Ballykissangel Bed & Breakfast Katoomba

... thought that it was like walking into Buchanan Street or Princes Street – a much more European feel than anywhere else we have been. Christmas shopping was in full swing with all the shops heaving. Street decoration though is pretty minimal, it's there but not OTT.

That didn`t hold our interest for long and we took a walk through the area with all the Government buildings and the museum. Sunday is obviously wedding day in Melbourne and in every ...

... clearly signposted the other way I realised she had lost the plot and in fact I was only about 40 miles away.

I gave up on her when she showed me driving by a lake when clearly all that was there was a huge pasture. After turning her off and tossing her on the back seat I did actually discover there is a lake out there – it’s just evaporated at the moment!

So to Canberra where I eventually got to have a beer with Enda and Jo.

What I ...

... of contestants was described as newly dating – and when one of them could not throw herself down the 5 storey high water shute her so called boyfriend tried to man-handle her down the thing. He then asked her if he trusted her. What do you think dumbass?!

What I listened to: A playlist that dates back to my pre iPod days called Meloncholia which is just another collection of downtempo songs to make me happy. Don’t ask – it just works for me.

Below is Lorenz's description of blue mountains - excellent description of the area - exceeds my own by far - so thought would steal it and use it to supplement my own! Hope you dont mind Lorenz!

The Blue Mountains There are few places in the world that make you wanna cry at the sheer sight, as they are so out of this world, but some of them have to be in Australia. The Blue mountains certainly belong on this list. There are ...

... rainforests as you glide smoothly across the sky. This ride boasts a world first - an Electro-Sceniglass floor. At the flip of a switch, breathtaking views are revealed through the cabin floor).
In truth its a dirty piece of glass the width of a postage stamp that you can step on and off.

Money well spent...Damn yeah!! Had i not been so stingy - it would not have been a pretty night. Idiot.

Oh another thing i loved about the place on the 'Scenic ...

... the guests settled around the fire and we all exchanged pleasant conversation. It was very chilled out and relaxing. The owners then gave us some free mulled wine and to my immense surprise and joy TIM TAMS (which, if I haven't mentioned before are like Penguin biscuits, but better and can be found in NZ). So, after initial apprehension I'm starting to like Katoomba and I look forward to further exploration tomorrow.

... is where Simon, Tom and Myself decided to go mountain biking on some off road trails, away from most tourists. Luckily we were only doing a half day (because the others both had to leave at 3), because i can tell you i was buggered beyond belief, the others made it look too easy. Off the dirt track about 1.5 hours we found an amazing place to see spectacular views of the Blue Mountains and also stop for a bite too eat. So i find Myself unable to function properly from ...

... it for us. There wasn't another train for 4 hours so we took a picture and drove on to the Cathedral of Ferns returning to thick fog. The walk through the forest was eerily silent, spooky and drippy from the fog but great fun when you see the size of these 12-15 foot high ferns growing wild in the forest and consider what one about 3 feet high costs in a garden centre back home. I've got to say I was really taken by all the ferns we saw. We drove on to the Mt Tomah ...

... painting, but the lack of a pencil was proving tricky. We awaited the next bus to take us to the chocolate shop near Echo point where we stopped for a quick visit. Lunch was beckoning, however, so we took the express bus back into town for some food. By this point, we found out that Jo had mislaid her bus ticket, and we should probably head back to Sydney anyway, so we grabbed our bags from the YHA lockers ...