Sydney Day 6 - Blue Mountains
Am gonna try to finish my Sydney entries before I forget everything!
Day 6 - We were due to leave Sydney and set off for our road trip that day.
We were up early. Foops went off to check out of the apartment and pick up our rental car while I got the kids ready and packed up the last of our things (trust me, it sounds a lot easier that it really was).
Once we loaded up our bags into the SUV and buckled up, we were off. Bye Sydney, see you again some day soon :)
We were expecting the drive to the Blue Mountains to take about 2 hours.
I wasn't sure how the kids, especially Ry who has never been very good in the car seat, would fare in the car for so long or what I was going to do if he screamed and refused to sit in his carseat. There was barely enough room for me between both their carseats so there was no way I would be able to carry him even if I wanted to!
Thankfully, both boys were complete ANGELS in the car.
I fed them one by one and plied them with snacks (Goldfish, Honey Stars, Gerber puffs, gummies) and water throughout the ride. I prepared an activity pack (containing markers, stickers, crayons, etc) for Sean but you know what was the only thing he wanted to do? Cut paper (I think he liked 'playing' with scissors). So I would toss him random handouts, cereal boxes, maps, brochures to cut and it kept him occupied for a good half hour each time!
I only brought out my iPhone for Sean when he was truly bored. They even napped at their usual times in their carseats. Ry just needed a bottle of milk before he could doze off. I guess it helped that the weather was cool and nice.
They were angels, I tell you! We should go on more road trips ;)
Along the way, we made a quick stop at the Homebush DFO outlet mall at Parramatta. We didn't want to spend too much time there so we split up, one with each kid, and were very happy to score good buys from Cotton On Kids, Pumpkin Patch Kids, Bonds, Calvin Klein, Billabong and Converse. Just grab, pay and go. We are very efficient shoppers indeed! :)
By the time we arrived in the Blue Mountains region, it was about 2pm in the afternoon.
The weather was noticeably cooler (about 5-10deg C) and a lot more refreshing than in the city.
From Echo Point, the view of the Blue Mountains (so called because they appear blue), and in particular the famous Three Sisters formation, was breathtaking. There is a quiet hush about the area and a light hint of eucalyptus scent (from the eucalyptus trees) in the air.
It is a truly beautiful place to be.
We decided to back-track to Scenic World in Katoomba because I remembered taking a rickety old railway ride during my last trip and thought it would be fun to do it with the boys again.
Alas, when we got there at 3pm, the Scenic Railway rides had ceased operations for the day :(
So we settled for the Scenic Cableway instead. It is essentially a steep cable car ride that plunges you right into (and out of) the Jamison Valley rainforest. The ride was very smooth and nowhere as exciting as I remember the railway ride to be!
Once at the bottom, we took a stroll along the rainforest boardwalk. I learnt a thing or two about the local flora and history of the valley from the interesting sign boards. We also came across a coal mine exhibit housed in a once-operating coal mine which gave us an idea of what life used to be like in the early 1800-1900's.
There wasn't much else to do after that and the kids were getting a bit cranky in the car so we decided to grab a quick bite at Katoomba (because everything closes at 5pm) before calling it a day.
Then, we checked into our bed-and-breakfast at Leura.
The kids were thrilled to be able to run/crawl around freely in our room, jump on the beds and have their luxurious bubble baths once again. Seriously, the best part of the trip for the kids was really the hotel room(s) ;)
Even at 6pm, it was still deliciously cool and bright outside. We brought Sean for a walk around the area (Rei was napping in the room). It was so quiet we felt like we were the only people around for miles!
We stumbled across a delightful little garden which had the prettiest flowers. Sean, being the sweetheart that he is, presented me with a tiny daisy he plucked from the ground :)
There really wasn't very much to do after dark. I couldn't figure out where everyone disappeared to at night!
As a treat, we let Sean pick a movie from the front desk to watch. He chose Spiderman (the first one with Tobey Maguire). His first movie ever - he was riveted to the tiny TV screen (and me because he was scared of the Green Goblin) the entire time and he couldn't stop talking about Spiderman for DAYS after that!
Next morning, we tucked into a leisurely breakfast spread at the hotel before packing up and setting off for our next leg of the road trip.
