Friday 21st April

Wednesday, we went to Manly, where Tim lived when we came over the first time, it is on the northern beaches near the entrance to Sydney Harbour so it entailed quite a lengthy journey, 2 ferries. From Cabarita to Circular Quay and then a second from Circular Quay on to Manly. It's a scenic route going the length of the harbour. They have new ferries on the Manly part of the journey, catamarans replacing the old double ended vessels, they are much faster but evidently do not cope so well in rough seas which can occur near the harbour mouth.

We did not think that Manly had changed a huge amount , the Corso was still there, some shops had changed and there were a few empty spaces but it is still a lively place. We walked by the beach, from the surf club round to Cabbage Tree Bay (Shelley Beach), the pool had been repaired from the damage sustained in the storms. It is our favourite bay. Back on the main beach it was windy and the beach was closed due to strong undercurrents but that did not stop some surfers from venturing out.

We found that the cafe that we went to with Tim was still open, it does amazing salads so Claire was happy and even had HP sauce for my bacon and egg roll.

After wandering around and enjoying being beside the waves it was two ferries back to Breakfast Point.

Thursday, it rained overnight and again this morning, Lauren had agreed to help a friend to get home from the dentist after having her wisdom teeth out so we went with her on baby minding duty. In the afternoon we took ourselves off on a walk to Concord, a nearby suburb and had a look at the shops. It seems that here around 45% of shops are for healthcare services, doctors, dentists, physios, opticians etc., another 45% are cafes and restaurants, the rest are either empty or 'real' shops. The Australians are definitely addicted to their coffee.

Friday, a brighter morning, clear blue sky though a breeze, not sure what we will do yet.