16 September - 4 October 2012

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Tonight ends our time in the Blue Mountains and it has been enjoyable. The only downside with this house sit was Gordy the cat forgetting where it was acceptable to go to the toilet while he was inside one night; other than that he was the perfect gentleman and provided us with a bit of company.

The highlight for me was taking two day trips on the train into Sydney (my first time!). On the first day we caught the train to Circular Quay and took in the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. I was surprised at how impressed I was with the Harbour Bridge, it was simply stunning. We then took a ferry over to Manly and we both loved the area, the beach was beautiful and there were some lovely coffee shops dotted around the place. On the return trip the early morning weather had cleared, the water was sparkling and I was able to take some dazzling pics of the Opera House as we passed by.

The second day in Sydney was spent out at Bondi Beach in the morning and in the afternoon we visited Darling Harbour and that was terrific. Sydney is simply a world class city and I cannot wait to have the opportunity to get back here one day.

On another day we took the van up to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and the town is the most visited by tourists in the area. We headed out to Echo Point and took in the magnificent Three Sisters and went for a walk on some nearby trails that took us to smaller lookouts where we gazed across the expanse of the striking Mountains. In town we had a delicious lunch and I had one of the best gourmet sandwiches ever....words cannot describe.

Not far from the house were walking trails in the Blue Mountains National Park so we got out and about there one day and there were some great views. On one the of weekends there was a book and CD sale in Glenbrook where we spent most of one morning trawling through the 100s of titles available. The LP collection on hand was a dream for any music lover.

During this time we also managed to get our tax completed up in Wentworth Falls which was another lovely town in the Blue Mountains. Rachel was particularly impressed with the local book stores. We also did a day trip to the coastal suburb of Dee Why where we visited friends who lived in one of the most amazing apartments that looked out over the beachfront.

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