This charmingly dingy little store sells a whole heap of weird stuff. There's a rather randomly…read moreplaced feather boa coiled over the door as you enter, and there's barely enough room to maneuver around in. I had to shrink against the wall just to have enough space to raise my camera for a picture! Some things you'll find here; Trousers, coats, jackets, assorted dresses, books, an eclectic collection of DVD's and slippers. Not shoes, just sandals and slippers. It's really rather cute, and the saleslady is possibly the nicest woman ever. She has a strong Russian accent, and is marvelously helpful.

Cockatoo Island's vast abandoned factories, unused alleyways and shipping docks provides an…read moreexciting location for visitors to see a huge range of Street Art in one location. And because of its dynamic and live nature, the art will change and evolve, giving visitors something different to see throughout the course of the festival which runs from 4 November - 11 December, 2011. We are delighted one Sunday that the weather is perfect and that public transport for a Fun Day ticket is only $5 so we take advantage of this offer and catch the ferry over to Cockatoo Island for the street art display called Outpost. When we arrive we are met with a colourful cup wall and a huge expansive chalkboard floor which our toddler runs too and grabs chalk from the baskets to begin her own graffiti. On hot days because of the asphalt it can be incredibly hot so make sure young one are covered up and it wouldn't hurt to have cover for yourself. Children scoot and skate around us as this place is perfect for this kind of activity. We then choose to walk down the working tunnel which leads to the Turbine Hall. It makes for a wonderful experience to see art from Ben Frost, Everfresh and The Beastman. We exit and go into the Turbine Hall where the Kidzoom Home project shows a movie installation and three commodore pile up installation inside. On the other side we sit in one of the many cafes and have a refreshing drink and coffee. Our Toddler decides she is off and goes into the junk room with other kids to construct her own sculpture she loves it. Following this we go into a big room with hanging t-shirts and profiles on different graphic artists and then go over to the X Box room to do some dancing. This exhibition is progressive, dynamic and worth those who are keen to take the short trip from Circular Quay for the day. Relax with a cocktail in the Cockatoo Island Bar at the end of the day. Verdict: One in a million experience that you must go and see.

You know peeps visiting Australia from Hawaii had to stop by here, even if we're not surfers. The…read moreplaque going along with the statute makes no mention of Duke's ties to Hawaii; almost like Australia wants to claim him as their native son lol. But gotta respect the honor they bestowed on him.

So why is there a statue of Hawaii's famous Olympic swimmer and legendary surfer in Australia and…read morewhy the heck is it at Sydney's Freshwater Beach? During the Australian summer of 1914-15 Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku aka "The Duke", came out to Australia to race against Australia's finest and fastest swimmers in events around Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland. At the time Duke held numerous world swimming records. During his stay in Sydney he fashioned and shaped a surf board out of local timbers (modelled on his Hawaiian boards back home), and took to the surf at Freshwater Beach in January 1915 - the event is regraded as the day when surfing came to Australia. Before The Duke left Australia he gave his iconic board to teenager Claude West who became Australia's first surfboarding champion. Claude, in later life, donated Duke's board to the Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club where it is housed (and if you are polite and lucky you may just be able to be taken to the room where it is on display). There are two recent and excellent books about The Duke. The first is about his visit to Australia and is by Phil Jarratt and titled "That summer at Boomerang". It's a historic dramatisation of his visit and exploits in Australia and includes some interesting insights into his relationships he formed with Australian swimmers at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics), and the friendships he made here. The second account is a more general book by David Davis called "Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku" which is also a good read into the life of this marvellous Hawaiian hero. So pay your respects next time you are at Freshwater and long live Duke!

I flipflops too! Especially flip-flops with eyes or glitter flip-flops or flip-flops slipping a…read morecheeky grin. Flip Flop Art Fence in Manly is a free-for-all project conceived by --- and embraces recycling-as-art. I mean let's face it, there's not much else one can do with ones double pluggers once they bite the dust. This Flip Flop Fence was so alluring to me that I failed to see the curb as I stepped back onto the pavement after heading out onto the road to get my pics, and tripped and grazed my knee. Let's add Fail to the Flip Floppery alliteration we have going on here. All are invited to add their beloved flip-flops and I hope this tradition continues until the entire fence is a wall of colourful rubber.

So much fun! Ran into a silent disco (live DJ, music streamed through headphones available to…read moreeveryone), which was quite a blast. Plenty of cute stalls and artisan vendors (one particularly talented laser-cut greeting card artist, worth finding), and a whole lane of street food vendors. The Rocks, in general, is a lovely area to walk around.

Definitely worth a wander if you are in town. Its pleasantly…read morebizarre. I loved the inflatable tyvek suits and the strange costumes.

