Day out being silly

  Luna Park, New South Wales, Australia Sunday, January 4, 2015

Today we were expecting Nigel, Cath and Sam back home, so to give them some peace and quiet and their own space to move about when they got back, we planned a day out of the house down in the city. We left the house at 6am again as we thought we would start at Manly Beach again where Bryan could swim with the Bold and the Beautiful again. Once again we were in Manly on the beach by 7am and Bryan set off for his swim. Jody again waited on the beach but she didn't have to wait so long this time. Bryan decided not to do a double run this time and so was finished sooner than his previous swim here. We again went for breakfast in Manly but then we made our way to the ferry dock - leaving the car in the multi storey for the day. We jumped on the ferry to Circular Quay to spend a little time there first. It is quite a fabulous sight to see the opera house and the harbour bridge appear as you sail around the headland towards the harbour. Quite an iconic sight. When we arrived at Circular Quay it was heaving! There were literally hundreds of people crowed at the ferry waiting to go to Manly. We were so glad we were not staying in Manly as it was going to be a very busy day. As the weather was so beautiful, we took a little wander along the quayside and up to the Opera House. We remember that last time we were in Australia this was one of the landmarks that really imprinted itself on our memory and although we didn't have quite the same WOW when we saw it this time, we still felt a little wow! We walked around the other side of it this time as for some reason we hadn't before (it was probably raining!).Then with the clock ticking away, Bryan was keen to get to the other side of the harbour and into Luna Park. Luna Park is the fun fair you can see from the harbour and it sits right under the bridge. It was very visible in our New Years' Eve photos as it was all lit up. We arrived at about 12 o'clock and the queues were not too long to get our tickets. $49.99 (£25) for an all inclusive ride on everything as many times as you wanted ticket. Bargain! The first thing Bryan wanted to do was the Wall of Death! This is the one where they spin you around very fast and then drop the floor out from under you. We had to do this first as we were hungry and the consequences of him doing this after we had eaten did not really bear thinking about! We went and had our picnic under the harbour bridge. It was strange to see it from the opposite side as were were so used to seeing it from the quay. But it was still a beautiful image. So picnic over and first stop was the ferris wheel. We were not on it for very long but we got a good view of the park and the tiny little beaches that litter this side of the harbour. We found out they also do evening meals on the ferris wheel. You can book a cab and enjoy a 3 course meal with wine as you go round and round by candle light. How cute is that? We spent the rest of the day going on the dogems, the pirate log flume thingy, a wavy ride - up and down and round and round (like a waltzer but it didn't spin) the carousel, the wild mouse and being silly in the mirror maze etc etc. All the things we all love to do at the fairground. It was about 4pm when we sat down for a cold drink and an ice cream and took the opportunity to go through our facebook etc. It was then that Jody read a post from Cath saying they were enjoying their last day in Bali...! What? They were not back today afterall and we had come out today especially to give them some peace and quiet when they got back. Oh well - we had a giggle about it. It didn't really matter anyway as we had had such a lovely day. Right next to Looney Park is an old 1930's in origin Olympic swimming pool. Bryan seems to know where they all are and after a busy day in the park, we went in so Bryan could enjoy a swim. (and also because he is building up his training for M.I.M.S. (Manhattan Island Marathon Swim) in July. Our day passes to Looney Park got us in free at the pool and we were able to relax and take the weight off our feet with the impressive view of the bridge right above us. We had had a brilliant day and eventually it was time to head back towards Manly so we took the ferry from Circular Quay in the dark and we got to see the twinkly lights of Sydney Harbour again. We finally made it home at about 10:30pm - an incredibly long day - and of course the house was empty! Oh well at least it was clean and tidy and no more housework to do before they arrive TOMORROW morning!. We had had another brilliant day and Looney Park is another must if you are ever in Sydney [gallery columns="4" ids="9651,9664,9673,9681,9693,9707,9715,9724,9733,9743,9756,9768,9778,9781,9790,9797,9800,9815,9825,9834,9842,9847,9852,9859,9871,9876,9884,9889,9895,9897,9902,9912,9916,9919,9923,9932,9937,9942,9948,9956,9957,9963,9965,9970,9973,9978"]