Australia Day 5--Sydney sightseeing and Manly Beach

Australia series

Australia Day 1--Qantas flight 8 DFW-BNE (Dallas to Brisbane)
Australia Day 2--Flight to Sydney, the Westin Sydney hotel & sightseeing
Australia Days 3/4--Hunter Valley & the Blue Mountains
Australia Day 5--Sydney sightseeing and Manly Beach
Australia Day 6--Paddy's Market, Bondi to Coogee Walk & Darling Harbour 
Australia Day 7--Sydney to Cairns, Holiday Inn Cairns & the Cairns Esplanade 
Australia Day 8--The Great Barrier Reef  
Australia Day 9--Kuranda Koala Gardens, Skyrail & Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park
Australia Day 10--Daintree Rainforest & Cape Tribulation 
Australia Day 11--Going home, Part 1, Cairns to Brisbane 
Australia Day 11--Going home, Part 2, Brisbane to Honolulu 
  

We started our day at with breakfast at Pancakes on the Rocks. I found this restaurant online and it seemed very highly rated and the prices were quite reasonable. I very much enjoyed my pancakes and bacon, and my cousin really liked her pancakes and eggs. Sorry, I didn't take any pics.

After breakfast, we strolled over to the Government House, the residence of the governor of New South Wales. There are free guided tours at the house Friday-Sunday from 10:30 am to 3 pm. The tours are 45 minutes long. Not knowing anything about NSW or the government, I found the tour highly enjoyable. We got to see a few different rooms and heard a lot of the history of the house.

The Government House is home to the governor of New South Wales

We weren't allowed to bring in bags or cameras, so they said. I checked my bag at the ticket office, but luckily I kept my iPhone in my pocket. When we got to the last room of the tour, the guide told us we could take pictures, so I was glad to have my phone.

Inside the Government House

From there, we walked through the Royal Botanic Gardens to Mrs. Macquarie's Chair. This spot offers a great vantage point across the harbor of both the bridge and the opera house. If you want those "postcard pics" of Sydney Harbour, then this is the place to go. We took some pics, and then we headed back toward the Circular Quay to the library to use the free wi-fi for a little while.

Royal Botanic Gardens

Nice skyline view while walking through the gardens

Mrs Macquarie's Chair

The beautiful view from Mrs. Macquarie's Chair

Next on the agenda was riding the ferry to Manly, home of one of the area's most popular beaches. We took the 3 pm ferry to Manly. A round-trip ticket cost $14.80 AUD. The ferry is another way to get good photos of the Sydney skyline.

A ferry at Circular Quay

View from the ferry going to Manly

Inside the ferry

Manly ferry station

After the 20 minutes or so ride to Manly, we exited the station and walked along the Corso to the beach. The Manly Corso reminded me of Lincoln Road in South Beach, Miami. The only difference is that the Manly stores were a lot less upscale. The beach was very scenic. Though it was July and a little chilly, there were many surfers in the water and people at the beach.

Manly Corso

Manly Beach

Manly Beach

After admiring the beach, we headed back to the Corso to look for somewhere to eat. We picked Watervue restaurant because the specials looked enticing. However, the food was not good.

We took the 5:45 pm ferry back to the Circular Quay. Then we went over to the Opera House Bar, where they have live music every evening. We had drinks, people-watched and enjoyed the music.

Live music at the Opera House Bar