THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017
The sun is finally out! The weather is HOT! I purposefully saved my “beach activities” for beautiful and sunny days. I am so thankful that the last two days were really good weather in Sydney.
GROUNDS of ALEXANDRIA
My morning started late, again. (Are you sensing a pattern?) I found this gem of a spot on Instagram (of course) and absolutely had to visit it. It’s further out and south from CBD, but I thought it was worth the trip. The Grounds of Alexandria is like a cafe and market. They serve breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. Also at the grounds are gardens, flower shops, lemonade stands, etc. I think you get the picture. It’s a beautiful place with the flowers and fountains.
For breakfast, I got the Breakfast Burger (pictured above), which is bacon, fried egg, avocado, lettuce, cheese, tomato relish, and spicy mayo on a brioche bun with a side of polenta chips. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what polenta chips were, and I’m still not sure, but I wasn’t a fan. The burger was all right, but I think it was a little too much bread for the first meal of the day.
A couple ordered a red velvet cake from their the Grounds bakery and it looked absolutely scrumptious. I almost drooled looking at it. In the end, I chose not to buy it because it was kind of big and a little cumbersome to carry. If I were going straight back to the hostel, I might have bought it, but there other places to see and other places to go.
After eating, I strolled around the Grounds, taking in the beautiful outdoor seating. There were flowers everywhere and a cute fountain.
I also took a peek inside the flower shop. They had beautiful flowers. One flower that stood out to me was this bouquet of “rainbow” roses. They were multi-colored roses. Resisting the urge to buy mini donuts at the dessert stand, I bought a rose lemonade instead. It was the perfect refreshment for $5 AUD.
MANLY
Leaving the Grounds, I made my way to Manly. Manly came up a lot in my research as well. It’s a town that’s about a 30-40 minute ferry ride from Circular Quay. The ferry departs once every half hour. I think I caught the one at 1:00pm. You can also get views of the Opera House shortly after departing from Circular Quay. The ferry ride was smooth for the most part. It wasn’t until the last third of the trip, the waters starting getting really rough and the boat was rocking a lot more. I managed not to throw up, so it couldn’t have been too bad, right?
Right at the ferry station, there is a small food court and is connected to a grocery store. I got myself a two scoop gelato, rasberry and chocolate chip. I’m on vacation, right? I didn’t know much about Manly or how to even begin exploring, so I went to the information booth and asked what there was to do besides the beach. The lady behind the desk then told me of the various scenic walks they have that vary in time and distance. I decided to go with the shortest route which was suppose to take only 1.5 hours, but I think it took me 3-4 hours because I stopped a lot, took pictures, and got lost.
MANLY BEACH
Manly is so beautiful! If Sydney is New York City, than Manly is the Hamptons. I walked by what a ton of shops selling souvenirs, hats, sunscreen, etc. Anything you forgot to bring for a beach trip, no worries because chances are one or more of the stores are selling it. The first stop on the walk was Manly Beach. It’s beautiful! I knew I had a lot more to see, so I thought I’d just come back at the end and lie on the beach if there was time.
FAIRY BOWER POOL
After one awful experience at the beach in Puerto Rico in 2013, I’ve since then not been fond of going in the ocean. I’m okay with dipping my toes in the water, but to go into the actual ocean? Not happening. I was ecstatic to learn that New South Wales had a couple pools right along the ocean.
Not too far from Manly Beach is the Fairy Bower Pool in the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve. To be honest, I don’t know what type of pool it is. All I could find is that it’s a rock pool. The water didn’t have the smell of salt in it, but it also didn’t have chlorine in it. It felt like a natural swimming pool, but I have no idea how the water is purified.
Nonetheless, it was the perfect cool down that I needed. It was refreshing and I never wanted to leave. Letting myself enjoy the respite for an hour, I continued on my walk. It was after passing Shelley Beach that I ended up a little lost. After walking back and forth a couple times, I found the path. Not many people were on the path, but it was good walk.
COLLINS BEACH
Fast forward an hour or two later, I reached a small beach called Collins Beach. There weren’t many people. I actually found myself liking smaller beaches with less people. It almost feels like you have the place to yourself. At the back of the beach, there was this small cove with water trickling down, making it a little waterfall. It was so pretty, so naturally I wanted a picture. Fortunately for me, there was a couple taking pictures there already. So, I asked if they could take the same picture for me. However, this cove is a little bit high and getting up there was a bit difficult. I saw that the girl was having trouble, and the boy climbed the other side and grabbed her hand from the top to help her up. Seeing I was having the same problems, thanks short legs, he climbed up and gave me hand. I was surprised at his kindness without me asking him. Remember, when I said there was water trickling down? Well, that also means that the rocks were super slippery and there was moss and of course, on the first attempt to climb the rock, I fell into the pool of water on the sand. Not my best moment; but, I was determined to climb that rock. With his help, I was able to get up there and they took my picture. Worth it.
I would have loved to stay and just lie on the beach, but knew I still had some ways to go, so I moved my feet and continued walking. Leaving Collins Beach, I came across a small clearing on the cliff where you could see the ocean. I fell in love with this view.
The rest of the walk was pretty normal. Passed a lot of condos and houses. They looked nice. I passed a couple beaches, each different with its own appeal. Some were more geared towards children, while others might have been more geared towards surfing.
I finally made it back to the information booth and considering I haven’t eaten since that gelato and my last meal being 6 hours ago, I was starving. So, I ordered a pad thai and ate as I waited for the next ferry. Sitting on the ferry, it was the perfect time to see the sun set on the city, but I was exhausted. It’s no surprise, I napped for the entire 30 minute ride back to circular quay.
I made it back to my hostel, took a long shower, and felt a hundred times better.
GLENMORE
I was going to make it an early night and catch some z’s but I was talking with Sophy and Sebastian and they convinced me to get a drink with them. It was Sebastian’s last night in Sydney after all. So, we went to Glenmore, again and Sebastian was kind enough to buy me a drink. The three of sat and talked about anything. Topics that I remember being brought up were Trump, brexit, Austria v. Germany, and winters in Austria. Sebastian is from Austria and Sophy is from the U.K. It was genuinely a pleasure to talk with them and learn different cultures from them. We left at midnight when the bar kicked everyone out because they were closing.
It’s interesting, as a traveler, we might think midnight is early, but everywhere back home bars usually close at midnight on a week night. But because we don’t have a work day the next day, it seemed early to us.
REFLECTIONS
I should know this about myself already, but I’m the type of person who needs a push. For instance, I really didn’t want to go out that night. I was showered and ready for bed, but Sophy and Sebastian pushed me and I’m glad they did. I know it’s been said too many times and is a complete cliche, but live in the moment. Don’t think too much about what might or might not happen the next day. I’m was constantly worried about whether I would be able to wake up the next morning. But who’s to say I can’t have both, stay out late and wake up early without feeling exhausted. I guess I never gave myself the chance to find out.
Much love, Tina. x.
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