(Explored 12/12/24 TH @ 4:00pm, 12/26/24 TH @ 10:00am, and several times over a decade ago): This…read moreharbour neighbourhood will rock your socks off! The Rocks was a quintessential goodbye and welcoming point for those embarking or disembarking by cruise ship in Sydney Harbour and a focal historic neighbourhood where many came to dine, drink, shop, or just walk around in the fresh open air with a kiss of salt water sprinkled onto your skin. My first experience was very similar to this one, and it all started on a cruise with Princess Cruises. My travel companion and I arrived a couple of days early to settle in and roamed around before the cruise began. Then, at the end of the cruise, we stuck around for nearly a week to welcome in 2025. Would this return visit years later rock as it did my first time around!? PURCHASE We tried our best to support the local economy by visiting several pubs and restaurants as we surrounded ourselves with the locals and whatever came our way. Each of these experiences would be explored further with their own respective reviews. SERVICE There was no specific service to speak of that directly affected The Rocks as a whole. Rather, collectively all of the businesses we supported had wonderful service. The area was well-kept, and although there was a constant flow of slow traffic down the narrow streets, each was safe to cross. PARKING (FREE) I honestly had no idea nor took notice of the parking situation although I saw some vehicles parked here and there along the surrounding streets. We simply walked, took the train from/to the Circular Quay Station (it was right there!) or took an Uber - 'nuff said. ATMOSPHERE, DÉCOR, AMBIENCE I couldn't say what streets bordered or determined the parameters of The Rocks area, but you had a collection of old buildings that housed pubs (Fortune Of War Hotel), breweries/restaurants (The Endeavour Tap Rooms), a breakfast spot (Shuk The Rocks), the Museum Of Contemporary Art Sydney https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=j_J8UYvByj8QDV_ZnbqrRQ for some culture, a slew of art galleries https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=YtAakzygb5ZdKBfVAJrJ_g and retail shops, Sydney Harbour with view of iconic Sydney Opera House https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=P1RzLfk-zcbziYGOeoTrhg and Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the cruise terminal https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=6i9FoQ8M7O0m8JnpyZQvwQ for some ocean voyages. It was Christmas time, so there were plenty of decorations https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=z3gi2JSNDyfjJ7aG6G0ZWg everywhere. Obviously, there was plenty of natural lighting with a plethora of street and business electric lights throughout when the sun went down. Even if you didn't partake in any of these options, simply people-watching was more than enough fun to pass the time as you lazed away - enjoy! ATTIRE Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops. OVERALL The Rocks was a fun place to spend the day and enjoy the local flavors around you. There was something for everyone (I personally loved the pubs, eateries, and cruise terminal), and you could spend as much or as little money and still have a good time. I found complete value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience varied BEFORE any discounts/tip). And, many of the businesses accepted my credit card of choice... AMEX! 5.0 STARS

Sydney's oldest neighborhood…read more Walk along the cobblestone paved streets and narrow laneways. Explore the markets, the museums and the galleries. This is where Sydney was born in 1788. The newly arrived convicts set up shops, pubs and homes. The Fortune of War pub opened almost 200 years ago in 1828. Imagine the hardships that those early settlers faced. Today, many of those original historic buildings have been restored. The renovations have turned what was once dilapidated into a popular tourist area.

No wonder this is one of the more exclusive suburbs in Sydney. It has everything you could want:…read moregreat parks, restaurants, cafes, exercise facilities, leafy back streets and a ferry terminal. If you come here early on weekday mornings, you see a steady stream of smart business men and women on their way to work. Surely this must be the best commute in the world...although still difficult to leave the serenity of aptly-named Rose Bay behind.

The busiest point in Sydney (As determined by Dennis Bones in 2012)…read more Its the interconnect between the arcades under the QVB, The Galleries Victoria and town hall station. Go here between 8am and 930am to see everyone in Australia transit this one spot. Bonus points if you can count all the goldfish.

An (un)official northern beaches rite of passage. Have you…read moregot the stones to do Jump Rock? It's higher than you think. But hey, cliff jumps are always higher than you think when you're standing up there in your board shorts with your friends taking bets on whether or not you'll jump, and that one daredevil mate is already in the water shouting "Come on, it's easy!". You walk up from Little Manly beach and down the path at the end of Stuart Street. Word of warning, this isn't sanctioned by the council and you'll have to jump over a fence, so if you really want to do this, go with friends, and just be careful, okay?

This looks so fun I can't wait to go back! Unsure how to get back but, but I saw some people wet…read morethere, so they must have climbed back up somehow. Ben's directions are spot on, so just go through the hole in the fence and follow them!

The remit for Mosman market appears to be handmade and beautiful - we don't really care if it's…read moreorganic or not. It is definitely the place to head to if you're looking for a gift. Priority is given to hand crafted and home produced goods and this ensures that the goods on sale are unique and usually of a high quality. This arts and crafts market suits the affluent demographic of the area perfectly and there is always a lot of foot traffic; though how many are actually buying is another matte,r as the stall holders tend to remain constant, so once you've seen the offerings it can get a little tiresome. Many stalls focus on children's clothing, accessories and toys -think Cath Kidson/Penny Scanlan - lots of flowery bonnets, retro cowboy/spaceman designs and wooden toys. There's jewellery in a range of price brackets and styles: from dainty silver earrings to chunky resin necklaces. I once bought the most delightful butterfly wing earrings that had been 'frozen' in resin (not good for ones Karma though I'm pretty sure). Artists that display here tend to be pretty conservative or focus on photography of the local area. There's clothing, leather goods, soy candles as well as food stalls selling pretty cupcakes, chutneys and relishes, olive oils from the Hunter and organic honey. There are a small number of fast food outlets one selling Dutch Pancakes that are just sensational. Mosman Markets occur on the Mosman Square and Village Green on the first Saturday of every month, pretty much come rain hail or shine; they're a hardy bunch the Mosman Marketers though they didn't have it too touch today, in beautiful 26 degree autumn day. Nice to kick back and relax to the jazz band that play around mid-morning.