Saturday & Sunday

Before I launch into the weekend, I think I should add something about Thursday. Somehow I forgot it when I was writing before.

Thursday night we went to the symphony at the Opera House. We heard the "Shock of the New:III" which was interesting to say the least. The Tibetian monks were pretty cool, and we had seats right up next to them, and it was fun to watch them. The best parts were the didgeridoo player and the great drums. Apart from those, it was pretty weird.

Anyway.

Saturday, we went over to the fish market for lunch, and pigged out on a huge seafood platter and chips. We ate outside and were visited by many, MANY seagulls. There were pelicans down on the water; the the brown ones I am accustomed to seeing in Florida, but magnificent white ones.

Sunday we drove out to the Blue Mountains. One the way we stopped at a park where there were wild kangaroos, and we watched them for a while, and we able to get pretty close. They were just sitting in a field, like deer but less skittish.

The Blue Mountains aren't anything size-wise, when compared to New Zealand's mountains, but they were lovely. The take their name from the blue haze that seems to cover them, and adds a bit of an unearthly air, especially when the sun is setting.
We drove to Echo Point, overlooking the Three Sisters rock formation in Katoomba, and walked partway down the Giant Staircase (980 steps down, and over 1000 ft...but we only went about 30) to get to the Three Sisters. The area is what I imagine the Grand Canyon would look like if it were covered in vegetation. Pretty spectacular.

Before heading back to Sydney, we hiked down (460 steps) to a lookout point from which we could see Bridal Veil Falls and the Hanging Gardens. They would have been much more appreciated were it not for the fact that we later had to hike back up 460 steps. When we finally got back to the car, we comforted ourselved with deep dark chocolate (gotta replenish all those lost calories...seriously.)