Manly Beach

Considering the fact that I grew up in a Chicago suburb and went to school in rural Ohio, I find it amusing that the first time I've ever lived in a city I moved to the other side of the world to do it. That being said, my day- to- day life in Sydney is similar to what my life would be like at home. I work four days a week, on one of my days off I try to be productive (i.e. grocery shop, do laundry, clean my apartment), and then other days I enjoy going to the beach. Normally, I go to Coogee because I can catch a bus in Newtown, but last week I decided to branch out and go to Manly, the most accessible northern beach. Even though it’s accessible, it’s still quite the trek. I have to take a 30 minute bus ride or a 15 minute train ride to Circular Quay and then hop on a ferry for 30 more minutes before I actually reach my destination. All in all I do think that the Manly area is charming, but I still favor the convenience and beauty of Coogee.

On the ferry ride to Manly, Sydney's most popular northern beach.

Some people say the northern beaches are less crowded. Those people are wrong.

The further you walk down the beach, the less crowded it gets.

The pavilion area with cute surf shops and cafes.

Last week, on Tuesday night I went Hikaru, a Japanese restaurant in Newtown with three girls from work. We enjoyed the food and conversation so much we were the last ones to leave! The next night I went out to dinner with the same group that I went to the Homebake festival with, it was a sort of going away party for Jenna because she’s going home to Coff’s Harbour (a good seven hours drive up the coast from Sydney) for the holidays. We went to the very popular Bar Reggio, an Italian place in Darlinghurst. I finally had my first delicious pizza since being in Australia—those slices at the kebob stands on George Street just won’t cut it anymore. The good food and great company was a real treat because I had been cooking for myself and eating alone since Rachel went to Melbourne for the week!

Courtney, Jenna, Andrew, Me, Kylie, and Kate enjoying our dinner.

That night I was lucky enough to ride on Mrs. Claus's bus!

Then this past Saturday night Rachel, Kylie and I went to a concert at the Coogee Bay Hotel. I had been there once before, the place is absolutely massive. It has a restaurant, a sports club, a beer garden, and a dance floor which is the area they used as the concert venue. The band playing was called The Beautiful Girls, but you’d be surprised to learn it isn’t a band made up of beautiful girls! It’s actually three guys on the guitar, bass, and drums and they have kind of a alternative/reggae vibe to them. Rachel and Kylie were already fans, and after checking out two of their CDs from the library, I am too! All three of us had a blast and we hung out in the beer garden for a bit before heading back home for the night.

The three of us at The Beautiful Girls concert.

This is not technically a music video, but it is my favorite song of their called "Periscopes"