Sydney Day 5 - The Blue Mountains

Sydney Day 5 - The Blue Mountains - July 6, 2017

Once again we spent the day with Barbara, and she picked us up at 10:30 so we could head west up into the famous Blue Mountains. We learned that the reason that they call them the Blue Mountains is because the eucalyptus trees emits oils that bind to particles of dust, which causes a blue haze that forms and accumulates over the hills. There was no blue haze for us, however. The weather was gorgeous yet another day, for which we were so grateful. As we climbed in elevation, my ears started to pop and the temperature dropped, though the skies remained sunny and clear. We were heading to a tourist attraction called Katoomba Scenic World, but first we stopped in the village of Leura, where we heard there was a renowned "lolly" (candy) shop, that our concierge recommended. We found it easily on the main drag of the town, and were surprised at how busy it was. We circled around the store, ogling the hundreds of jars of common and uncommon types of candy from around the world that stocked the shelves along the perimeter, before each selecting a treat to take away with us. As we walked back to the car, a little shop with vibrant Nepalese hats, scarves, sweaters and the like caught my eye, and since it was quite brisk, I decided to purchase a vibrantly striped jewel-toned scarf to help keep me warm. 

Modeling my new scarf, the Three Sisters in the background

Back in the car, we headed to Echo Point, a vista point where one can obtain the best view of the Three Sisters, a trio of rock outcroppings that have special significance to the aboriginal community. The air was so clear and the visibility was fantastic, the best Barbara claimed she had ever seen. We squeezed up towards the railing along with all of the other tourists to snap our selfies in front of a view so incredible it looked like a fake backdrop. 

From there we drove to Katoomba Scenic World, a former coal and shale mine turned amusement park/tourist mecca, boasting three main ride attractions. Barbara's friend happens to work there, and she hooked us up with free passes. Woot! First we rode the Scenic Skyway, a 72 person capacity hanging cable car ride, 876 feet above a narrow gorge where we had a view of the Three Sisters going one way, and a view of Katoomba Falls on the return trip. 

We ended up near the cafeteria where it was time to partake in a less than mediocre lunch, though I couldn't resist a refreshing bottle of local Hillbilly cider of the "Sweet Julie" variety. 

After lunch we headed to what they claim is the steepest railway in the world, down a slope of 52°, in a very modern railroad car with bench seats inside with an option to tilt rearward for a more laid back ride, or tilt 12° forward for the thrill seekers, in what they called the "cliffhanger" position. We chose to keep our bench seat neutral, but once we started to descend it felt like we were heading down the steepest downhill drop of a roller coaster and people were screaming as if on a thrill ride. 

At the bottom, they had a model of the former version of the railroad car, a very primitive, metal, open aired death contraption. I couldn't believe tourists actually rode on the thing!

At the bottom of the grade we followed a path through the beautiful, mountainous flora and fauna and past informational signs about some of the historical tidbits until we reached the next station, 10 minutes later. 

From there, we rode the 84 passenger Cableway, passing over a 82-foot high tower before returning us to the main station, where of course they make you run the gauntlet through the large and enticing gift shop before exiting. We managed to escape with only a “Cliffhanger” hoody for Ewan.

From Scenic World it was a 2+ hour drive back through rush hour Sydney traffic to Brighton, a southeastern beach suburb where we were meeting Emmanuel and another Kytherian friend, George Zantis, at a Greek restaurant called Meet the Greek. We were all running late, but we got there first, and took the liberty of ordering the banquet meal, which was a great deal and offered a huge variety of items, all served family style. 

We enjoyed Greek salad, pita with taramasalata, eggplant dip, calamari, grilled octopus (which Ewan and I both ate and surprisingly loved) followed by grilled lamb and pork and Greek-style patates tiganites (french fries, or rather chips, as they say here). We lingered over Greek coffee and enjoyed more conversations about family members, travel, and Hollywood (George worked in the cinema industry), until it was time to say goodnight. I had tears in my eyes as I hugged Barbara goodbye, and then Emmanuel dropped us off at our hotel. What a memorable five days we experienced with unsurpassed hospitality!