Blue Mountains Escape

Last weekend we escaped to the stunning Blue Mountains.

When we left home it was a sunny, beautiful day; when we arrived it was bitterly cold, an icy wind was blowing and the sun had escaped far far from sight. Upon opening the car door in Katoomba to breathe in that fresh mountain air my boyfriend, in his overly optimistic t-shirt and board shorts, soon realized he was severely under dressed! Swearing under our foggy breathes, we hurriedly put more clothes on then went in search of food.

Sitting inside the Station Bar Pizza Place at the top of Katoomba's main street warming our bones with a cheese and Vegemite pizza, sleet began to fall outside. It was SNOWING! This place was freezing! And did I pack gloves, beanies, warm socks, ski jackets, etc? Of course not! After our pizza we went and raided the shops for any warm clothing we could find: alpaca socks, possum fur beanies, gloves, thermal underwear, etc etc. The shop assistants all looked at us with pity like they had seen naive tourists like us many times before. Note to self: we're in the mountains for Christ sake, why didn't we pack warm clothes!!?? 

The first thing on our to-do list was to of course see the famous rock triplets, the Three Sisters. They're situated down at Echo Point which is basically at the very bottom of Katoomba's main street. The refurbished look-out offers a breath taking view of the sisters and beyond and nothing prepares you to see them in real life. They may just be three rocks precariously situated on the side of a cliff but there's something about them that is just awe-inspiring. We ended up braving the near vertical steps to walk down onto the first sister - I've never gripped onto a handrail so hard in my life!

Check in for our bed and breakfast in Leura which I had booked through Living Social was at 3pm. We had never stayed in a B&B before and it was definitely an experience unlike anything you'd get at a hotel. The house reminded me of a witch house, something that the girls from Practical Magic would live in. Concrete cherubs posed in every corner of the garden and at the door we were greeted by a woman in her 50's who kindly asked us to remove our shoes before we came in (this was to give the B&B a more homely feel we were told).

The hallway before us had shelf upon shelf stuffed full of books on every health, well being and religion book you could imagine. Classical music blared from a stereo near the stairs and a pungent lemon myrtle oil was burning filling the house with a rather sterile smell. We were shown our room which was painted a pale blue and decorated with lace curtains, floral bed spread, plastic flowers, inspirational quotes in frames, and of course, cherubs. It definitely was, er, different!

The next day we hit the road to visit Jenolan Caves where to our surprise and delight we encountered snow, lots of snow! There were families pulled over everywhere with kids excitedly building wonky snowmen. It really was amazing, especially for my boyfriend who had never laid eyes on the powdery stuff!

At the caves we booked in to do a tour through the Lucas Cave which houses the Cathedral Cave and the famous Broken Column. Our guide told us a fascinating story along the way of how tours used to be conducted through the cave back in the 1800's. Participants only had a candle for light and there were no concrete paths or stairways to make it an easy stroll. In one very steep part of the cave the only way down was to slide down on a hessian bag, hanging onto a rope with their candle in their mouths! The wear marks were still there. They then had their lunch on Picnic Rock then were allowed to take a souvenir - this meant snapping off any stalactite or mite they could get their hands on. Or they could write their name on the roof with the flame of their candle which are still there all these years later. How times have changed!

Returning from the caves we strolled through Leura which has lots of nice little shops and cafes. It's a bit more expensive than Katoomba so be ready with your wallet. We had afternoon tea at Cafe Madeleine where I had this delicious flourless chocolate cake.

When we entered the cafe the fattest cockatoo I have ever seen was perched on one of the chairs outside. We soon found out why... A waitress with stale cake in her hands went outside and down the alleyway beside the cafe where she spread the cake crumbs across the window ledge. Cockatoo after cockatoo then flew down and scoffed down the cake like it was Christmas! Now there's some well fed birds...

Sadly our time in the mountains had come to an end and it was time to come home. There are just so many things to do here that one weekend wasn't enough! Driving out of the mountains at Kurrajong we stopped at a lookout on the mountain's edge. Here we could peer out and see the famous Sydney skyline far distance in the distance. Until next time Blue Mountains!

A Mexican Cantina at Wandin Estate

Another fax, another yummy night to be had! This time it was for a Mexican night at Wandin Valley. Five courses with canapes, drinks and desert for $35 - who could resist that? When our printer/fax machine Bryan, spat this out at work I certainly couldn't. Just like when he spat out the Asian Dumpling Dinner at Amanda's On The Edge. I'm starting to like these faxes!

