Cairns we got ourselves into a comfortable routine characterised by early morning walks along the beach front followed by coffee. Geoff has very kindly let us use his x trail so we've been able to drive to other resorts later in the day. Of course Barb likes the pool at Bond Uni so we've swam down there quite a bit. We arrived in Sydney on Monday and as we headed for our digs in Manly we took in the two main harbour features...Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. I personally felt that the bridge was spectacular, however I couldn't get excited about the Opera House! I think what it comes down to is the strange dichotomy between new and old within Australia. As a relatively new country most things are fairly modern, so when you see something old and 'historical' it takes precedent over the modern. Having said that I still snapped away at both features as we took the 35 minute ferry ride to Manly.
Initially Manly was dissapointing. Apart from its beautiful beach and waterfront it seemed almost featureless and run down almost like our own Southport if it had a surfing beach?
Our accomodation here was also a bit of a culture shock...a tiny bedsit that was more suitable for single occupancy. But what we've had to remind ourselves is that this is Sydney an expensive city where good value budget accomodation is in short supply. On a positive note we've managed to find a good pub!
