I was up early in the morning to catch a train into Sydney.  Travel around here is really easy and I was able purchse 2 tickets for use on trains, buses, or ferries that would last the day.  All total I used the trains to get to the Circular Quoy train station, which overlooks the harbor and has views of the bridge and Opera House.  The Manly Ferry was a picturesque 30-minute ride across the harbor.  There were high hills with lush vegetation and development meeting a happy medium.  Being Saturday, there were boats all over the harbor and even a sailboat race.  It took a little while to get settled in Manly and find a decently priced kebab.  Manly has beaches on both sides of a strip of land maybe a quarter mile thick (very rough guess).

    After reviewing options for the day, it was onto a bus around Manly and part of the harbor.  I elected to hike about 12.5 km around the harbor.  There was all kind of terrain from decent hills to sidewalk to beach.  The views were excellent.  I kept stopping for pictures, so the walk took a while.  There were also 2 lizard colonies, one small and one medium-sized lizzies.  It was a wonderful afternoon and properly priced, FREE!  My feet were sore again, with some blisters, so it was off to Oxford Street.  It something that could be avoided.  I settled in at the Stonewall Hotel, which had a nice atmosphere, keen security, and pretty cheap beer.  Most of Oxford Street is downright seedy.  There were all kinds of adult oriented businesses and sex shops.  I have to admit that I had to stop once or twice and try to figure out just what the purpose of a monostrosity in the window was.

Alas, it was time to go home and that was a bit of a tribulation.  I was a tad bit overserved and had trouble staying awake on the train.  Then the tracks were undergoing repairs and we had to get off at Waterfall.  There was an hour wait for the next bus to Thirroul.  I tried to put on tennis shoes at the terminal to walk to Boxy and Frankie's, but my feet were so sore and swollen it was a very tight fit.  The walk home took about twice as long and wasn't pretty, but overall it was a great day and well worth it!