Sydney Shopping

We woke to a very chilly Sydney this morning and realised it with a shock when we opened the door onto our balcony of our motel room! Brrrrr!

Two sulphur crested cockatoos landed on our balcony with full intentions of sneaking into our room (so the receptionist informed us) so BGWLBH gave them the biscuits from our coffee/tea allocation (yes, we know that's naughty) and then the elderly couple in the room beside ours fed them fruit and suddenly there were seven cockatoos in on the action and a couple of them spoke to us "Hello Cocky!"

We checked out of the motel and were given permission to leave our car in the motel car park while we went across the road to Miranda Fair for breakfast and shopping.

There was a cafe opening as we entered the shopping centre and we enjoyed some coffee and bacon and eggs for breakfast.

The shops didn't open until 10am so we wandered around checking out which shops we'd return to and then met up with Bubbles. She grabbed a quick bite to eat and then we went in search of an outfit for her to wear to an engagement party in August.

We did find a couple of items, but ran out of time before we put together the perfect outfit.

Meanwhile, I got some comfy walking shoes, a pair of black and white tights covered in peace signs and yin/yang symbols and pair of stretchy patchwork flares from 'Tree of Life'. I tried to buy a boho hat like the one that BGWLBH bought, but she got the last one .. HOWEVER .. we walked past a shop in Katoomba this afternoon that is full of hats, so I'm going there tomorrow to have a look!

We finally left the motel car park around 1.20pm and followed google maps on my phone to get out of dirty busy horrible Sydney. We did get lost briefly when I gave the wrong directions, but it only took us 20 minutes out of our way, so we arrived at our motel in Katoomba at about 3.30pm.

Our room is cosy and clean - I currently have the window open next to my bed and there is an icy breeze wafting over my bed. Delicious.

As soon as we arrived, we went in search of something to eat because we hadn't eaten since breakfast. We tried the first cafe next door to the motel, but they had no gluten free options, so we moved on to the next place.

The only gluten free option there was a chocolate cake, so we ordered that with a coffee, with every intention of having an early dinner at the nearest club. The waitress brought us the biggest slices of chocolate cake I've ever seen (if we'd known, we'd have shared one piece) and she had warmed it in the microwave (if I'd known she was going to do that, I'd have asked her NOT to do that), so the very thick icing was all gooey and melting everywhere like fudge, and beside it was a little bowl of whipped cream.

Absolutely decadent and delicious. Incredibly sweet .. especially for me because it's been a million years since I had sugar like that. We had about four mouthfuls each and couldn't eat any more, so we asked for a doggy bag and brought it back to our room. After dinner tonight, I tried some more, but two mouthfuls was more than enough. At this rate, it will last until the end of the week!

The Katoomba RSL seemed like the ideal place to try for dinner, because it was within easy walking distance from our motel .. although it was downhill, which made for a tough walk back when we came home!! Very steep!

The RSL had a Chinese restaurant and they made a special gluten free stir fry for my benefit with more prawns than I could even eat. Some wine with dinner was a very enjoyable way to end a great day.

We huffed and puffed our way back up the hill and now I can hear BGWLBH softly snoring as I type away on my laptop.

I expect we will wake to an even chillier morning tomorrow. It was 19C at the bottom of the mountain and by the time we arrived at Katoomba, it had dropped to 12C. It is currently 4C and tomorrow will reach a maximum of 11C.

Luckily, BGWLBH brought extra woollies with her and she is sharing with me :)

Needless to say, her car is absolutely chockers and I'm sure she has brought everything except the kitchen sink .. the boot is full and the back seat is full. Certainly no room for passengers!!

I have photos to share, but they will have to wait for another time.

It's almost 11pm so I think I shall get some sleep.

Nite all.