Manly

On February 27, we finally got blue skies in Sydney. We had heard that we should visit Manly, a town that is an easy 30 minute ferry ride away so we walked over towards the circular quay. Of course, with such a nice day, I couldn't resist taking more pictures of St. Mary's Cathedral. And this time, we actually went inside. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside but take my word for it, the architecture was amazing.

Finally blue skies for a nice reflection shot of the cathedral

St. Mary's doors

PJPII was hanging out by the cathedral

Paul couldn't very well do his usual so he gave PJPII a high five instead

A different view of the cathedral

As we continued towards the circular quay, we stopped by Il Porcellino.

Il Porcellino

Legend says that if donations are put into the box and you rub the nose of the boar, you will be endowed with good fortune. We found a $2 coin the other day so we decided that Paul should give it a try.

Paul rubbing the boar's nose and making a wish - he said he made two wishes since we donated $2

The wishes probably won't come true because he did this

We finally made it to the ferry.

The view of the city and opera house from the ferry

Along the ride, a cool lighthouse

We arrived in at the Manly Wharf (in Manly Cove) and then walked down the Corso (main street) and headed to Manly Beach. Manly Cove was named by Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788 for the 'confident and manly' behavior of the local Kay-ye-my Aboriginal people.

Approaching Manly Wharf (not the guy from Star Trek TNG)

Manly Beach

To the left is Manly Beach and to the right is ShellyBeach

Paul sees something but he didn't say something

We ran into a water dragon walking around the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve

Looking towards the Tasman Sea

We headed back to Sydney but stopped off to check out the view from Observatory Hill. We had such a great day!

Sydney Harbour Bridge with The Garrison Church in the foreground

And of course, couldn't resist a night shot of St. Mary's

Sydney - Day 2

On Sunday, February 24, to ensure we left the hostel, we ventured further into the city and walked everywhere and saw St. Mary's Cathedral, the Archibald Fountain, Mrs Macquaries Chair, the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, The Rocks, The Garrison Church, and the Queen Victoria Building. It was supposed to rain but we were lucky and it held off until the late evening. I'm not sure how many miles we walked but we were gone for about 9 hours so I'll assume a good 4 miles, at least.

St. Mary's Cathedral and the Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park

Mrs Macquaries Chair

At Mrs Macquaries Point for photo op...it was overcast but at least it wasn't raining!

Awesome looking sandstone

Panoramic view of Sydney with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Sydney Opera House in the background

The Garrison Church is in The Rocks area and I really loved the architecture of this church.

The Garrison Church

Love the entry way

Cool signage with the church in the background

Side view of The Garrison Church

Queen Victoria Building is huge - it is filled with stores and restaurants (ok, food court restaurants)

The dome inside the Queen Victoria Building is awesome 

Fig lined avenue in Hyde Park on our way back to the hostel

An afternoon shot of St. Mary's Cathedral - I couldn't resist the reflection