City Centre & AMP Tower

Sunday 11 November

View from the AMP Tower View of Darling Harbour from the AMP Tower Pitt Street Mall on a Sunday morning

On Sunday most stores are closed, so there aren't many things you can do. I was getting really hungry this morning and it wasn't even noon yet. Bought fried rice, prawns and satay chicken at a Chinese take away. Yummy! During my stay in Sydney I usually didn't eat until around 1:00 - 2:00 PM. After my early lunch I hit the road again. A great opportunity to check out the many music stores here, because the audio cd's are here much cheaper than in Holland.

I walked to the AMP Tower, also known as the Centrepoint Tower. Bought a combo-ticket and waited for a short while for the elevator. Within in a minute we were brought up to the observation deck with a high speed elevator. Really awesome to see the city from 250 metres above ground level. On bright sunny days like today you're able to see the Blue Mountains!

I took a lot of pictures of the beautiful the surroundings and even captured it on tape. Sydney is so full of life. Taking the elevator down for the Skytour, which is a quick visual tour around Australia. The 3D theatre is fantastic! Seeing short video footage of the culture and beauty of Australia, like rafting in the Tully River, the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, mountain ranges, beaches and much more.

Once the tour was finished I strolled down the streets again. Walked to the Sydney Opera House and stayed there for awhile. Entered the Royal Botanic Gardens later in the afternoon. It was pretty warm today. Walked all the way to Mrs Macquaries Point, sat down in the shade and enjoyed the view. Pretty quiet here, not too crowded. People everywhere enjoying their free day. Not many dogs in the park too, they are allowed but must be kept on a leash, otherwise the owner gets a fine. Plenty opportunities to lie down on the grass and soak up the sun.

Time to go back for a guided tour inside the Sydney Opera House. Bought a ticket and waited outside. A bunch of people are also taking the same guided tour. Later on a girl took us for a guided tour around the Opera House. Telling the story behind this amazing building. It's a sad story too, between the Danish architect Jørn Utzon and the Australian government. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside theatres. It wasn't that impressive to take pictures off. After the guided tour I went to buy some groceries and took the bus back to the hostel.

I put my stuff away and lay down on the bed to rest for awhile. For dinner I went to a Chinese restaurant near the hostel. Today I wanted to eat chicken. I ordered chicken wings, fried rice, prawns and Cola. Lots of food for just one person. Yummy! On the way back to the hostel, I checked my e-mails at the internet cafe. It was a relaxed day and way too early to stay inside the room. Went to the lounge room to write my diary and look at the pictures of the tour. Spend some time there, later on freshened up and went off to bed.