Upon arrival at Wandin we were greeted by a very loud, sombrero wearing waitress and offered the choice of either a Corona or Sangria. We went with the Sangria and the strong cinnamon and orange flavours kicked the night off sweetly. Mexican music was playing overhead and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was showing on a flat screen tele to add to the Mexican ambiente. We took a seat at our table which was decorated with the cutest baby cactus - let the feast begin!

Canapes
Our canapes arrived and the waitress and owner took much glee in watching us tackle the Frozen Margarita Oyster Shots. The margarita was bitter but refreshing and I wish I had saved some for later when I ate the Ricotta Stuffed Chilli Popper, man it was spicy! 10 glasses of water later I moved on to the mini Chicken Taquito. It was yummy and crispy and left you wanting more for they were only half a mouthful.

First Course
First course was a Mexican salad in a crispy tortilla bowl and Hapuka Cod Ceviche. It was a simple salad consisting of cucumber, tomato, red onion, avocado, red capsicum and black beans. The soft, rubbery chunks of the cod ceviche were mixed with coriander, lime juice, tomato and black beans. It was my least favourite course as the texture of the fish was not pleasant!

Second Course
Next course was Tomato, Chicken and Corn Tortilla Soup ('scuse the grubby plate!). It was sooo yummy and had just enough bite to tingle your throat for one second then disappear. It had chunks of chicken and thin flat pieces of soup soaked long tortilla strips. This one was the winner of the night!

Third Course
Swordfish, Mango Salsa and Red Cabbage Tacos were up next. I'd never had fish on a taco before but it turned out to be delicious. The swordfish was cut into strips and grilled making it tender and juicy. But yet again we found ourselves hunting down concealed parsley which seemed to be a fixture in each dish; it's strong bitey flavour can be a bit overpowering if you're not a fan.

Fourth Course
By this stage we were getting quite full and there were still three courses to go! Our fourth course, Enchilada Verdes soon arrived. The combination of the subtle spicyness of the Tomatillo green sauce and the creamy Manchego cheese on top was yummo.

Fifth Course
Next came the sizzling make-it-yourself Pork Fajitas. The pork was BBQed in strips with the choice of sour cream, avocado and tomato/blackbean/red onion salad to construct your own mini fajita feast. Time to loosen the belt!

Dessert
Last came the dessert and as we were pretty much full to the brim we were relieved when the Pineapple and Coconut Ice with Chilli Glass was placed before us. It was perfect to finish off a spicy night but if you were after one last hit there was always the temptation of the shard of Chilli Glass, which was VERY spicy - especially if you hit a full flake! (Excuse me for eating half of this before I took a photo! :)).


Conclusion
So we rolled out of the restaurant both well fed and ready for bed. For $35 each it was a bargain and as usual it was a relief not to have to agonise over what to order. It's such a relaxing night when it's all been organised for you and those usual menu regrets I seem to have often were gladly gone (for now at least!). My only complaint was that a Mexican theme is definitely better suited for summer weather. When it's freezing outside all you feel like is warm, comfort food not teeth chilling oysters bathed in ice and frozen tropical deserts. Regardless we still enjoyed it and went home very happy amigos! Bring on the next fax :)

How to comfort someone when they're upset (properly)

We’ve all been there. We’re upset and all we need is to be comforted by our friends and family with a hug and a few nice words. Except what do we get? “Plenty more fish in the sea”, “Oh I’ve been through this all before, when this happened to me bla bla…”, “A year from now you‘ll look back and laugh”, “You’ll be fine, chin up and think positively.”

Are these the kind comforting words we would like to hear when we are sad from a break up, the death of a loved one, a betrayal, a shock diagnosis, or even a natural disaster?  

No! Do they make us feel better? No! Do we really want to listen to our friend bang on about their experience when - hello! - we’re the ones whose lives have just fallen apart? No!

And then there’s the other scenario where you find yourself experiencing a friend go through an upsetting time. You struggle to find the appropriate words to comfort them and end up saying things that don’t help at all.

So where did this rant come from? Did I recently suffer a break up? Did my dog die? Well no, my life is actually pretty darn good at the moment, although of course I have experienced those things in the past. But what brought this to my attention is a book.

Ever since I started working for a non-fiction book publisher I’ve learnt so much wisdom. I’ll be honest I had never picked up a self-help book before I begun working here (no not even The Secret - which might I had is a total crock!). But because I’m pretty much forced to read these books so I can generate publicity for them I’ve got to say I’ve become pleasantly surprised with this water-and-pebbles genre.

I intend to share a lot more book wisdom in future blog posts but for now I will focus on one book in question, and that is The Reality Slap by Dr. Russ Harris. Now a reality slap is exactly the scenarios I mentioned at the beginning of this post. It’s something that hits you right in the face, changes your life and leaves you picking up the pieces wondering where it all went wrong. Yes, divorce, death, separation, depression, all those lovely things that make life, life.

