i will spare you all of the terrible punny headlines i came up with for this entry

I am in the Blue Mountains - out of the city and into rustic hikingland once again.

Katoomba is so pretty, y'all. I had a friend who had been all over Australia tell me this was one of her favorite spots, and I can see why. I took the train here yesterday - it only takes about 2 hours, and they leave just about every hour, so it's an easy getaway. It's also apparently a popular spot for Sydneysiders for the Easter holiday, as from the train window I watched the gridlock traffic to get back into town go just about the whole way out.

it was also a lovely day in Sydney, and the further out we got, the more the clouds came in. Sigh. I got the the town, walked to the hostel, and immediately booked it out again- I wanted to see the Three Sisters before they were completely covered by clouds, just in case the weather took a turn for a few days. I got there right as the clouds started coming in, and these rocks? Are gorgeous.


As I was walking back, past all of these twee gingerbread cottages and charming, rustic ye olde shoppes, I thought the town could just not get any cuter. And then I saw a little black bunny munching on a dandelion in an empty field. I mean, really.

Today I went for a hike to see the valley from the other side. It was a little cloudy, but mostly white fluffy ones, with a fair amount of sun. As I walked out of town and got closer to where the land drops off into the mountains and the valley, there was nothing but clouds - they had come to fill in all the spaces, and I literally caught my breath when I saw it. I've seen so many lovely things, and yet I can still find everything shockingly beautiful.

As I hiked, the clouds slowly receded and left the mountains blue and lovely. I walked for a couple of hours and took picture after picture, and then got to get up close to the Sisters before climbing a looooooong way (900 steps!) down to the valley and then back up. I was a tuckered camper when it was done, but totally worth it.

I bopped around town today - it's full of bakeries, upscale outdoorsy clothing stores, and an inexplicable number of used book stores. There are also tours to do, so that's how I plan to fill more time in the next couple of days, but for now I'm enjoying being in just a quiet, kicked-back, stunning town.

It doesn't hurt that this is one of the nicest hostels I've been in. I basically get to sleep in a sunroom. It's swank.