We decided to take a walk about the towns today. A kind of wind-down before our 6 hour drive to Port Maquarie in the morning. The walk to Leura was about a couple of miles I suppose……..mostly up hill as usual 😀 We didn’t meet many people on the way and the cool mountain breeze still had a bite to it even though it was sunny. Leura town centre is quite small and full of boutique shops. All very nice, but we don’t have an awful lot of room in our cases for ‘stuff’. The town is very pretty with lots of blossom filled trees, shrubs and spring bulbs. We had a good look round and decided we would catch the train the one stop back to Katoomba and grab some lunch. Just as we reached the station a train was pulling out. Yes it was our train, and there was not another one for an hour. We decided to walk back but stopped by for a coffee, then decided we would wait for the train after all. We still have money on our Opal cards to use so it was a good excuse. By the way, everyone we spoke to seemed to have a relative in England.
On to Katoomba and it’s masses of shops and eateries. Just about everything from an all day breakfast to Korean food. I decided we should try ‘The Yellow Deli’ as it seemed all the people who had written in the guest book at the cottage had recommended it. We had to wait for a table and were offered a seat in front of a blazing log fire to wait. This was a welcome sight as we were a little chilled. The place itself is very quirky. Like something out of Lord of the Rings. A place where hobbits would go for lunch. Everything was wood and stone, with tiny tables and chairs in little nooks and crannies. Quite dark and with an upstairs mezanine which also had small tables and chairs. Amazing place! Over all there seemed to be more staff than customers, even though the place was full. The menu was also very ‘alternative’. Many different types of vegetarian food and as many different types of bread. All made on the premises with ingredients from their own organic garden. As bread is my number one enemy I was a little stumped. So I opted for a ‘cup’ of chilli with hot buttered soda bread. Which I thought might be okay. Richard had a bowl of chilli which was about twice the size of my adequately sized cup. His came with two slices of hot buttered wholewheat. It was very good indeed, garnished with grated cheese and sliced chillies. I ate the bread with my fingers crossed. I love bread, just cannot eat it. I blow up like a balloon and get stomach cramps you wouldn’t wish on any enemy.
So, true to form, I now look like a balloon…..😨
On our return walk to the cottage we ventured into a couple of outdoor/camping shops. One of which sold Bush knives; the like of which I use for carving at home. I had intended to pack one so I could carve a few spoons but forgot. So I bought myself a new carving knife. After returning to the cottage I began to look for some suitable wood-fall from the trees in the garden. I came across an old, dead tree whose bark was peeling. I was interested to see how thick the bark was and what the tree was like underneath………..lurking under the bark was the biggest spider I’ve ever seen outside of a box! Still interested, I probed a bit further, only to have the bark snap off and the spider take off rapidly……followed by me in the opposite direction!.😲😲😲 I lost my yearning for carving pretty soon after…….I’ll wait for some driftwood off the beach instead me thinks.
Off to pack now ready for the road trip. Stay tuned, apparently there is excellent wifi there! Yay!