Last Thursday I caught the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly in North Sydney to visit the lovely Katie-Jane. If you don't already follow Katie you may recognise her from her modelling days on the Dixi website a little while ago. I've followed Katie's blog for what seems like ages and yet had never met her in the UK so when I knew I was moving to Sydney I couldn't wait to meet up with her. 

The ferry crossing takes about half an hour and captures some breathtaking views of Sydney, it's skyline and it's world famous landmarks. On a clear day you can get some fantastic photos that you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else around the city. It's worth going to Manly just for this!

For lunch we popped into Showbox Coffee where she works at weekends. I opted for their 'Mudhoney' smoothie which consists of raw cacao, honey and banana and tastes just like rich chocolate mousse. And their bruschetta with peas and mozzarella. Katie went their black rice pudding with seasonal fruit and marscapone. It looked delicious! 

The beach at Manly is stunning. With its long golden beach and crystal clear water, it's a surfers paradise! Further along the beach you get to a second beach, more of a cove which is home to some great snorkelling spots. Manly is very much a seaside/beach lovers/surfers paradise! It features plenty of fish and chip shops, seafood restaurants and surfboard shacks. It's a really cool area of Sydney to visit, especially on a hot sunny day. I'm sure most of you have heard of Bondi, but I would really recommend a trip to Manly. 

After taking some blog photos (which I'll post soon) we went back to Katie's apartment and I got to meet Mr Bigg! Her snuggly, fluffy, bunny rabbit. He is adorable! I can't wait to go back and see him again. So cute!!

And then it was time to say goodbye and catch the ferry back to the city where I captured photos of those magical sights. The two above are my personal favourites, I'm so pleased with them. I'm in no way a good photographer. I know very little about photography but I feel these photos could rival any Google image of Sydney. Especially the second one with a little boat skimming past the Opera House. Couldn't have timed it better if I'd tried. 

Once I got back to the city I met Stew on his break from work for a drink in Surry Hills at Lil Darlin'. He'd just picked up his tips from the day before and was feeling a little generous so treated me to an afternoon cocktail. I had seen their fairy floss martini on Instagram and had been longing to try it ever since we arrived. Fairy floss is what Aussies call candy floss.... so cute!