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!
