Sydney Part 2: How I got to know the queen's carriage maker

Saturday 23rd til Tuesday 26th: Saturday I arrived in Sydney in the afternoon (YHA Harbour Hostel, very good location) and managed to get a ticket for the Ballet Sylvia at the Opera 🤩 After that I enjoyed the night life in The Rocks. A lot of bars have live music! On Sunday I walked through the city and explored Chinatown, Darling Harbour and everything on the way. I loved Paddy's Markets, you can get everything you need there (and more importantly, what you don't need). In the evening I went out again and had a great night at the Argyle. Good hip-hop and RnB dance music. On Monday it was time for Manly Beach. Arriving at Manly Wharf I decided to do a little hike first, out to North Head, where you have a beautiful view of Sydney. The hike is wonderful through woods and passing little beaches. I met an echidna (spiny anteater) and Jim... As I was walking towards North Head a friendly man greeted me and started a conversation. He asked me, if I would like to see the carriage he is building for the queen. I'm was a bit suspicious but took a look. And in deed, there it was, the wooden frame for a big carriage. Jim explained to me, how he builds them and showed me photos of his last one. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures but I feel very lucky to have had this very unexpected, lovely encounter. Arriving at North Head I saw a thunderstorm rolling in and decided to hide out in the Bella Vista Café. A very good decision as 20 minutes later all hell broke loose. Even a little possum tried to hide out in the café 😂. The thunderstorm wore off a bit and I took a bus back to Manly and went to the beach. Unfortunately it was still too windy and rainy to lay on it, so I made my way back to Sydney. In the evening I went to Marble Bar at the Hilton Hotel. The DJ at Argyle had recommended the Monday reggae concert to me. The bar is beautiful with reasonable prices. Go there if you can, but take a jacket as they keep the doors open which causes a constant wind to blow through the bar. Tuesday, I was a bit tired and so I did some trip-planing at the hostel. Later I went to the fish market. I found it a bit disappointing to be honest (bit small), but had some nice oysters. On my way back I strolled through the Queen Victoria Building and was delighted by the old Victorian glory. At 7pm I was on the bus to Port Macquarie. Goodbye Sydney!