Port Stephens, here we come!
Read about our previous days here: Days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Day 6 - We were due to leave Sydney and set off for our road trip that day.
We were up early. Foops went off to check out of the apartment and pick up our rental car while I got the kids ready and packed up the last of our things (trust me, it sounds a lot easier that it really was).
Once we loaded up our bags into the SUV and buckled up, we were off. Bye Sydney, see you again some day soon :)
We were expecting the drive to the Blue Mountains to take about 2 hours.
I wasn't sure how the kids, especially Ry who has never been very good in the car seat, would fare in the car for so long or what I was going to do if he screamed and refused to sit in his carseat. There was barely enough room for me between both their carseats so there was no way I would be able to carry him even if I wanted to!
Thankfully, both boys were complete ANGELS in the car.
I fed them one by one and plied them with snacks (Goldfish, Honey Stars, Gerber puffs, gummies) and water throughout the ride. I prepared an activity pack (containing markers, stickers, crayons, etc) for Sean but you know what was the only thing he wanted to do? Cut paper (I think he liked 'playing' with scissors). So I would toss him random handouts, cereal boxes, maps, brochures to cut and it kept him occupied for a good half hour each time!
I only brought out my iPhone for Sean when he was truly bored. They even napped at their usual times in their carseats. Ry just needed a bottle of milk before he could doze off. I guess it helped that the weather was cool and nice.
They were angels, I tell you! We should go on more road trips ;)
Along the way, we made a quick stop at the Homebush DFO outlet mall at Parramatta. We didn't want to spend too much time there so we split up, one with each kid, and were very happy to score good buys from Cotton On Kids, Pumpkin Patch Kids, Bonds, Calvin Klein, Billabong and Converse. Just grab, pay and go. We are very efficient shoppers indeed! :)
By the time we arrived in the Blue Mountains region, it was about 2pm in the afternoon.
The weather was noticeably cooler (about 5-10deg C) and a lot more refreshing than in the city.
From Echo Point, the view of the Blue Mountains (so called because they appear blue), and in particular the famous Three Sisters formation, was breathtaking. There is a quiet hush about the area and a light hint of eucalyptus scent (from the eucalyptus trees) in the air.
It is a truly beautiful place to be.
We decided to back-track to Scenic World in Katoomba because I remembered taking a rickety old railway ride during my last trip and thought it would be fun to do it with the boys again.
Alas, when we got there at 3pm, the Scenic Railway rides had ceased operations for the day :(
So we settled for the Scenic Cableway instead. It is essentially a steep cable car ride that plunges you right into (and out of) the Jamison Valley rainforest. The ride was very smooth and nowhere as exciting as I remember the railway ride to be!
Once at the bottom, we took a stroll along the rainforest boardwalk. I learnt a thing or two about the local flora and history of the valley from the interesting sign boards. We also came across a coal mine exhibit housed in a once-operating coal mine which gave us an idea of what life used to be like in the early 1800-1900's.
There wasn't much else to do after that and the kids were getting a bit cranky in the car so we decided to grab a quick bite at Katoomba (because everything closes at 5pm) before calling it a day.
Then, we checked into our bed-and-breakfast at Leura.
The kids were thrilled to be able to run/crawl around freely in our room, jump on the beds and have their luxurious bubble baths once again. Seriously, the best part of the trip for the kids was really the hotel room(s) ;)
Even at 6pm, it was still deliciously cool and bright outside. We brought Sean for a walk around the area (Rei was napping in the room). It was so quiet we felt like we were the only people around for miles!
We stumbled across a delightful little garden which had the prettiest flowers. Sean, being the sweetheart that he is, presented me with a tiny daisy he plucked from the ground :)
There really wasn't very much to do after dark. I couldn't figure out where everyone disappeared to at night!
As a treat, we let Sean pick a movie from the front desk to watch. He chose Spiderman (the first one with Tobey Maguire). His first movie ever - he was riveted to the tiny TV screen (and me because he was scared of the Green Goblin) the entire time and he couldn't stop talking about Spiderman for DAYS after that!
Next morning, we tucked into a leisurely breakfast spread at the hotel before packing up and setting off for our next leg of the road trip.
Port Stephens, here we come!
Read about our previous days here: Days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.