Classic

We woke to a chilly, damp, misty morning….jumped out of bed to put the heating on and make tea then back under the (many) covers to warm up. We had a pretty slow start as it wasn’t looking at all enticing outside, and made some breakfast with the things our host had put in the fridge for us. Her garden is stunning and full of beautiful spring flowers.
We eventually decided to head into Katoomba, figuring we could just look round the town if the mist didn’t lift to let us see the mountain views. Interestingly run down and not as I remembered it, with quite grand buildings (a lot of Art Deco and earlier) but almost all rather decrepit and peeling. Very quiet…that was good at least as the YouTube guides we’d watched last night showed the whole area heaving with tourists. We enjoyed the newly built cultural centre which told us more about the history of the place and the wildlife living around here.
Decided to go to Echo Point since the weather had lifted a bit and we were rewarded with brilliant views…with the mountains looking properly blue (extra) and we were surprised how close the Three Sisters were to the viewing point. Amazing to think Charles Darwin visited here (a quote from him was carved on a rock nearby…”An immense gulf is unexpectedly seen through the trees. This kind of view was to me quite novel and extremely magnificent”).
Many of the longer trails were closed because of the recent floods and the risk of landslides, but we could walk round to the part next to the first sister (extra). I couldn’t go right down as my vertigo got the better of me (especially when young children were around….can’t bear it when they’re near high places as I’m worried they’ll fall. I think my fear only started when my children were young and I was so scared of them coming to harm).
Back for a coffee and doughnut overlooking the forest then moved the car for a walk down to Katoomba falls (extra). Beautiful.
We decided to have a look at another little town here, Leura, and it was so lovely. Absolutely full of cherry blossom lining the Main Street (extra) and some gorgeous shops (especially the chocolate makers and a wood products/gallery). We wandered around and got some recommendations for places to eat this evening. Had another look round a nicer end of Katoomba….found the Korean restaurant we’d heard good things about and booked a table, then explored the food co-ops and bookshop down Hapenny Lane, and picked up a lovely fruit loaf in a little bakery before going home for a cup of tea and bit of a rest.
Delicious supper at the Korean restaurant, which was packed out (fried dumplings then chicken stir fry and a prawn pancake) before home to polish off one of the chocolate brownies we’d bought from the chocolate shop earlier and watching episodes of Uncoupled. Turned out a much better day than we’d expected when we woke.
I’ve put all the photos full size as they just lost their magnificence in a collage format!