day trip to manly
Recently my Auntie Angie and Unkee Adam came to visit us from London. They brought along Barnaby who is my Auntie's classroom bear. He was doing a school project which involved recording his special excursions in Sydney. I invited him to come with us to Manly to see the sights. Here is a picture of us sitting at the El Alamein Fountain in Kings Cross waiting for the BIG PEOPLE to stuff themselves with bacon and egg rolls before we headed off. Barnaby had his raincoat on 'cause he was scared of getting wet from the fountain's spray 'cause his fur would go all curly.
Barnaby is a lot bigger than me, as you can see in this picture. It was like having a personal minder and everyone kept looking at us on the bus. Maybe they thought I was famous and needed protection from my fans. I kept my dark glasses on to keep them guessing.
Sydney is full of rhinos at the moment and we found this one at Circular Quay when we got off the bus. It was so big and I was a bit scared to jump up on top of it, but MUM said not to worry as it was only an art installation. The problem is that a lot of tourists thought we were part of the show and we had to sit really still to let them take their photos. If you look really closely at this picture you can see me looking a little grumpy 'cause I thought we would miss the ferry across the Sydney Harbour to Manly.
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I really don't know why I worry sometimes 'cause we made it in plenty of time. Unfortunately it was a very windy day and we had to hold on to our bench really tightly as the ferry was bouncing around all over the place. I yelled out, "we're all gonna die" at one point when we nearly rolled over in a big wave, but MUM gave me a clip around the ears and told me to speak properly, so I soon forgot about the scary ride. Besides Barnaby was big enough to float, so I stuck real close to him just in case we had to abandon ship.
I really don't know why I worry sometimes 'cause we made it in plenty of time. Unfortunately it was a very windy day and we had to hold on to our bench really tightly as the ferry was bouncing around all over the place. I yelled out, "we're all gonna die" at one point when we nearly rolled over in a big wave, but MUM gave me a clip around the ears and told me to speak properly, so I soon forgot about the scary ride. Besides Barnaby was big enough to float, so I stuck real close to him just in case we had to abandon ship.
Here is a picture of us with two of the most famous Sydney sites in the background. In case you don't know, the Opera House is the one on the left. Barnaby was most impressed, especially when I told him I had been to the opera a few times. I didn't tell him I actually fell asleep in MUM's bag and got a clip around my ears when I started snoring loudly and the usher came up and ticked MUM off. She was so embarrassed and has told me I won't be going again until I grow up and learn some manners. Phew! That spares me having to listen to the fat ladies singing for a while. Well, not all of them, 'cause we have one at home. Ouch!
Here's a picture of me and Barnaby at Manly Beach waiting to head out into the swell to save Japanese tourists who couldn't swim. I don't think Barnaby could either 'cause he is English. However, it did not become a BIG problem 'cause the biggest storm was brewing and no-one was in the water. We just pretended we were all set to go until some yobbos came along and kicked sand all over us.
We then headed off to watch my Unkee Sam play rugby. His team just happened to be playing in Manly. It was a bit confusing for me, but Barnaby knew all the rules and kept yelling out stuff. I was a bit embarrassed, but sometimes you just have to pretend you know what's going on even if you don't! MUM said that it is important to learn about everything so you can be lots of fun at dinner parties and hold a conversation. She knows nothing about everything, but maybe she is spot on about this bit of advice.
After the game we went to the pub with all the rugby boys. Barnaby wanted to try Aussie beer and we shared a few pints. The publican tried to stop us, but MUM insisted that we were old enough to have a sip or two, but by that time she couldn't count anyway. I had to take BIG gulps to make sure I got my share. You can clearly see in this picture how Barnaby is massive, compared to little ol' me!
As the night wore on it got a bit messy 'cause we moved on to the sampler tray. By this time I was feeling very tired and emotional 'cause Barnaby was leaving the next day and he was going to tell my cuz Timmie all about our day at Manly. I doubt that Barnaby would remember much of it, so I will just have to fill in the blank spots when I next go to London.
As you can see in this next picture, I don't tell lies. I don't think this bit of the excursion will be shown to the students back in the UK. Oh well, at least they will know how we bears carry on 'Down Under'. MUM says there is an old saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." I think this may be an example.