The Observatory Park and Observatory Hotel. Walsh Bay in the background

We were 5 hours ahead of the usual check-in time, but we secured a room after an hour of waiting anyway.

That’s why we love Amora Hotel Jamison. We think that it is also by far the best in the city for the proximity to the shopping strip (not right smack in the middle like Hilton is), the amenities (separate bath and shower) and a view of Walsh Bay.

Moments later, a giant tanker cruises through the bay

Back in June this year, we had the best dining experience at Galileo at The Observatory Hotel. I’m not big on fresh oysters but they complimented the shellfish with a really yummy dressing and had us ordering seconds. We both had the degustation with matching wine, which includes lots of seafood and also a wagyu steak. Mid-course, the unmistakeable scent of roast pork filled the dining room. Unfortunately that dish wasn’t on our menu, but was ordered by another table. We will definitely order that dish if we return to Galileo! Did we mention the sommelier is a dish too?

Another view of Sydney from Amora Jamison

Clothes shopping in Sydney CBD isn’t that much fun. We get more or less the same brands in Melbourne too. That said, we have yet to discover the smaller boutiques in Surrey Hills. However, there are 3 places we keep going back to when in Sydney – Kinokuniya, Graniph and Incu. Kinokuniya is possibly the largest bookstore in Australia with a massive selection of art books. I like the cute printed Tees at Graniph and best of all, the T-shirts fit my 5’2″ frame. Incu has a great but overpriced selection of clothes from Japan, UK and Scandinavia. We head to Incu each time to finger through the beautifully tailored wares, never buying a single thing. Then later at home, we log on to zozo.jp and selectsquare.com to hunt down the same jackets for less.

Why is this playground empty?

Naoki