On Saturday night we went out for supper at a Thai restaurant in Newtown. That's the area that Jaime and Jon used to live in when they were in university in Sydney. The area has great shops, boutiques, and restaurants. Restaurants in Sydney are often byo, so Jon brought along a bottle of wine from home. Newtown is also, apparently, the gay and goth area of Sydney. While enjoying some of the best Thai food I've every had, we were entertained by the street opera along the footpath. That's Australian for the sidewalk. It's an increbibly vibrant part of the city, and definitely geared toward a younger generation.
On the way back, we were driving along a saw a bat hanging from one of the overhead wires. Bats here are not like bats at home. This one was the size of large rat or a small cat. Apparently, it's not uncommon for bats to hang from the wires. The problem with this one? A few days ago, there was a high wind, and it swung the hanging bat into a live wire, thereby executing it. The dead bat is now hanging over of the main streets in Newtown. I didn't ask how long it would hang before someone removes it.
On Sunday, we all piled into Jon's VW golf to go to the Blue Mountains. They are about an hour and a half west of Sydney. The area is supposed to be one of spectacular views and majestic rock formations. Unfortunately for us, the higher we drove up the mountain, the more foggy and rainy it became. At some points it was so foggy that we couldn't see the cars in front of us. By the time we got to the lookout, the weather had cleared a bit - just enough for us the see the trees about 20 feet away on the other side of the lookout barrier. We couldn't see the anything! Jon and Jaime kept apologizing, but Walter, Kristin and I thought it was funny. There were several other tourists with friends/guides/relatives, who were all busy apologizing for the weather. The fog was so thick that it covered the valley (which we were assured was right below us) and all of the mountain sides.
We opted to go back part way down the Blue Mountans to Katoomba. Think Jasper or Banff, but in Australia. What a lovely little town. It was misting (not really raining, but still in the clouds), so we toured a huge antique market and then stopped for lunch.
On the way back down toward Sydney, the weather started to clear, so we stopped to see kangaroos in Euroka (still in the Blue Mountains, but at a lower elevation. We were lucky enough to see two roos - one of which was pregnant, as well as cuckaburras (a very noisy bird) and cockatiels. After taking several photos, we walked toward the Redhand Cave. The cave looks more like an overhanging rock that has been eroded from the inside out.
In Sydney, the weather was still sunny and warm, so it was a swim before supper and then relaxing at home.
On the way back, we were driving along a saw a bat hanging from one of the overhead wires. Bats here are not like bats at home. This one was the size of large rat or a small cat. Apparently, it's not uncommon for bats to hang from the wires. The problem with this one? A few days ago, there was a high wind, and it swung the hanging bat into a live wire, thereby executing it. The dead bat is now hanging over of the main streets in Newtown. I didn't ask how long it would hang before someone removes it.
On Sunday, we all piled into Jon's VW golf to go to the Blue Mountains. They are about an hour and a half west of Sydney. The area is supposed to be one of spectacular views and majestic rock formations. Unfortunately for us, the higher we drove up the mountain, the more foggy and rainy it became. At some points it was so foggy that we couldn't see the cars in front of us. By the time we got to the lookout, the weather had cleared a bit - just enough for us the see the trees about 20 feet away on the other side of the lookout barrier. We couldn't see the anything! Jon and Jaime kept apologizing, but Walter, Kristin and I thought it was funny. There were several other tourists with friends/guides/relatives, who were all busy apologizing for the weather. The fog was so thick that it covered the valley (which we were assured was right below us) and all of the mountain sides.
We opted to go back part way down the Blue Mountans to Katoomba. Think Jasper or Banff, but in Australia. What a lovely little town. It was misting (not really raining, but still in the clouds), so we toured a huge antique market and then stopped for lunch.
On the way back down toward Sydney, the weather started to clear, so we stopped to see kangaroos in Euroka (still in the Blue Mountains, but at a lower elevation. We were lucky enough to see two roos - one of which was pregnant, as well as cuckaburras (a very noisy bird) and cockatiels. After taking several photos, we walked toward the Redhand Cave. The cave looks more like an overhanging rock that has been eroded from the inside out.
In Sydney, the weather was still sunny and warm, so it was a swim before supper and then relaxing at home.
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