Trip to Katoomba Blue Mountains

 I have wanderlust. When I was a child I did not see the Ocean until I was 12 yrs old. But I had dreamed of what it would be like while lying in my 80's water bed. My childhood dreams have come true and I've been lucky enough to have traveled all over the world.

A few weeks ago I discovered the Blue Mountains of NSW. This region is about a 2 hr drive from my house or from Sydney. It is a strange and amazing little mountain village. The main street is filled with antique, vintage shops, bookstores, cafes and pubs. They even have a vintage cinema.

 Photo from Flickr Venitia27.

I stayed in the YHA Hostel, an Art Deco Heritage building with fireplaces. I just love working for YHA. My friend is the Night Manager here.

The Common Ground; a restaurant run by the 12 Tribes (a Christian Cult). It was like stepping into a fantasy world.  Hand-carved woodwork tables and stairs. The food was homemade and I had the delicious blueberry pancakes.

I had to see the famous Three Sisters Mountain range.

 I visited the Royal Botanic Gardens at Mount Tomah. The highlight was the Californian Giant Redwood or Sequoia tree.

 There is a train station in Lithgow (about 45 min drive from Katoomba). They have steam trains that you can take a ride on. I'll be going back up to Katoomba in May for the Wizards' Express Steam Train. If you love Harry Potter, it's at platform 9 and 3/4 Clarence Station Lithgow NSW on May 14th. Everyone will be wearing costumes and then you get sorted into your prospective houses by the sorting hat! Also in Winter there is a huge festival called Winter Magic with a parade down the main street in Katoomba. This is my kind of place!

I found this website to be extremely helpful in planning my trip http://www.visitnsw.com/town/Katoomba.aspx