Sydney Day 2 - Manly Beach

One of the best things you can do in this city is get out on the water.  Find a way - sailboat, ferryboat, jetboat or kayak.  Whatever.  It doesn't matter.  The views are never-ending and it's a relaxing way to get out of the urban and into nature.

The Manly Ferry is well known as one of the least expensive ways to get in the harbor and the 30 minute ferry (each way) is about $14 round trip.  Here is just a typical view you get from the boat:

Manly turned out to be a nice diversion indeed.  We were instantly transported into a beach vacation setting with a beautiful beach, crashing surf and a laid back attitude.  It certainly is a bit touristy but you can see why.  Laurie and I spent the next couple hours wandering to the beach and then found a nice seaside place called Manly Wine (so of course we had to go).

Manly Beach:

Laurie grabbed the camera from me to prove to the world that I too was actually on this vacation.

Here's one of the local water dragons:

After taking the ferry back to Sydney Harbor, we scooted to the hotel to get ready for the big night -- catching the Sydney Symphony orchestra performing at the Opera House.  I figured this would be a good way to really experience this famous venue.

Here we are before a night on the town.  You bring nice clothes this far around the world you'd better wear them at least once!

We missed our reservation for a waterfront dinner due to horrendous traffic.  Our taxicab went about 2 blocks in 15 minutes.  So, we came up with a Plan B, and using the Urban Spoon app, we found a restaurant nearby.

This was just plain dumb luck really.  We stumbled upon the Bridge Room and actually had our best meal of the entire trip!!!  Since we were there early (about 6pm), they managed to squeeze us into their schedule.  They were completely booked up that night but we promised to be done within an hour and that worked fine for their schedule.  Hallelujah.

It turned out that they had REAL wine glasses (larger than a thimble) at this restaurant and a fantastic wine list.  We had a white burgundy to die for and then I had an excellent Aussie red.  I'm sure you are all thrilled with photos of dinners but here it is anyway, my Wagyu steak:

Here's the wild Friday night scene outside the Opera House.  It was a festive atmosphere to say the least!

I like this shot of Laurie outside the Opera House, just before we went in.

Here is a quick shot of the interior of the Concert Hall.  Ninth row seats weren't too shabby, although seeing the orchestra from up above might have given a better viewing angle.

The first portion of the concert was excellent.  A virtuoso pianist walked on stage and performed a Ravel piece that was composed for the left hand only.  Even though I only played piano for a few years I could tell that this composition was a beast.  He pulled it off though and the orchestra was wonderful also.  The pianist played one more piece after this and for this one his right hand was set free. How good that must have felt.

These two pieces took about 35 or 40 minutes and then we had an intermission.  The second half (more like 2/3) was more somber, odd and LONG.  Since we had not heard the music before it seemed really bizarre and melancholy.  It was not a mind-blowing performance to us but it was enjoyable to get to see a show there.

End of Day 2 - Sydney is wearing us out!  No rest for the weary though.  Tomorrow, it's off to the Hunter Valley on a wine tour.  First we need a good night's sleep...