It’s been a busy and yet relaxing couple of days. I have a few to catch up on so I’m just going to get straight into it.
On Wednesday I met up with my German friend Svea. We met through some friends while I was in Melbourne and we reconnected when I arrived in Sydney. She had already been to Bondi Beach, which is the most famous of the beaches here. So I decided to join her on her trip to Manly Beach which is a neighborhood about a thirty-minute ferry ride from the city center.
The ferry ride was quite spectacular. It offered views of the entire skyline and I grabbed a few nice pictures of the opera house as well. We chilled by the beach for about an hour or so. We couldn’t stay much longer after 4 o’clock because of how the pine trees were planted. After that time the sun begins to set behind them and there is no longer any direct sunlight on the beach.
We walked around for a while, up and down the neighborhood and we discovered some pretty cool spots. The best by far was the walk along the boardwalk area south of the beach. There was a certain point where you could watch the surfers and it was amazing how close to the rocks they were surfing. All the way at the end of the boardwalk was this little, almost secret, beach and it offered some great views of the town and the main stretch of Manly.
I got off to a little bit of a late start on Thursday but still managed to have an eventful day. I walked down to this neighborhood called “The Rocks” which is where the Sydney Harbour Bridge starts off. I decided to walk over the bridge and it was a great idea. The views of the city and the opera house were fantastic. I arrived in North Sydney, bought some lunch, and ate in the park tucked underneath the bridge.
Afterward, I took the train back into the city center and walked around a neighborhood called Surry Hills. A nice little area with a ton of little restaurants and cafes along Crown Street. I really wanted to make an effort to explore the different areas around Sydney. It’s not something I felt I pushed myself to do when I was in Melbourne.
Eventually, I made it to Centennial Park, which was not as nice as I expected but still a relaxing time. I stayed there for a bit, read some of the science fiction novel I’ve been getting into and made a beeline back to the hostel for dinner. I’ve been walking a ton around the city and I don’t hate it. Not only is it good exercise but it’s a better way to explore a city. You can really take in the energy of each area as you walk through it – something you can’t do on public transportation.