Vacationista: Sydney Day 3 (Monday)

Again, woke up at 9am with no alarm clock. After freshening up, decided to walk from my inn to the Town Hall Building. Along the way, had breakfast made up of grilled cheese and a cup of cappucino ($5) and – you guessed it – people watched again.

Once done, I walked towards Town Hall (passed by the Australian Museum) and walked at the nearby areas.
 

I chanced upon this factory outlet called Big Bargain. Most clothes range from $10-30. Was able to nab a $10 romper, perfect for a day in the mall. I love taking home a piece of clothing from traveling abroad because it’s a great reminder of my travels. Just don’t mind my socks ala-Tom Cruise in Risky Business.

  

 Afterwards, spotted a cutesy patootsie shop called Habitania, an oasis of everything pretty! This is one thing I love about walking and having no strict itinerary. I get to discover shops and hole-in-the-wall cafes that are not included in tourist websites!

 

I kept walking and chanced upon this shopping center which housed a number of stores. Sat on one of the benches and had a snack. What caught my attention was actually this Havaianas vending machine! It was so ludicrous, at the same time practical and ingenious, I almost laughed!

 

I then walked around the Queen Victoria Building which was so gorgeous! Small and compact, yes, but every corner was so lovely! It housed small stores from bags to trinkets and even small restos where you eat on the sides of the rails.

 

Even their floor design was so pretty!

 

I already felt the pangs of hunger so I made my way to the Pitt St Mall, which was nearby, and had some good ol Chinese food at the food court because I was craving for rice – typical Filipino. Again, such a big serving! Just look at my ‘small sized’ meal consisting of two viands – garlic squid and spicy fish – with rice ($8). I took a before and after photos and it’s like I didn’t eat a thing! Found the squid too salty so mostly I ate the fish and rice. Felt so bad that I had to throw my leftover food away! =(

  

 I was then craving for some sweet ice cream so I decided to go to a Mcdonald’s I passed by. I have this ritual where I like to visit and eat at a fast food chain when abroad, just to see how different it is from my hometown. I just ordered their Mega Choco Sundae on a Waffle Cone with two sticks of chocolate ($2) which was really yummy!

 

I then walked back to Town Hall and spent a few moments on one of the benches under the lavender colored blossoming tree. My feet were already killing me with all the walking I did. I guess I’m starting to age and have lola bones already. Haha! Which made me realize, how can some people say that they’ll start traveling when they’re already retired?! I mean, already feeling tired at my current age, by the time I retire, I’d be so exhausted I wouldn’t be able to walk around as much as I want to, I wouldn’t enjoy as much as I am enjoying now. Or maybe I’m just out of shape. Haha! But as I always say, to each his own. Anyway, I think one of their local white birds wanted to make friends with me. Hehe.

   

I then walked towards 45 Clarence St to meet up with my cousin for coffee, something that spontaneously happened. By that time, my feet were doubly-aching! She took me at Max Brenner which had the richest chocolate drink ever.

She recommended the chocolate drink with mini balls in it (forgot the name), she had salted caramel then we shared two pieces of waffle with a side of vanilla ice cream, fresh banana and strawberries. I think price range started from $15.

After a quick chat, we parted ways. Since I was able to rest a bit, I walked back to Town Hall Station so that I won’t have to transfer trains going back home. Dropped by a huge crafts store along the way!

 

Before heading home, went to the grocery store first to buy some goodies. The Cadbury Caramello Koala was 2 for $5. We have this in Manila but it’s way cheaper in Oz so just bought two bags to give away to friends. The two flavoured coffee mix was $4 each. I don’t recommend this since it tastes just like our 3-in-1 coffee. All sugar and no flavor. The Coles’ biscuits were $1.8 each, Smith’s small chips was 2 for $2 and the ghost chocolate was $.50 (bought it for the ghost stick).

 

On the way home, dropped by this Thai store for some fresh fruit shake – papaya, pear and some other good stuff – for $5, my dinner for the night. Chatted with my roommates (hi again girls!) then mentally prepared myself for my last day.

Brussels, Belgium

From Amsterdam, our tour was headed to Paris, France. But before that, we actually passed by and stayed a couple of hours at Brussels, Belgium.

We had a photo op at the Atomium, which is a structure that looks like, you guessed it, a huge atom. Well, it actually also looked like the toy “jack stone” but that’s just me. They say it doesn’t exactly have a purpose, it’s just a big atom. I don’t know why.

We then went to see the famous little peeing boy, the Manneken Pis. It was super small! And all along the plaza were Belgian chocolate shops. The scenery was really nice and I love how in Europe most of the walkways are cobble stones. Again, when in Belgium, one must simply eat Belgium waffles, which was exactly what we did. We had their famous Belgian fries and waffles (with Nutella & strawberry toppings) for lunch, along with their local burger. Before we knew it, we were headed to Paris, France.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

From London, we went to Amsterdam and spent two nights there.

We first went to a Gouda cheese maker and a clogs maker, which were actually right beside each other. The reason why this is so is because the wives would make the cheese while the husbands made the clogs. This would ensure that they were in the house at all times, according to our tour guide. The men there demonstrated and explained how they made cheese and clogs. The clogs were actually very light. And yes, the men were wearing yellow clogs during the demo.

Next, we stopped by the most famous and most old windmill there. The windmills actually aid them when there’s too much water in the canal, it brings the water back to the ocean or something like that. We then went to a diamond maker, but since I wasn’t planning on buying any, me and my sis went outside to the park. There was a huge I Amsterdam sign there but a lot of people were having their pictures taken there so I don’t have a decent photo with it. We saw a waffle shop and bought one, though Belgium is said to be the home of waffles. Didn’t matter because the waffles were delish!

We then went to a canal cruise around Amsterdam then had lunch at a nearby food stall. Had some kind of Dutch meal, like a pita wrap, with fresh fruits and Baklava as dessert. We also passed by the Heineken beer factory/ museum. Next up was the Keukenhof garden, the home of Holland Tulips. All I can say is, wow! No words can describe the beauty of all the flowers there. It ranged not only from red and yellow but with purple, orange and even Dark violet and green! The photos only capture a minuscule of the gorgeous garden. Of course, we saw another waffle store so we had those and coffee for break.

Lastly, a trip to Amsterdam wouldn’t be complete without a trip to their most famous, red light district (of course, you can’t take photos of the women there). I wasn’t really looking forward to that, maybe because I’m a girl or maybe because I always get offended with the thought of using women as sex objects. But I know that’s just part of the country and thankfully, it wasnt that bad. Of course, no photos were allowed so we just passed by there and admired the half naked women in the windows. It actually to every person’s taste – from modelesque women to heavy set girls to even lady boys with humongous silicon filled breasts.

Trivia: Aside from prostitution being legal in Amsterdam (as well as weed & liquor), prostitution is also recognized and regulated by their government in order to control the spread of disease. The women pay taxes and have their own security number and health benefits. A church was erected right beside the district because it was said that the priests then wanted to take care of the women and show them guidance and give comfort instead of pushing them away.

Just a random thought: it felt weird when sometimes, you’d peek into a window but there happens to be no woman inside so the curtain would be close and as a result, you’d see a reflection of yourself. Kinda ironic that it seems you’re the one inside the window.