First excursion: Blue Mountains

This weekend, Paul and I were set on leaving Sydney for the weekend since we were tired of the city. It is our first mini vacation since we got here and it was so much fun! The Blue Mountains are approximately two and half hours outside from Sydney and the cool thing is that they are so accessible, you can just take the train to any town you like! Australia really has their public transport down pat and you can get pretty much anywhere you want without a car (except for the inside 'cause few live there). An interesting fact: The Blue Mountains were named for the blue haze they cast due to the eucalyptus leaves.
And misty it was...the entire trip was rainy. Each. Day. Paul and I were apprehensive about going to the mountains when it rained but I figured that all the rains we had seen were spotty and never stayed long when it did down pour, so it won't be a big deal right? Nope. Isolated rain. But despite the rain, I think we pulled a great weekend out of it and had a lot of fun adventures.
Friday: This is when the rain started. Paul had gotten us tickets for my Christmas present to an outdoor cinema in the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was beautiful! You could see the Opera House and the gardens and it was just wonderful. We saw the movie Away We Go, which was ok, but we didn't have a choice in the movie 'cause all the other movies were sold out! Oh well, it was a neat experience. But it rained a little then. Thank goodness they provided us with rain ponchos!
Saturday:
We whisked ourselves away to the Blue Mtns. We took the train to Penrith, where we picked up our rental car. Actually, renting a car here is cheaper than in the US. But, this was our first experience on the other side of the road. We were completely nervous. I had never thought that initial instincts such as wanting to stay on the right side of the road would want to take over so fast. Don't worry...I have a video of Paul's first drive :). Speed limits are weird in that they change all the time. Even on the major motorway (not highway). But...we did see kangaroos! I guess they are the equivalent of deer in the States 'cause we saw all kinds of signs for kanga crossings. Haha, we did see a few and they seem to travel in herds. Too cute. Anyway, we drove from Penrith to Wentworth Falls to eat lunch, and then on to Medlow Bath, next to the big town of Katoomba where everyone goes to see the Three Sisters rock formation...which we couldn't see 'cause it was so misty!!!!
Anyway, we stayed in a bed and breakfast in Medlow Bath called The Chalet Blue. It was very grandma-ish but really nice and our hosts were hospitable. Our room was very nice and comfortable which is all you need! Then we decided to drive to the Jenolan Caves. The drive was truly astounding. The mountains are unlike the Appalachians 'cause they are so steep and it seems one wrong slip and you are gone. The trees are huge and beautiful and we hoped to see a koala, but I guess it is very rare to see one in the wild. But we did see kangaroos in the woods! When we saw them, we stopped along the side of the road and decided to try to get as close as we could to them. Don't worry, they weren't red 'roos...those are the ones that can kill. But they let us get pretty close, closer than we have ever gotten to a roo in the zoo...haha I rhymed. Anyway, when we got to the caves, I literally gasped because the entrance is just a huge arch with a little lake in front of it. I don't think I have ever had that initial reaction to something beautiful like that in my life. I tried to get pictures but I was too late 'cause I was acting like a dope with my mouth open while Paul yelled get the camera. So, sorry. But we wanted to go on a haunted caves tour and I was really excited about it. However, we had the Australian family who would make the worst of Americans look classy. We didn't see what the woman was holding when we first started, but then we realized, she had brought her baby into the caves. The haunted caves at 8PM and the tour lasts 2 hours. I wanted to shake her. Then, we had the dad, who egged his kids on to make fun of the tour the entire time and do stupid stuff like try to play with light switches that they themselves don't know where they go. This made me not want to have children. Needless to say, I put on the Miss. All is very disappointed with you look whenever the girl would try to do something like slam her feet on the ground to make it sound like a ghost. It at least scared her away from me :). But you know, it made Americans look really good to me at that point. Anyway, nothing happened in the cave, although I was hoping for something. Although I don't necessarily believe in ghosts, I never rule out the possibility. But I will say, that Paul and I kept imagining our bed and breakfast was haunted the entire night. At least we didn't go away from it with nothing.
Sunday:
We enjoyed our breakfast at The Chalet and then went off on a couple of hikes. Yes, everything was still wet and it was still raining and after awhile, I had to take off my poncho 'cause it just didn't seem to matter anymore. The first hike we went on was near some waterfalls and they were beautiful. We couldn't do all of it 'cause it went through a river and the path was a bit rough for us, but it was nice. The next hike we did was near the Wentworth Falls and it was another awesome experience. I don't know, sometime I feel that my posts just include awesome, amazing, and fun and not enough description...it's very hard to relay the beauty of all that we see and I wish I could just have you guys with us to show you, but hey, only so much we can do. But if any of you do come, you have a place to stay in Sydney! Haha. After the falls, we had to drive back to Parramatta and drop off the car, but by far the best weekend in spite of the rain we have had. In fact, I think the rain made it better because we didn't have anybody to deal with. Few people were on the trails and it was nice just to be with nature and enjoy another side of Australia that few think about or see. Will put up pictures when I return from my run. Anyway, talk to you guys later and post some comments! We like to hear from everyone! Also, my student Catalina, give me your email address and I will email you. I have lost it. Ciao for now!

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