Hello everyone. Sorry that it has been a long time since I have updated my blog, but I have been quite busy with Aunt Rose and Uncle Alfredo. They experienced a relatively nice flight into Sydney, with little turbulence. On the afternoon of their arrival (Sunday, March 15), we ate a late lunch at The Flying Fish—a restaurant that overlooks the water by Darling Harbour. It was delicious. We proceeded to walk through Darling Harbour and explore the city. We saw the Queen Victoria Building, Town Hall, and of course, Circular Quay. We walked to Sydney’s iconic Opera House and checked out what shows were playing.
On Tuesday we got our day’s exercise by doing the cliffwalk from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach. A wonderful day for the cliffwalk: the weather was gorgeous, the beaches were sparkling and the sun was shining. We ate dinner at Bondi Beach.
On Thursday, March 19, we met at a restaurant on Circular Quay. We had a lovely dinner before attending the opera! We saw The Magic Flute. It was a modern, German opera. The staging, setting and costumes were extremely elaborate! It was fascinating to watch! While I found the plot anticlimactic, I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience at the opera. My favorite part was the dragon; it was big and creatively executed. I definitely want to see more operas.
Friday marks the beginning of our weekend getaway to The Blue Mountains. We rented a car and Aunt Rose drove. On the way, we stopped at Featherdale Wildlife Park where wallabies walk around with us! We could bend down and pet/feed them! There were hundreds of birds of all different species, some of which were free to roam around the grounds with us, as well. We even got to pet a koala! This wildlife park was simple and intimate, allowing you to get close to the animals. I rubbed the heads of multiple Cockatoos and played with Rainbow Lorikeets, which I have newly added to my list of favorite birds! After over four hours of never-ending fun and amusement at Featherdale, we got back on the road headed for Moments Accommodation at Echo Point in The Blue Mountains.
Our accommodation was great! We had a house equipped with a sun room, television, fireplace, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, bathroom, deck, grill and backyard to ourselves! We went to the supermarket and cooked dinner (chicken cutlets, potatoes, green beans, and salad).
On Saturday we woke up early, and drove to the Jenolan Caves. The road to the caves wound around the mountains. The view was beautiful (as long as you didn’t look down over the edge of the cliff). I found the caves to be spectacular! We took two tours of them. I cannot begin to describe the phenomenon of the structures inside the caves. My favorite part of the tours was the “cave fantasies”—when parts of the cave remind us of other people, places or things. For example, one structure looked like a bride and another looked like a groom, or there was a mark on the wall that looked like Harry Potter’s scar, etc.
We drove back to town, where we made dinner (pork, steak, grilled eggplant and zucchini, and salad), then walked to The Three Sisters, a small range of three mountains side by side. They are lit up at night. That’s when I saw the most spectacular view of the Milky Way! We stared at the stars until our necks hurt! Then we went back to our cottage for dessert (apple cake with fresh, warm apples in cinnamon and sugar). We also played a card game, 99 (I lost almost every game).
Sunday morning we visited Scenic World, where we rode on the world’s steepest cableway, walked through the rainforest, rode a train that went up a mountain at a 52 degree angle (it was scary), and rode on the skyway. We saw vibrant red and green birds and intricately twisted vines in the rainforest. We visited the Three Sisters in the daylight. Then we went to Leuralla—a toy, train, and plane museum. We also walked in and out of a bunch of shops in a quaint town, Leura. On the way home we stopped to see the Wentworth Falls.
It was a wonderful weekend in The Blue Mountains!
On Tuesday, we took the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach. We had a relaxing afternoon at Shelley beach—where there is no wind.
For Aunt Rose and Uncle Alfredo’s last day in Australia, we began by eating lunch in Sydney, and then we took a tour of the Royal Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are immense in size and beauty. We traveled to Bondi Junction (a large shopping mall), ate dinner and saw Duplicity in the cinema (I do not recommend seeing it). We ended the night in Darling Harbour.
I had a great time! Thank you so much, Aunt Rose and Uncle Alfredo, for your generosity and for visiting me. It was great to have a piece of home with me for a while.
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