Fresh moutain air with a side of sunshine.
I can't tell you how great this was. There are few things that bring some sweet soul quenching like the outdoors on a beautiful day!
The bus left for the Blue Mountains early this morning and it took about 2 hours to get up there. We walked down 1000 steep steps (for real) to the base of Wentworth Falls. We were grasping the metal cable pretty tightly so no one bailed and took out the ten people in front of them. The legs were a bit wobbly after I looked over the edge a couple times.
To give you a sense of size, if I were standing under the waterfall in this photo, I would look very tiny.
The climb back up was like doing a three-hour, squats-only Greco class. What goes down must go up!
We left the falls, grabbed lunch in Katoomba and headed to see the "Three Sisters". How appropriate! It was a gradual walk down thorough the rainforest. Beautiful spot to visit.
See the "sisters" on the left?
At Wentworth, the climb back up was a good workout but not scary. At the Sisters, the climb back up was lazy and frightening. Enter the world's steepest railway.
Those wood steps are the platform where you load the train and it takes you back to the top. Where you see the track end on the right is actually where it ends. It stops at the edge of the cliff.
Here's what I didn't realize: it goes super fast and you sit backwards. I can't ride the Otrain backwards without feeling ill. Luckily it only takes a minute to speed back to the top!
I took a video of the ride but it doesn't look like I can add videos on the blog. The best part of the clip is hearing my worried British seatmate.
Speaking of Brits, there were several on my tour today. Most of them are taking a few months to travel around Australia. Two blokes, as they'd say, Martin and Matt, were the oddest and most amusing friends I've met so far. They've been mates since they were little and provided a lot of free entertainment for the rest of us. A few travellers were from France, one fellow from China and a girl from Calgary rounded out the group.
Everyone slept on the ride back to Sydney. Must have been the mountain air.
For my last night in the city, there were only two things I had to accomplish: eating Lucio's pizza and Messina's gelato. The pizza place was only ten minutes away in the Darlinghurst 'hood. Unsurprising, it took me 45 minutes to find it.
Pizza on the patio was followed by salted caramel + double fudge/hazelnut/orange marmalade heaven. If this place were back home, Stella Luna and Pure would no longer be in business. This was overwhelmingly delicious. No wonder there's always a line up.
I board the plane to Melbourne tomorrow for my other Aussie stop. Sydney is a place you could easily spend a month in and still find more to do. That said, I can't wait to run along the Yarra River, check out some unique shops, catch tennis fever and if all the stars align, see the baby wombat I've been talking relentlessly about for weeks.
