Blue Mountains, Really Blue?

What a fantastic day I've had today. After a really relaxing run through the "headland" next to the Burns' house, I showered, got ready, and Maree, Desi and I jumped in the car for a 2-hour drive to Katoomba, which is another suburb outside of Sydney. Katoomba is home to The Blue Mountains -- majestic mountains that give off a blue haze, which is caused by mie scattering which occurs when incoming UV radiation is scattered by particles within the atmosphere creating a blue-greyish color to the mountains. We walked down to the Three Sisters, which are a series of high mountainous peaks that have a wonderful view down into the mountains and trees. We then drove to the main site of the The Blue Mountains, where we ate lunch at a cafe overlooking the valley. The three of us then purchased mountain ride passes that allowed us access to a "car" to take us down to the trails at the base of the mountains and a cable car to get us back to the top. Well, let's just say we didn't quite expect the mountain ride down to be so... vertical. It was legitimately a straight drop downwards -- Desi had never been on a roller coaster, until 2 PM today. Although a little scary, the experience was great. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the steepest funicular ride in the world. No big deal or anything.

We walked for about thirty to forty minutes on the winding paths, reading signs and listening to audio recordings along the way that told the history of the region, specifically about the coal mining that took place in the mountains less than a hundred years ago. Too bad the miners did not have the funicular ride to get them to the bottom like we did.

After we took the rather steep cable car ride to the top, we wandered through the shop, trying on ridiculous hats and being silly, as three grown-up girls should. Desi, Maree and I then went to Leura, a neighboring suburb, and stopped at Leura Gourmet for a cup of coffee. We wandered down the quaint little streets, stopping into a few places for a browse. After about 45 minutes in Leura, we climbed back into the car and hit the road, braving the traffic on the return ride home to the Burns'. Lots of great chat in the car -- love having girl time. Back at the Burns' now, about to go and help with setting the table and getting dinner out. Another fantastic day in Sydney, another 100 pictures to be uploaded to Shutterfly shortly.

Avec gros bisous de Sydney,
Ailee