Sydney- Day 3

Today was considered a "free day" to do whatever we wanted. Dan and I chose to go it alone and take a ferry over to Manley Beach. It was a 30 minute ride via the Sydney harbor. What a difference from Bondi beach! Very family oriented and buzzing with activity. Since it was summer there, the children were on break and many were acting as street performers along the central square attached to the boardwalk. There was a juggler, a violinist, and the most amazing 13ish boy who wrote songs, sang them, while playing the guitar!

Earlier in the day a shark had been spotted so a sign was posted warning people to venture out at their own risk. I'm telling you, the water was full of people and there was even two life guarding classes going on. See, this is why I don't go in the ocean and at 58 I'm not going to start. Big bad things are in the water!

I would definitely recommend a side trip to this location is you are planning a trip to AU. The ferry ride is reasonable and a good way to see some of the harbor.

When we returned to the Sydney harbor we took a closer look at the Opera House and strolled the area. Lots of activity and very clean. Believe it or not we stopped at a "taco shack" for lunch! Let me tell you, Australian tacos can be passed on. It was good, but there was nothing about it Mexican. Even the corn tortilla was very strange.

We also found a wonderful ice cream shop that got a lot of  business from this traveling group! We even found a hardware store that had the biggest selection of fuses Dan had ever seen.

Here is a travel tip...never take your universal converter without throwing in a few extra fuses! Two trips now we have blown fuses. Last time we couldn't get a fuse, so we were lucky this go around. Another tip...when purchasing a converter check to see the fuse size. 12.5 is NOT standard and impossible to find. 10, 12, and 15 are more the standard. We actually had to buy a new converter after the Asia trip because after scouring SD we could not find a 12.5 fuse. The other alternative is to leave all electronic devices behind. The cruise ships we have been on have 110 outlets, but none of the hotels. That means no phone, no iPad, no computer, no camera battery charger, no flat iron or your own more powerful hairdryer...without a converter. After all, I am a princess and I cannot live without these things!