Our holiday - part 2

The next morning the Q family got up to start the first full day in the Blue Mountains. We had two adjoining rooms, Hubby and I in room 31, and the Q children in room 32. When we first got there the adjoining door was locked but we had keys for each room. In the morning I unlocked room 32 to see who was awake and put the key down on the bed. Hubby came in and then we all went to room 31 to have a chat before breakfast which was to be served at 8 am. The problem was that security conscious Hubby locked room 32 without checking I had the key. It was just as well that all were dressed as the reception didn't open until 8:30 am. The only problem was that the three boys did not have shoes on. Lloyd borrowed Hubby's spare shoes, Matt went in socks and Mike wore his sandals which just happened to be stored in our room. That night before dinner Mike took off his boots and put on his sandals insisting that they were the "dinner shoes" and for each meal the sandals were worn. At 8:30 the doors were opened by the cleaner and the adjoining door was unlocked, saving us a lot of hassle.

After brekky (more on food later) we all got organised for the day and went up to the motel entrance to hop onto the tourist bus which was to take us to Katoomba town where some of the sightseeing was to happen. There was another feeling of deja vu as we hopped onto a bright red double decker bus. I had travelled in these in England as a young child. Of course we had to go to the top deck and there I noticed why the feeling of deja vu was so strong. The bus was an import from Yorkshire. I took this pic to show my Mum (the peeling sign says "Yorkshire transport"):

Our next stop was a lookout spot where we had a view of the Jamieson valley and the Skyway car that went across the top of it:

I asked Mike if he would like a trip in the Skyway. After looking at it for a few moments he replied, "Yes, but only if the doors are closed." We signed up for a day pass for the Skyway, the Scenic Railway (a very steep ride to the bottom of the valley) and the Cablecar (to take us back to the top again). Here's the view of the famous rock formations known as "The 3 Sisters" taken from the Skyway (yes, they kept the doors closed):

And here's a view of Katoomba falls from the clear glass bottom of the Skyway. I tried not to think of the distance to the valley floor. Apparently the Aboriginal word "Katoomba" means "Shiny, tumbing water." The guide told us the falls were twice the height of Niagara Falls, it's just that there's a lot less water:

After various trips around and bushwalks inbetween Mike was quite done in and fell asleep on the bus back to the shops part of Katoomba. We went in search of a reviving drink of milk and an internet cafe to fix up our crime of not having a vistor's e-tag for the toll road. It was either that or return home to a hefty fine.

Then back to our motel and a delicious meal. Taking a leaf out of TobyBo's blog I snapped this pic of Mike's Puppy enjoying the penne pasta entre:

Lloyd was having the time of his life with all you can eat buffet breakfast and huge amounts of 3 course dinners. Part 3: the zig-zag coming soon.