A trip around the harbour.
Patrick and Sarah had very thoughtfully given us a Red Balloon present of a trip in the Nanpean Gorge on a boat, but because this is the period of the Australian school holidays we were unable to book a trip this week. The other thing was that the boat could only take 2 passengers, the trip would  take 2 hours and so even if we could have got on, one couple would have to wait for two hours, whilst the other couple went on the trip and then vice versa. Thus a 2 hour boat trip would take up to six hours, eight hours in reality as the drive was two hours.
After much discussion and scouring of the web it was decided we would exchange the Nanpean trip for a lunchtime cruise around Sydney harbour.
We set off at about ten, drove into Manly and caught the fast ferry to Circular Quay, on arrival we had to walk to Tiffany's, the jewellery store to exchange a Christmas present Zoe had received from David. Zoe led the way at a rapid rate of knots as she was afraid we would be late for our cruise. We had a look around Tiffany's whilst Zoe was dealing with the business. Downstairs there were no prices on display, this was the sort of shop you knew you were in trouble, if you wanted to buy anything. Upstairs in the silver section things were priced and were very reasonable. Anyway the good news is that although Rosemarie liked quite a few pieces we didn't purchase anything.
We walked back to the quay and had to wait a few minutes to board our boat. None of us had really known what to expect , but our tickets enabled us to go to the top deck and lunch was in a silver service restaurant. On the lower decks they had a buffet lunch, but we had proper waitress service.
The lunch was quite good, gnocchi for starters, steak or salmon for main and chocolate mousse or crumble for pudding. The cruise was a slow delight as we went to areas of Sydney we had never seen before, including Darling Harbour. Rosemarie and I really enjoyed ourselves. Another memorable present.
After our return to Circular Quay we went off to find some new sandals for me as the pair I had bought in Portugal for £19 had reached the end of their serviceable lives. David and Zoe took us to a branch of Katmandu  where we found an appropriate pair which cost a little more than £19. I had worn the sandals from Portugal almost every day of our trip and quite understand why they have decided to give up the ghost. I really hate losing old shoes and breaking new ones in. It is a bit like losing an old friend. However, as the old pair had given me a massive blister on the sole of my foot it was time for them to go.
We returned home for a quiet afternoon a great spaghetti bolognese and a couple of bottles of wine.A very enjoyable day.