Day 3- Sydney Churches & Manly Beach

March 15, 2010

Day 3- Sydney Churches & Manly Beach

On our third and final day in Sydney, Karen and I set off on foot to see the churches in Sydney. We visited St. John's and St. Mary's. St. Mary's Cathedral was awe-inspiring- immense and beautiful with many columns and stained glass windows. I was glad we took the time to go to it, upon the recommendation of my friend Jake. There were girls dressed in their school uniforms at the church that day, which was cute to see. After the churches, Karen and I relaxed on a bench by a fountain in Hyde Park Gardens, which was green and lush. It's hard to imagine myself back there now, warming in the sun and watching the birds come by to see if we had food. Next, we visited the Museum of New South Wales where we saw a boys class in uniform on a tour.

The day was young and we stopped for some lunch (which I mention as it comes into play later), hopped on a ferry to visit Manly Beach, which we were told, was named for the "manly" looking Aborigines the English saw when they first came to Australia. When we arrived, we headed a short distance away to Shelly Beach and cringed as our bare feet crunched over all the Shells (now I understood the name Shelly Beach ;)! The water was so warm, though, and calm. After a quick, refreshing walk in the beach and the *ouch* *ouch* of walking out, we headed back to Manly Beach, which was lovely! The sand was super smooth and the inviting water sparkled blue and green. Our beautiful adventure in Sydney came to an end and as we headed back on the ferry after a long day, I felt a bit seasick. Back at our hotel, we were immediately picked up for a roller coaster of a ride to the airport in a small bus. I say a roller coaster ride because my seasickness didn't get any better after the maniac driver who brought us to the airport!

We arrived safely to the airport to head to our next destination, Cairns, Australia, to see the Great Barrier Reef! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to focus on our destination because, even after taking some Dramamine, the flight was awful for me. I felt so sick! I have always been prone to slight motion sickness in a car and brought Dramamine along just as a precautionary measure, which wasn't working at all. The flight staff was very nice to me, giving me water and directing the air vents towards me to help me feel better. I made it to Cairns without (yet) getting sick. After the quick, 6 minute ride from the airport, I quickly went to bed, exhausted. Sadly, my day wasn't over and I woke around 2am, ill with what we now think was food poisoning from that lunch (I didn't eat anything else that day). Not one of my best days, I'll let you know! :) Yet, it was a grand day with all that Karen and I saw and did, in spite of the ending.

Many more pictures of the day at my photo website. Click here for the next post in this journey :)