New Thing Of The Week: Escape the Rat Race

So, I've been having enough of work lately with a lot of the stuff happening at work - I decided to take some time off to get away.

"Everybody needs a little time away,
I heard her say, From each other.
Even lovers need a holiday,
Far away from each other"

I decided to get out of Sydney altogether to my favourite place. No it's not the Paris Hilton hehe - it's the Blue Mountains.



Ever since I became a working member of society things cost more and now going to the Blue Mountains on a link pass costs $40 for a day pass (including return travel)! But it's still worth it.

So, my little sister departed the inner west at 10ish and headed up to the Mountains on the train. A couple of hours later we were in Katoomba.

After taking the double decker bus from there we stopped at Scenic World.

Scenic World has some sky way things (these carriages on cables that take you to the forest) and also a cool coal train that takes you down/up a 52 degree trip down the mountain to the bottom.



The train trip was scary for me and Sonja - but other people didn't seem so frightened? Have a look below..

Scenic World Coal Train (click this link if the video player below doesn't work)

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After a nice walk through the forest we took a bus over to Echo Point (which always makes me think of Echo Beach song)

"From nine till five I have to spend my time at work,
The job is very boring, I'm an office clerk
The only thing that helps pass the time away
Is knowing I'll be back at Echo Beach some day"

Well I change the words from Echo Beach to Echo Point. But then again, wasn't there a really sad soapie on Ten in the nineties called that?

But I digress, we took a walk from Echo Point to the Three Sisters.

The air was so clear and fresh and just different to the city!

Most of the walk was down hill, but once you get to the main walkway it is down - steeply! It's about 60 or so steps the size of your foot going down down down - but once we got there it was worth it - just to be standing and touching the first of the Three Sisters.



That was until the walk up (or in my case pulling myself up). Sonja said "oh my god, we are so fat". I prefer the word unfit myself.

After returning to Echo Point and getting some fudge (Baileys and Cherry Ripe) from the nice fudge maker (not fudge packer) there we went to this nice ye olde high tea house at Leura.

It was a nice little cottage with silverware and everything - oh so formal.



And wasn't the bill formal - $20 for tea & scones for two - until I showed them I had been on the red double decker bus and they slashed the price by half (I fear for the locals who don't take the tourist bus).

So yeah, we took the train home then and it was good to breathe in the fresh air of the country and then get back to the city.

I'd love to live there one day - but I'd need to get a job out west somewhere.