This Covid lark has really disrupted things around the world; closer to home, it has had big impacts too; the postponement of my brothers wedding, my parents and sister unable to visit and therefore yet to meet Baby V, and that leaves us with a Blue Mountains visit that was meant to be a big family affair and instead is a small family affair with my brother and his fiancé joining TGW, Baby V and myself.
We are staying in a house in Leura, which is a super picturesque town near to the heart of the Blue Mountains. A visit to the local shops to stock up on some essentials; the local butcher is excellent and we get brekkie items for bbq bacon, sausages and eggs feasts; the Leura cellars with its quite incredible selection of beers (a little expensive, but great, and a lot better than BWS and its broken fridges). Dins is Chinese – old school; the sesame prawn toast with the glow in the dark sauce is a highlight.
Govett’s Leap is always worth a visit, although land slips alongside recovery efforts from last years’ devastating bushfires mean that many of the paths are closed. High tea at the Hydro Majestic Hotel in Medlow Bath follows, and is delicious (https://www.hydromajestic.com.au/); I haven’t had a scone with cream and jam for ages; a glass of bubbles to wash it down and the most spectacular vista across the Megalong valley. Safe to say that the whole weekend is looking like a cheat!
A bit of bushwalking helped undo some of the damage on Saturday morning; one of the lesser heralded tracks to Gordon Falls was taken on; many steps up and down the escarpments helped on the exercise front and allowed sublime glimpses of sweeping blue gum filled valleys and the back of the Three Sisters.
Lunch was taken at the Mountain Culture brewery in Katoomba (https://mountainculture.com.au/) – a Tex Mex burger was yummy, and was washed down with a number of ales ranging from lagers, through XPAs, red ales and a lively porter. Highly recommend if you’re a crafty beer fan.
The drive home on Sunday was easy; you forget how close the Blue Mountains are and the oft penned ‘note-to-self’ that really we should get up there more often; even for a day trip of hiking. And then a sad moment in the afternoon; setting up Baby V’s nursery … she is moving out of our room; I shall miss having her so close to us at night.
- Exercise: some bush walking, but let me not kid you; this was a cheat weekend, and given the last 10 days it is safe to say the Challenge has been derailed a touch
- Eats: bacon, burgers, beers, bubbles, and cheese – eats synonymous with cheats this weekend
- Cheats: everything….