Day 11: Sydney, Australia

Day 11     7/16/05     Sydney, Australia

Sam and I got up early (8:00 a.m.) to get ready to go to Olympic Park. After getting advice from Danna, we took off down Pitt Street and went to Central Train Station. Two trains later, we arrived at our destination.  



Sam at the Olympic Park entrance by the train station

We took a quick look around and saw the aquatic center. Then we went to the welcome center and signed up for two tours, the walking tour of the center and the tour of the new Telstra stadium. We messed around before our noon appointment, watching it rain briefly. It was the only bit of bad weather the day had.

We noticed how much the park is tied into the wetlands and the ecology of the area. A lot of the demonstrations talked about how they restored the land to help preserve nature.

The first tour, the walking tour, was worth $20 Australian. It was not much of a tour, but the highlights involved going up to the top of the Novotel hotel on site and seeing the park area. It was quite impressive and well placed.

Olympic Park from the Novotel Hotel

At 1:00, we took the tour of the stadium for $27.50 Australian. We got to go to see the premises from top to bottom. One of the things that impressed me the most was how they got money for the box seats and suites. When the stadium first opened, a private seat that could be used for the next 30 years was $30,000 Australian. That's a deal compared to the offer given later. 10 years of use for $12,000 Australian.  

Inside Telstra Stadium

        

The corporate boxes were really nice. The companies completely furnish the empty room how they want to. The cost, of course, is exuberant. I can see why new stadiums want to be built by sport team owners. The last was well done, complete with laser show and photo ops for any fan.

Sam posing at the winning high jumps at the Olympics. The green and blue stripes represents the men's and women's record while the pink and brown represent the Special Olympics high jump which was held at the stadium

The others went to the Sydney Aquarium. Chelsea said she found Nemo. Alex said it was fantasticool. Tim like the underwater shark tanks. At 3:10 we met at the Sydney tower and went up to get a view of the city. It was very nice. Than we saw Oztrek, A history of Australia as well as an oversight of different aspects of life in Australia.

 Views from Sydney Tower



After that, the group did some shopping and planned on a time to go to the movies. Sam and I, famished by not eating a proper lunch, went to eat beforehand and had duck at a local Chinese restaurant. We made it for the 7:30 showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.   

Olympic Stadium viewed through a telescope at the tower.Olympic Stadium viewed through a telescope at the tower.

Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel and got ready for bed. We were going to get up early for our big day in the Blue Mountains.