A Manly day

So this is day two and I’m doing an on the move report for our diary. Richard was up by 4:30 and tapping away at emails before setting out on a very adventurous run which involved him ending up at circular quay 5 km away and then deciding which public transport options he would have to take to get back. The good news is this rather kickstarted his brain and he managed to circumnavigate the local trains and city metros to arrive back at the flat just after 8 am. I had managed to sleep until that time which was a bit of a joy. After a good dinner out last night, I took to my bed feeling a little weary but I did manage to sleep right through.

Alongside the apartment is a little alleyway which is absolutely full of breakfast places and coffee houses and sitting out in the Saturday morning sun is a sheer delight, deciding whether to opt for a poached egg or a blueberry muffin. Not really a choice for me.

Today we are out and about and I’m going to update my report in paragraphs throughout the day.

So after a ferry ride across the bay we have come to Manly, we were told at dinner last night this is because when Captain Cook landed here the indigenous people approached him and he went “oh they look so manly“. It’s a gorgeous day and hard to believe it’s the shortest day back home. We walk down the Corsa to the Beach and back again and now we are waiting at the the Wharf to meet friends of Richards who we are having lunch with.

Really hot and gorgeous to stroll in the Sunshine. Yesterday’s sun managed to burn the back of my neck even though I had sun creamed up so today it’s a big hat and even more cream.

Yolande and Ben and their daughter, Eloise are our lunch date and they have decided on fish and chips which is perfect. They know the best spot to buy them and we sit on the beach front to eat lunch hand for a catch up. Richard attended their wedding here in Oz twelve years ago and its great to hear their news.

A walk in the heat along the beach front afterwards is great but tiring, and after a visit to Yogurtland(!) we say good bye.

We browse the market picking up a rather gorgeous photograph of Sydney harbour from a local photographer before the ferry home.

Time for our afternoon nap which seems to have become a requirement in the fight against the lag.

Tonight its another invitation to dinner.

Olivia Beardsley played my daughter to years ago in “Brimstone and Treacle” in London. She’s a gorgeous actress and an energetic life force. Her father, whom I have never met went to the same school as me about ten years earlier.

Its a train journey with a change onto another line. We work it out. As we cross the harbour Bridge on the train, the city has taken on an apocalyptic look. Hazy and smokey from the bush fires and a very strong wind swirling through the sky and giving the whole place an unearthly glow. It may be the shortest day in the uk today. here it feels like the end of the world all of a sudden. After a little confusion working out her instructions, we meet Olly at the station at Chatswood, and she drives us out to her parents house.

So great to see an Australian families home. A beautiful house, secluded away in tress, with the bedrooms downstairs and some beautiful open rooms with a pool and balcony up top.

Roger, her Dad and Robyn, her Mum are just gorgeous and kind and extend fabulous hospitals and even with the wind of Hades blowing we can sit out by the pool for a fabulous dinner.

Tonight is Richards turn for the jet lag to kick in. He’s had a very long

day so around 10pm its time for an Uber and a journey back to the flat after a long, but fulfilling day seeing this fantastic city, Sydney, and meeting some of the people who call it home