A Taste of Queensland

Seafood Pasta- Port Douglas 

Lagoon Vue Fish and Chips

Lagoon Vue Fish, Squid, Bay Bugs, Shrimp

Kuranda Ice Cream- Pre Scooped

Mango Wine - Kuranda

Grilled Plate- Raw Prawn, Cairns

Raw Prawn Seafood Sampler - Cairns 

Raw Prawn Steak Frites

Gelocchio - gelato pops

Most of our meals involved seafood of some kind while we were in Queensland.  Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of any of our lunches or the one meal we had at a Churrascaria which wasn't very memorable.  One of the most delightful finds was Gelocchio in Cairns which featured a variety of gelato pops that you could customize with toppings.  The gentleman who owns this little shop was so pleasant and warm.  On top of that, the gelato pops were delicious.  I had a straight up gianduja pop which brought back memories of the gelato throughout Italy.  My husband had the same, but had it dipped in chocolate and hazelnuts.  He was asking go back a few nights later which is rare for him as he's not the sweet lover that I am.  Apparently, these shops are a trend in Europe or at least Italy and I hope to find out if that is the case sooner than later.

The first night we went exploring the Night Markets we opted for a quick meal at this little cafe right outside.  There was a big conference in town, so, most of the restaurants were booked solid.  However, I have to admit that this small spot had the best fish and chips I had during our visit throughout all of Australia.  I forget what type of fish it was, but they had three different options for fish and chips.  This was the most expensive of the three at probably about $15 which we would later discover was pretty much a bargain.  Outside of our meal at Harry's Cafe de Wheels and the cheese and cracker night on Kangaroo Island, this was probably our cheapest meal.

The Raw Prawn was good.  It had a nice atmosphere and a nice patio.  The service was very good.  However, there was nothing that blew us away which is okay.  That's obviously not going to happen at every restaurant, so, a good solid meal is more than welcome.

The Rocks Sydney

Pancakes on the Rocks

The Rocks Friday Market

The Rocks area of Sydney really does have quite a bit of charm.  We didn't get to explore too much of it, but we did get to the food market that they have on Fridays.  I wish we would have been able to explore their Saturday market, but we had to get to the airport.

We did have breakfast one morning at Pancakes on the Rocks.  The food was decent, but the service awful.  Also, do not use google maps to find the spot!  I can't tell you how far out of the way we went when in fact it wasn't too far from the Shangri-La where we were staying.  So, I guess you could say we did explore quite a bit of the Rocks, but unintentionally and early in the morning when no one else was around.

One night we had dinner at Fish at the Rocks.  It was lovely.  We ate in the small front room and it was cozy, romantic and my husband loved his food.  Mine was so-so.  However, I stepped out of my box a bit to try some things I normally wouldn't choose, so, I was pretty pleased with myself.   I wish that we had a restaurant like this in our town.  It would be our spot.  I really felt like I was transported to somewhere really far, far away and in retrospect, it was so far, far away.  I may do a separate post featuring some more about the food from this restaurant if I can find the pictures.  However, if you are in Sydney, this place is definitely worth a visit!

Manly Beach

The Corso - Manly Beach

Manly Ocean Foods Accolades

Many Ocean Foods Fish and Chips

Manly is about seven miles or so from Sydney.  The ferries are pretty frequent with beautiful views in each direction.  I really could have spent a day just riding the ferries.

There is about a three or four block walk to the beach from the ferry stop.  You walk right through the center of the shopping and dining promenade.  The shops are pretty much your classic souvenir shops, but there were a few clothing stores, drugstores, etc... At the ferry landing, there are a few other shops including a grocery store, Aldi, and some small cafes.

The day we spent in Manly there was a warning about the rough seas, so, there weren't many people in the water except for some surfers who were determined to catch the big wave.  After watching them for about an hour or so, that big wave never came.  In fact, it was kind of funny to watch because they were all clustered together, so, it was interesting to see which ones would go for the waves that did emerge.  The beach itself is stunning.  It was very clean and the esplanade was full of activity.  There were so many families walking even during the week and lots of dogs getting their daily exercise.  The quality of life for those in Manly is probably great!

Aside from walking along the beach, we tried one of the fish and chip places on the promenade or "The Corso."  Manly Ocean Foods highly touted its accolades on its sign.  That should have been a warning for us.  However, it wasn't.  We saw quite a few locals ordering food from here too, so, we thought it would be a good choice.  We were highly disappointed.  For being right on the ocean, we are pretty sure the fish we got was not fresh, but frozen.  It had an extremely fishy taste.  My husband's squid rings were tough.  The best part were the chips.  The prices were good, but the food not so much.

While I did some shopping, my husband visited Oceanworld.  He spent about an hour exploring this small aquarium and he was pretty impressed with some of the exhibits.  Apparently, he thought some of the exhibits were better than those in the Sydney Aquarium.

Overall, Manly is most definitely worth a visit.  It is a quick roundtrip from Circular Quay.  I'm sure it is much different in summer when the beach is packed with people, but hearing the sound of the waves and smelling the sea air is something I enjoy year round.