And The Winner Is...The Esplanade

We put in a bid for all five of our contenders last Saturday.  The crowds at each inspection showed us exactly how competitive apartment hunting is out here.  At one of our inspections there were at least 20 people waiting before opening! As we were leaving we passed by 20 more just coming in!  The realtor told us that usually, they would let us know by Monday.

Monday, we found out that our number one pick, The Cove, was off the market.  The current residents changed their mind and have decided to stay.  But we were accepted for our number 2 pick, The Esplanade!  We are so excited to be moving in next month!

It has a beautiful view of the boats docked in the harbor from the 2nd floor, which is the 3rd floor to us Americans.  I'm still getting used to that and have found myself getting off the elevator one floor too early sometimes.

Situated on the wharf side of Manly, it's right across the street from the water and just 400m from the ferry building.  The commute into the Central Business District is just 17 minutes by Fast Ferry which departs every 20 minutes.  The beach on the East side is just a few blocks away as well.  The location is full of shops, restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

We'll make sure to furnish this room with a sofa bed for our US visitors!

This kitchen could use some extra counter space, so I will add a hightop table to my shopping list.

The same balcony view can be seen from the master bedroom.

I remember when our ferry rode into the harbor on the morning of our inspections.  The captain announced that there were a pod of dolphins swimming by on the starboard! I was so excited, and when I figured out which side was starboard, I saw them swimming along and noticed there were several paddle boarders enjoying the company of the dolphins as well.  This was going to be my new home!