Walking and Eating

[A] Walking: we thought that because there would be fewer people out and about, Sunday would be a good day to tackle ‘Sydney’s Little Laneways’, a walking tour along many of Sydney’s earliest streets.  It was very well done, and we found it fascinating seeing the mix of old and new buildings, and understanding some of the background to why the streets are as they are.

[S] Wasn’t sure if I’d be up for the 22 ‘Points of Interest’ along the way – distance-wise I thought it might be a challenge, especially as Sydney is not exactly flat.  But it was quite absorbing, lots of quirky and interesting facts and sights.  Proud of myself – 10,000 steps on the pedometer by lunchtime.

[A] Eating: after our walk, we took the ferry out to Manly, and headed straight to a restaurant on the Manly Wharf (Hugos) for a late lunch.  By the time we arrived (after our walk and the ferry trip) it was 1:30pm, and Hugos didn’t have any tables available for 40 minutes.  So it was just as well that it had come highly recommended (thanks Andrew).  It transpires that Hugos was voted best pizza restaurant in NSW in 2015, and 7th best restaurant in Australia in 2015.  And we can understand why – (once we got a table) the food was superb, the service was great, and the location overlooking the water was amazing.

Before:

After:

We rolled out of Hugos about 4:15pm, in time for a quick walk to the beach at Manly before heading back on the ferry, taking in some magical views on the way.

[S} Allan’s right – it was a fab restaurant.  The day had started out cloudy to the point where we were wondering whether we should save Manly for a sunnier day.  It was warm and dry so we carried on, and we were glad we had, since the sun came out and the view from our table was exquisite.  The food was great, the ambience was great, and so was the service.  Allan ordered a fig pizza – unusual, but he raved about it.  We had decided as soon as we saw the menu that this would be our main meal of the day, but planned not to have dessert.  However, the waitress didn’t ask if we wanted to see the menu – she just gave it to us and Allan was lost.  After a whole pizza (six large slices!), he ordered a tiramisu.  I thought I had better keep him company, but it was his fault!  No room for dinner tonight!

The ferries are great and we came back at sunset to stunning views of the bridge, and an illuminated Luna Park.

Interestingly, a lot of the town seems not to open on Sundays, so the streets were very quiet, but as soon as we got to Circular Quay, the crowds (tourists?!) were out in force and it was teeming with people both there and at Manly.  We had to pay a 10% surcharge at the restaurant so I guess the labour laws here must involve extra pay for working on a Sunday.

All in all, a strenuous but hugely enjoyable day!