What we have been doing

 We have been up to the Blue Mountains and visited the Winter festival that was mighty packed as you can see.....and oh sooooo cold...  Not used to the chill factor so much now and at 7 degrees but with a cold wind it was brisk!  We were wrapped up more than we have been in 14 months and Finn & Isla were struggling a little with colds that resulted in a lot of shoulder rides - but hey ho - a good day was had by all.  Us and 40,000 others.  :)

 The main street in Katoomba with the processions in full flow - look for the brightly coloured costumes in the middle of the throng of people working their way up the street.  There was definitely a hippy Glastonbury feel to the place.  Nice.

 Now Andy has told me what this guy is called and I forget now - but it warrants a picture on the blog.  He was pretty huge probably 6 feet 6 at least and what a costume!

 Awsome drummers and great outfits and makeup, some of them were only teenagers and they were really good.

 This one is for my MIL, June.  We saw these ladies and thought of you.  Ladies in purple with the bonus of red hats and great handbags.  A society of ladies that lunch in purple indeed!

 We have been spending this lovely sunny Wintery days in the Botanical gardens.  I am totally in love with them and could spend days on end here.  The old fig trees are gorgeous and my favourites.  The last 2 times we have been it has been clear, sunny and 20 degrees - it's the middle of winter!  Good times.

Sydney do a Family Funday Sunday which means that if you have children you can all travel for $2.50 on any of the buses and trains all the way down to Wollongong and up to Newcastle which is one mighty distance.  Kids under 4 are free.  So for $7.50 we can all catch the train into the city which I think is amazing value and makes the city so accessible for all families.  Thumbs up!

 A garden pitstop.

 Catalogue pose!

 A soft warm place for a little person to rest.

 Classic Opera House shot.  Gotta love those sails....

 Now the turn of the little people in our lives.  They did really well that day and walked all the way from the city to the Gardens, around to the Opera House, Circular Quay and then back to the train.

 Now this is today.  2 large parcels were delivered to our door by the resident delivery driver who I am on the cusp of being on first name terms with!  Gratefully received thanks Granny & Grandad!

 Oooh, the anticipation!

The proud jigsaw builders!  Very much enjoyed.  :)))

Comfort in the Blue Mountains

A certain little person turned 4 this weekend and we celebrated by heading up to the Blue Mountains for some family fun.  We were going to spend the night up there but I and then Andy searched fruitlessly for somewhere that would come up to my standards and failed miserably.  I resent having to spend $300-$400 to stay in somewhere that only just does the job (at a push - I have needs you know!).  

So we decided to make 2 day trips instead and save ourselves the bill.  This actually turned out fine and it was only around 1 1/2 hours to get there.  So we visited some classic attractions:

• Leura  - a lovely little town that had a trendy ski resort feel to it.  Great main street peppered with boutique shops for gifts and kitchen stuff etc...Found a great little gourmet deli cafe for lunch and then headed off to the Zig Zag railway taking a stop on the way for a walk through the bush.

• We came across a lovely little pizza bar and grill on the way home and as it was fully booked for the evening we booked for lunch the next day - turns out it's owned by a city chef who moved out to the mountains a few years ago - Apple Bar, Mount Tomah.

• So lunch the next day was lovely but the service was absolutely shocking - probably one of the worst ever actually!  It took 1 hour and 30 minutes after entering the establishment to get our food - mine was just a pizza!  And it took a good 45 minutes to get our drinks!  OMG - awful!  Pizza was fine but no mozzarella on it and cheddar instead - what's that all about?

• The Mount Tomah Botanical Gardens were stunning.  Finn & Isla scooted around the paths and explored around the trees - an amazing place to see in the Autumn when the leaves are all changing.  We will head back here again and soon I imagine.

We drove up to Mount Tomah on the Sunday morning and as we climbed up the mountain the cloud came down to meet us.  The rain misted periodically and the mist settled in for the day.  Before Andy & I had Finn & Isla we holidayed in Scotland during the winter.  We had our boxer dog then - Jazz and we would drive up and stay for a couple of weeks in the highlands.  Escaping to a cottage, with a fire, a good box set and our wet weather gear.  As we spent the day in the Blue Mountains we were reminded again and again of Scotland.  It was so familiar and therefore oh so comforting.  For both of us.  At times we could have been in an English garden.  There were snowdrops under the trees in the wood and daffodils about to bloom.  Lichen growing on the trees and the mountain peaks surrounded by cloud.  So very lovely.  It's quite surprising that only just a few hours from our house we can see and experience something so different.  There is even snow up there in the winter so our next mission will be to see that!