As I was reading through The Reality Slap gathering intel so I could write the press release for it, I came across Chapter 3 entitled “A caring hand”. Instantly I was mesmerised. You know when you’re reading a book and you struggle to really concentrate and focus on what it’s saying? (That’s for another day, thank you Mindfulness For Life). Well this chapter had me hooked and it’s because it was just so true.

Russ says, “When reality slaps you hard and leaves you reeling, what do you want from the people you love? Most of us want pretty much the same thing. We want to know there is someone there for us: someone who truly cares about us; someone who takes the time to understand us; someone who recognises our pain and appreciates how badly we are suffering; someone who will make the time to be with us and allow us to share our true feelings, without expecting us to cheer up or put on a brave face and pretend everything is okay; someone who will support us, treat us kindly and offer to help; someone who demonstrates through their actions that we are not alone.”

Isn’t that lovely? Wouldn’t we all love a friend like that? Russ says that some people respond to our pain very well (like said description) and some people do not, and that is because often people just don’t how to respond. Why? Because society hasn’t taught us what to do!

Admit it, you’ve probably said or done (maybe not knowingly) at least one of the following to someone you know who was upset:

• You quoted proverbs: ‘Plenty more fish in the sea’, ‘Time heals all wounds’, ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’.
• You told them to ‘think positively’.
• You asked about their situation, but then quickly changed the subject.
• You gave them advice: ‘What you should do is this’, ‘Have you thought about doing such and such?’
• You trumped their pain: ‘Oh yes, I’ve been through this many a time myself. Here’s what worked for me.’
• You trivialised or diminished their pain: ‘Put into perspective, there are kids starving in Africa ...’
• You tried to distract them from their pain: ‘Let’s get drunk!’ ‘Let’s go out and have some fun’, ‘Let’s eat some chocolate’, ‘Let’s watch a movie’.
• Not visit them or spend time with them or even actively avoiding them.
• Giving them factual information related to the issue, and/or strategies to deal with it, without first asking about they feel.
• Trying to minimise their pain: ‘You’ll look back on this and laugh’, ‘A year from now, this will be a distant memory’.
• Insulting them: ‘You’re making a big deal out of nothing’, ‘Take it like a man’, ‘Grow up!’
• Blaming them: ‘You brought this on yourself’, ‘If you hadn’t done X, Y and Z, then this would never have happened’, ‘I warned you this would happen’.

Do any of these sound familiar?

So what should we do when something incredibly painful, hurtful or stressful happens to someone in our life?

Russ says that first of all, as a general rule, a compassionate response must come before anything else. If someone leaps in with advice, proverbs, positive thinking or action plans, without first demonstrating their compassion, we are likely to feel upset, annoyed, offended, hurt or irritated — often without quite realising why this is.

“When we are hurting, most of us want to feel understood, accepted and cared for before we are ready to start looking for solutions or strategies, or new ways of thinking about a situation. After we feel understood, accepted and cared for, we may then be grateful for some of those responses on the list above. But obviously not for the offensive ones — when someone blames us, or minimises our problems, or tells us that we should be stronger, naturally we will feel even worse.”

Here are some compassionate responses that safely meet the criteria for most people:

• Giving them a hug, embrace or a cuddle.
• Holding their hand.
• Placing an arm around them.
• Validating their pain: ‘This must be so hard for you’ or ‘I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through’ or ‘I can see you’re in terrible pain’.
• Saying nothing, just sitting with them and allowing them to be.
• In some circumstances, such as a painful loss, you may hold them while they cry, or even cry with them.
• Offering support: ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’
• Asking how they feel.
• Sharing your own reactions: ‘I’m so sorry’ or ‘I’m so angry’ or ‘I feel so helpless. I wish there was something I could do’ or even ‘I don’t know what to say’.
• Creating space for their pain: ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ or ‘It’s okay to cry’ or ‘We don’t have to talk. I’m happy just to sit here with you’.
• Giving support unconditionally, such as making dinner for them, or taking care of their kids, or helping them out with their daily tasks.
• Making the effort to actually go and visit them, and spend some time with them in person.
• Genuinely listening, as they tell you about what they’re going through.
• Saying something like, ‘I’m here for you’ and genuinely meaning it

These sorts of responses all send the same message: I’m here for you, I care about you, I accept you, I understand you, I see you’re in pain, and I want to help.

So hopefully the next time you find yourself with a friend or relation hurting you’ll now know the best way to support and comfort them and to truly be a good friend. And fingers crossed your friends and family know too! 

*Extracted from The Reality Slap by Dr. Russ Harris.