Day 4 - Food, Money, and Manly Beach

Brekkie

I had breakfast this morning with Ceren. We both have an interest in photography and took photos with our DSLR’s of quirky little things throughout the meal, and throughout the day. Here are some images of our food. My bowl of fruit & yogurt-covered muesli (which was very good quality) only cost $10. I’m including some photos from a local supermarket showing meat and seafood with pricing so you can get an idea of the cost of living. Remember that those prices are per kilogram (1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds).

Red Meats

Seafoods

I want to show you the currency too. The coins are of 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents (there is no penny – they round at the checkout) and 1 and 2 dollars. Interestingly, the 2 dollar coin is smaller than the 1 dollar coin. There is no paper dollar. Bills come in 5, 10, 20, & 50 (not sure of anything higher). Notice the physical size and color differences.

Currency

Manly

Ceren and I headed to North Sydney (across the famous Harbour Bridge – which I’ll be photographing tomorrow) for Manly Beach. Manly and Bondi are the two most popular beaches of Sydney (there are plenty of lesser beaches around also). We each agreed that we liked Manly the best of the two. Manly seems to be a bit more tastefully done than Bondi. And it seems to have more room. One exception might be that Bondi is interconnected with two other beaches by a terrific “Coastal Trail”, showcasing wonderful displays of weathered sandstones.

Manly Beach - Kids receiving Surf Lessons

I spoke with another French woman who was working as a cashier at a food stand at Manly. She just got permanent residency by “defacto” (that’s what people have been calling it). Defacto goes something like this: Live with a romantic Australian citizen for at least one year, then apply for and be granted residency privileges for 2 years. After that, if you can prove you are still together, you are eligible for permanent residency. No marriage required. She was an environmental scientist back in France, but they don’t need those here (not in Sydney anyway). So she apparently chose the defacto/work as a cashier route. People do like it here, and the theme of how to earn permanent residency has come up a number of times now, among European foreigners.

Manly Beach

I’ve met one American here, through Ceren, and she’s doing the same thing as I just described above (she has a defacto partner and is a waitress). But in general, I don’t get the impression that many Americans are here. Keep in mind that Americans have a lot of options (for moving around, changing lifestyle, climates) without leaving the country. Europeans maybe not as much so.

Trivia: Wall outlets are 240 volt here. They're 120 volt in America. You need a special plug-in adapter (and you need to make sure your equipment is rated for 240 volt – my computer battery charger is; my camera battery charger is not).

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Day 4 – Food, Money, and Manly Beach

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