Day 26 - Bye Bye Bruno

Today was the day we said goodbye to Bruno our trusty camper van and the town of Manly. After, at the very least, a 1400km trip in Bruno from Melbourne to Sydney, we had grown very found of him and the comfort and freedom he provided. We would miss making and unmaking the bed every day and locking everything down before driving so items didn't go flying around mid journey. Luckily this camper was slightly more robust so didn't cause us any issues in the middle of nowhere, unlike Frank!

We finished packing and tidying up the flat and hit the road by 8.30am. Sydney is a massive city and it can take hours to drive across it, especially if you choose to avoid the Toll roads. With our trusty free iPad app in hand we hit the road and made good time across Sydney by taking all the back roads and shortcuts. When we pulled into Britz we both felt a kind of lull as we knew the holiday we coming towards it end, with only 2 days left. After no problems handing him over and the deposits refunded to our banks we got into a taxi towards the city once again, to find our final hotel of the holiday, the Great Southern Hotel, slap bang in the middle of China Town!

Everything in the hotel was dated from 1903, including most of the foyer furniture and that in our room; we were on level 2 which was the 'heritage floor' and everything reminded us of The Great Gatsby. After unpacking essential items and showering we had just 30 minutes to walk the entire length of George St and get to the other side of the Quay for our birthday lunch. The waterside restaurant sat just opposite the Opera House and below the Sydney Harbour Bridge. On our walk towards the restaurant we were slightly concerned all we would see was the back end of a billion dollar cruise liner, but luckily we were sat at a table just far enough past the boat to get the view we were promised. The view was beautiful; the opera house was glistening under the blissful sun and a light breeze kept us cool. We ordered our food from the set menu and indulged ourselves in 3 courses and a bottle of wine; its fair to say we got slightly tipsy by the end.
With no other plans for the rest of the day so slowly wondered back up the CBD taking in more shops and the odd beer or two (with a bit of cricket thrown in for a laugh). From then on meandered back to the hotel and showered before heading out to dinner.

Being in China Town it was only right we went out for a Chinese (again). We wondered around for a bit, looking for a good Dim Sum joint, but most looked a little shady or were closed. Getting peckish by this point we went back to be first place we passed, which was branded a Chinese BBQ. What it actually meant was collect what you want from the counter and cook it yourself on the coal pit in the middle of your table. Sounds fun doesn't it?! Well it was entertaining tying to dodge the billowing smoke erupting from the pit once the prawns starting dripping juice onto the hot coals. The shower seemed a wasted effort at this point! After a few choice bits of meat, which could have been camel for all me knew, we left and headed back to the hotel. Not fully tired at this point we wondered into the Pokies, or slot machines for you and I. After trying a $2 dollar coin about 17 times it finally got stuck in one of the machines so we took our leave and went to bed, $2 lighter!