The Rock: After locating and checking into our hostel (a room was ready for us again), which was not quite as clean nor offered free breakfast but was much cheaper than the one in Melbourne, we set out on foot again, eventually reaching The Rock, a popular tourist section of the city, on the shore of Sydney Harbor. From there, we caught our first glimpse of both the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Sydney Observatory: After checking the view from the midpoint of the bridge, we visited the Sydney Observatory, built not only for star gazing, but also to keep the official time and to guide ships moving through the harbor.
The Rock Museum: We next walked through the Rock Museum, telling the history of the Rock, from the Aboriginal beginnings, to the settlement by convicts, and finally to the rebirth as a tourist destination.
We later met with another of Peep's cousins, who is also studying in Australia. While not in Sydney, he had to travel to the city to get visas for his European vacation this summer. We met with him and his girlfriend and hiked up to the Government House, but tours are only offered on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so we just walked around the gardens. There wasn't enough time to do anything else before he had to catch his train back, so we said our goodbyes and Peep and I headed to the Sydney Opera House for a tour.
Sydney Opera House: The Sydney Opera House is not only for operas, but for orchestra concerts and plays as well. We saw four of the five theaters, but missed the main one due to an event. We did get a chance to see part of the rehearsal for another play that was taking place later that evening.
The Opera House is undergoing massive reconstruction. There was a falling out between the government and the architect during construction following the completion of the outside shell. It sat untouched for a couple of years until someone finally agreed to complete the inside, changing the original plans significantly, skipping much of the ornamentation and leaving a rather bland and sterile interior. Work is now underway to remodel it according to the original designs, but won't be complete for another 10 years due to budgetary constraints and the desire to keep it operating during the process.
Sydney Tower: After our tour of the Opera House, we made our way over to the mall and purchased tickets to the top of the Sydney Tower. We listened to a free tour describing the sights of the city, including that of the park and Anzac Memorial pictured to the left. We stayed to watch the sunset before heading back down.
We killed some time before the start of the OzTrek show, where we "flew" across the country as the screens in front and on each side of the room displayed Australia's spectacular sights, all the while our chairs tilting and turning with the flight path.
Queen Victoria Mall: We then went to the Queen Victoria mall and saw a display of jewels used at her coronation and watched the animated clocks strike the hour before heading over to a local Pizza Hut for an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet.