Friday, January 22, 2016

Sydney NY Countdown Trip from 2015 to 2016 Day 2 - Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains

Day 2
27 Dec 2015
Sunday

Our accommodation did not provide free breakfast, thus we had oats and milk we got from Coles supermarket at Katoomba yesterday. It was full of tourists when we got to the Three Sisters in the morning! =O A totally different scene as compared to last evening.

The parking space near the Three Sisters area was so expensive that we decided to park a few streets down, where parking is free. The weather was good and not as humid as Singapore, walking was therefore not an issue!

Super in love with all these pretty purple flowers that is so common in Blue Mountains!

Many households have 'em pretty purple flowers while we walked towards Three Sisters


Three Sisters 
Address: 23-31 Echo Point Rd, Katoomba NSW 2780, Australia

So today we gonna make our way to one of the Three Sisters taking the path we didn't take yesterday. It was a short 7-8 min walk from the starting point to the lookout space where the Giant Stairway is located.

Onward to the Three Sisters





There was a "queue" to the Giant Stairway on the left of the lookout. Reason? Giant Stairway is a tight 2-way staircase with really steep steps, 80m down.

Queue on the left


Here we go

Down down down

Almost there






BF "Sit there, I take photo for you"; Stranger with camo shorts "..."

Staring into the beautiful view in front of me, next to one of the Three Sisters

Climbed-back-up-the-steep-Giant-Stairway face
Lovely flowers
Back to where we parked; opening the doors to let the air flow through

Time for lunch! Ranked #3 in TripAdvisor, 15min wait at Yellow Deli was not too bad though it's already 2pm. There were heaters placed at the waiting area outside the restaurant so that you won't freeze when the chilly wind blows.

The Yellow Deli
Address: 214 Katoomba St, Katoomba NSW 2780, Australia
Operating Hours: Sun - Thu 10am-10pm, Fri 10am - 3pm; Sat Closed
Contact: +61 2 4782 9744
Website: http://yellowdeli.com/katoomba



I left my name and no. of pax with the staff (in checked shirt above) to join the queue.

Checking out the menu of The Yellow Deli

The Yellow Deli Sandwiches Menu Page

The Yellow Deli Salad, Soup and Desserts Menu Page

The Yellow Deli Drinks and all day Breakfast Menu Page
Ushered into The Yellow Deli and sat next to the fireplace while they prepare our table
Hot Not Choc (AUD 4.50) and Fresh Green Maté (AUD 3)

Hot Not Choc was not my type of Hot Chocolate as caramel was added to the drink. =/ Surprisingly, Fresh Green Maté tea was fragrant and refreshing! Many reviewers were speaking highly of Iced Green Yerba Maté, we should have ordered that instead of Hot Not Choc.

Top view of our lunch at The Yellow Deli

Spinwich (AUD 8.50) - Eggs, Spinach, Parmesan, Cheddar, Hot Pepper Cheese, Onion, Capsicum, Yellow Deli's special sauce on a buttered Egg Roll

Smoked Chicken Sandwich (AUD 11)

Ahhhh the smoked chicken sandwich was SO YUMMY!! It looked like ordinary sandwich but tasted heavenly!! Always read reviews before you visit a famous restaurant/cafe! Thankful for all the helpful reviewers online that made me ordered Smoked Chicken Sandwich. ^^

I had a bite of my BF's Spinwich and it tasted good. My sandwich's better. Heh heh. My boyfriend enjoyed his food too, I guessed my expectation shot up sky high after I tasted my sandwich. *Satisfied*

The concept and interior design of The Yellow Deli is also very unique-vintage. I'd urge you to explore the cafe while you make your way to the washroom (even if you don't need it).


Going up to the second floor

Up on the 2nd floor


In the female's toilet

We had a wonderful experience at The Yellow Deli and I strongly recommend you to visit this cafe if you ever step foot into Katoomba!

*TIP: For free parking, park at nearby supermarkets and walk to The Yellow Deli.



Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens Mount Tomah
Address: Bells Line of Rd, Mount Tomah NSW 2758, Australia
Opening Hours: Mon - Fri: 9.00 am - 5.30 pm; Sat, Sun and public holidays: 9.30 am - 5.30 pm
Contact: +61 2 4567 3000
Website: https://www.bluemountainsbotanicgarden.com.au/

The Botanic Gardens is an hour drive away from Katoomba. This was actually not in our itinerary but we kinda ran out of things to do in Blue Mountains and started searching online for attractions (especially with free entry) while we were at the cafe. I was glad that we made the journey up to Mount Tomah! Bear in mind that they close at 5.30pm, strictly. I wished we had more time to explore this huge garden.

















First bird spotted

Second bird spotted and it's blue!

Cute little blue bird


Peaceful pond



Weather, being cool and not as windy, was very nice to us in the Botanic Gardens. If you love flowers and plants, do make a trip here.


Stylo vehicle (car or motorcycle?!) behind us


Govetts Leap Lookout
Address: Blue Mountains National Park NSW 2570, Australia

Spot the waterfall

Mountains and clouds



After a 15 min hike



It was so windy that the water from the waterfall was blown upwards!! Check out the video I took with my iPhone uploaded on YouTube below:



15 min hike from the carpark



It was raining when we made our way back to the carpark from Cliff Top Track Barrow Lookout. In short, you will get to see waterfall, trees, flowers and steps at Govetts Leap Lookout.


Evans Lookout
Address: Evans Lookout Rd, Blackheath NSW 2785, Australia
Contact: +61 2 6767 5300

Evans lookout was more interesting than Govetts Leap Lookout. There were gigantic rocks, many many steps down from the gate that led to the Grand Canyon which we did not approach as it was getting dark.




Another place with mountains and clouds

This shot was taken by him.... See how 'straight' the gate is...





Passing by this Boiler House Cafe - The Hydro Majestic everyday, finally we stopped by today, to check out the sunset. Lol.



The sunset was a thin line today as it was TOO CLOUDY. Our two days and nights in Blue Mountains had been truly cloudy. No clear sky with far-out view and no night sky with visible stars. Sigh =/


Our dinner was supposed to be at Station Bar & Woodfired Pizza located at 287 Bathurst Rd, Katoomba NSW 2780, Australia. However, the pizza was sold out by the time we reached. The rating for this pizza place is one of the best in Katoomba. What a pity! We ended up ordering pizza take-away at another busy restaurant named Papadino's Katoomba, with 45min waiting time....so we decided to walk around Katoomba neighbourhood.

Believe it or not, I have never tried Kinder Surprise. Surprising??? I bought one at Coles while we were waiting for our pizza.


I WANT OLAF!

Please be Olaf!

I was so disappointed when it turned out to be Elsa. =( I bet I will be 10x more upset if I were a kid. With a heavy heart, we drove back to Papadino to collect our pizza that we already paid for. As the restaurant was less crowded, we changed our take-away to eat-in and ordered a cuppa hot chocolate.


Papadino's Katoomba Pizzeria and Family Restaurant
Address: 48 Katoomba St, Katoomba NSW 2780, Australia
Contact: +61 2 4782 1696
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Papadinos-Katoomba-1529104457333712/
Menu: Click here for the menu on Facebook

Papadino's (Medium) at AUD 17.50 and Hot Chocolate at AUD 4

Papadino's - Ham, capsicum, onion, mushroom, olives, anchovies and oregano. The pizza was decent; topping it up with Parmesan cheese and chilli flakes on request made it even better. Many customers were having pasta instead of pizza, you may want to order their pasta instead if you decided to give this place a try.

What a long and fulfilling day in Blue Mountains today! We checked the Health app on our iPhones and it indicated that we walked nearly 18,000 steps! Thanks to all the hikes of course. Gotta leave this lovely place tomorrow morning and we'd also be car-less after. 2 days down, 8 days to go. =)



Sydney NY Countdown Trip from 2015 to 2016 Posts