Happy TRAVEL THURSDAY, friends!
Today, I’m not just sharing this travel post, but I’m also sharing YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE SKI TOWNS! Why five and not ten? Because you guys OVERWHELMINGLY suggested the same five towns. You can see that post HERE.
Below, I have PART TWO from our trip to Australia 🙂 .
If you missed PART ONE, I shared our arrival, Sydney, and Bondi Beach. Today though…
…I’m sharing our super chill and gorgeous day at Manly Beach. After a travel/arrival day and a busy sightseeing day, on this day, we decided to head across the bridge to Manley. Our original plan was to take the ferry over, but when we arrived, it was bananas. Outside of New Year’s Eve, it was the most crowded/congested place we visited on this trip. There was a really big long line to board upcoming boats for the 30 minute ride over and even though that’s what we wanted to do, we did not want to wait in the sun in the line…so we hopped in two Ubers and took a 30 minute car ride instead stopping first at this adorable beach front brewery for lunch.
We had burgers at the brewery before…
…heading over to the beach. We loved the two beaches we visited in Sydney. The water was crystal clear and the sand oh so white and soft. I’ve always thought Bermuda had the prettiest beaches, but now, I think I might be voting Sydney. It was the perfect summer day 🙂 .
See how crystal clear that water is?! We all eight spent the day in the water and on the beach. We bought beach toys and such on the boardwalk along with snacks and thoroughly enjoyed the down time.
My dad sent me this pic. This is me living my best life right here.
Just a bunch of beach bums…
…loving their day at Manly Beach. We stayed and played all day long before heading back over the bridge to Sydney.
We cleaned up for dinner…
…at Steersons Steakhouse…
…which had the BEST dinner views of our trip! My pictures do not do it justice. The restaurant sat right on the harbor, so we were able to see all the boats, the gorgeous sunset, and then the twinkle lights of Sydney at night.
It was the perfect spot for dinner after a beach day.
And that’s PART TWO.
Spoiler alert: there are kangaroos in PART THREE so make sure you come back 🙂 .
I’m also sharing YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE SKI TOWNS today, so make sure you check those out too.
Enjoy your Thursday, friends! xx
Elspeth says
What a gorgeous day and place! Thanks for sharing!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Traveling Tory says
Hi Shay! Trip looks great! I’ve wanted to go to Australia for awhile but it’s such a long flight from Massachusetts. Looked into it and it’s likely connecting in Dallas or LAX. How did you find the flight? I travel a bit for work and have some airline and credit card miles so could probably swing a business or premium economy seat for 2, but with award availability I doubt I’d find enough seats for the kids and maybe my parents too. Have you done anything similar where you sit up front and alternate who gets the better seat each leg? Or how do you go about it? Anyway, hoping I can visit Aus and maybe NZ next year!
Mix and Match Mama says
Our travel agency works with a great partner company for long haul flights in business and first class. If you really want to get to Australia, we would love to help you and share our resources! info@mixandmatchtravelagency.com
Suz Williams says
I’m Australian and it’s a brutal flight to go anywhere from here but that’s what makes it worthwhile. We love being down here away from world chaos to some extent. We are friendly people who serve great weather and fab coffee to ward off jet lag. Come visit and stay for as long as you can!
Erika Slaughter says
Looks like you got some reading accomplished on that beach day!
Rita says
Manly is beautiful. You should watch Bondi Rescue, not filmed anymore. It’s about the lifesavers and them rescuing people at Bondi Beach. Was a big hit here. Look up Whitehaven Beach in Queensland for the whitest sand. Enjoying the recaps.
Mix and Match Mama says
Thank you so much!
Kirsten says
Beautiful beach! Are you worried at all with all your beach days on vacations and on Nantucket about sun exposure? I remember a post awhile back you mentioned you had skin cancer, and spots removed. Even though you use sunscreen, it is never recommended to lay out directly in the sun, in addition, any dermatologist will tell you if you had previous skin cancer, pre-cancerous moles, or a family history of such to never lay out like that and to avoid prime time hours (10 am – 4 pm) Sunscreen is not enough. In addition to skin cancer risk, sun ages one’s skin terribly. I was just wondering your thoughts on this. No judgement here, you do you, but you had posts written all about sun damage, your skin issues, your other cancer etc.
Mix and Match Mama says
Do I think about it? Yup. I still do it though. It’s my happy place. I haven’t decided how to reconcile it. For now, I use SPF and visit the dermatologist quite frequently. Maybe one day, I’ll stop…but I don’t know?
Gail says
I am right there with you Shay! I grew up in a small Southern California beach town and didnt even know that my hair was brown until I got married and moved away ….the sun kept my hair blonde all year. My dermatologist says that we all make our choices and then we have to live with it, so now I use SPF 50 sun shirts, big hats and a SPF 50 towel over my legs. That way I can still be out in the sun (also with sunscreen) and I do get a light tan from moderate sun exposure and go to the dermatologist twice a year. We spend a lot of time on our boat and take water vacations every year… I just try to be as careful as I can and still be in my happy sun place. Living in the rainy Pacific Northwest naturally limits my outdoor time for much of the year so that is the choice that I can live with!
Katie Compton says
Oooh… can’t wait for your January book review b/c I know you did some major reading with this vacay and your long plane rides! I’m finishing up All the Colors of the Dark right now… I expect to finish the last couple chapters on the treadmill tomorrow morning. 🙂
Kacey says
Umm does Mades dress come in my size?! 😉 Looks like a Lilly. It’s so cute!!
Elizabeth says
Manly beach is the best! My sister and I were in Australia during a heat wave, so we beach bounced for a few days while the friends we were visiting had to work. Manly was hands down our favorite! Shelly Beach, also in Manly and just a short walk from the main beach, was also very nice and a fun place to snorkel!
Beth Knecht says
I think you did a Best Beaches review before, but I’m so interested that you loved both Sydney and Bermuda beaches. Did you love them even more than Turks and Caicos? So dreamy!
Mix and Match Mama says
Yes! I would say that Turks is gorgeous but for sure, those two are even more gorgeous.
Detroit Duchess says
Madeley’s poses are SO cute, I love it!