Memories of Ferries to Manly for Fish and Chips

For my birthday James took me to a restaurant in Manly. While there I was telling him about ferry trips to Manly from Meadowbank for fish and chips and of course an ice cream. We decided that our next adventure day we'd do the same adventure. 

We woke on Sunday morning, had breakfast and then headed to Meadowbank. 

Eliza was very excited to get her own Opal card, now that she is 4.

After beeping our cards we headed down to the wharf and waited for our ferry.

When we hopped on, Daniel and I sat inside and James headed upstairs with Eliza and Alexander.

It got too windy for them so they came back downstairs and Daniel wanted to head upstairs. I loved listening to their little conversations about what they saw along the way, their excitement about everything around them. They loved spotting other boats and ferries. They were very excited to see the Harbour Bridge.

Loved them having a chat while watching out the window

Waving to the ferry as it goes by. I remember doing that

There's the Harbour Bridge!

 As we got close to the city we decided to head upstairs to join Daniel and Daddy. It was cold but fun.

When we arrived at Circular Quay we were all amazed by the life statue of 'Master of Levitation'. We chatted about how he was possibly doing it but really have no idea. He was lovely. The kids gave him some money and had a photo with him. He then shook their hand and gave them a card.

We then headed over to the Manly Ferry and hopped on. We found seats inside and enjoyed the trip over to Manly. I can't wait for the kids to be a bit older to understand the different sites and appreciate them. Things like North and South heads were too hard for them to grasp as well as the different points along the way. But they still loved the trip.

Once we arrived in Manly we got some sushi for Alexander and then we walked down to the beach to order fish and chips. While James and Daniel waited for our order, Eliza, Alexander and I managed to get a table which was very lucky. We then enjoyed our fish and chips and calamari.

The kids were nervous about the seagulls flying around as we ate but we reassured them that they wouldn't take our food. The kids liked having tartare sauce for the first time too. Winner!

After lunch we went over to the beach and the kids couldn't help but play in the sand. James was more than happy to stay sitting on the steps while I needed to venture onto the sand to remind the kids to stay back from the water because we didn't want them to get wet and to stay where we could see them. They had fun making sand castles, digging holes and just playing in the sand.

And they're off

Look Mummy. Sand!

Digging out a moat for the sandcastle

 They just love the sand!
We then looked at the time and we needed to head back to catch the ferry. I got a photo of them standing at the top of the steps.

And then one infront of the wharf.

We had a few minutes to spare so decided to get the kids their first soft serve icecream from Maccas. Yum! Alexander was allowed to enjoy a corn thin. He wasn't quite as happy about this as the other 2. They had to eat quickly before the ferry left.

We made it back in time to catch the ferry to Circular Quay. Unfortunately we couldn't fit on the ferry to Meadowbank as it was full so we had to wait an extra 15 mins until the next ferry left. The small positive was that we saw the ferry 'Alexander' while we waited.

Fortunately we made the next ferry back to Meadowbank. Poor Eliza had a virus and panadol started to wind down as we headed home so she was quite clingy and tired. Poor chook. She did so well though and made it back home, falling immediately asleep in the car. 

What a fun day! So lovely to do something that is such a fond memory for me with my own little family. Can't wait for more adventures with them.