Friday, September 15, 2017: The Blue Mountains

Good morning!

The 1 'hiccup' in service we experienced with Holiday Inn this trip:  Decided on breakfast downstairs located on the first floor.  Opened at 0600.  We were there checking it out and placing our omelet orders by 0610.  There was no cook to be seen so, the waitress took our hot omelet orders.  In the meantime, we selected some other breakfast goodies from the buffet and chose a table to sit at and wait for our omelets.  Fifteen minutes go by... I go to the grill, no cook. I ask the waitress about our omelets, she says she'll check with the cook and goes into the back.  Ten minutes later, still nothing.  I ask the waitress again and she tells me the 'chef is coming.'  By this time several other patrons have put in hot food orders including a mother with 2 children and nothing.  So, we get up and turn in our marker and go to leave.  As we're leaving the 'chef' shows up.  Didn't matter, we continued down to the front desk to provide them with some feedback and to have a postcard mailed out.  The night crew was still on at this hour, 0640, and the young man at the desk had no clue how to handle our feedback/experience nor did he know how to communicate to us how a postcard would be handled by the hotel.  He disappeared into the back for about 5min, came back with a colleague who was equally bewildered, and still had no idea how to deal with our queries.  He also had difficulty finding us a post office location we could walk to on his computer.  Anyway, frustrated, we politely said thank you anyway, please make note of our feedback and we went back upstairs.  (To his credit, he did pass along our compliant, we were credited the breakfast charge of $29AU/person and, $2.95AU later, our postcard was mailed off).  They could invest a bit more time training their after normal hours staff....

Departed the hotel at 0815 via the front desk.  The day shift was aware of our experience and had done the right thing and taken the postcard for post.  Not quite as cold on this morning.  We did dress a bit warmer, just in case.  Caught the 0830 train out of CQ for Central Station.  Arrived at ~0840 and went in search of platform 7.  Jan had pre-wired us with all the details we needed to rendezvous with her further out towards Katoomba.  Got to platform 7 and our train, a 4 car train, was already waiting there, doors open.  Departure time would be at 0918.  We settled into the 2nd car and realized we had no good way of messaging Jan without a wifi connection and I'd forgotten to bring along my Skyroam.  We'd continue as planned and hope Jan finds us at the Penrith Station.

The train pulled out right on time and we were off.  Four stops later, I spied Jan coming through the 3rd car towards us and she saw me.  Even though this was what we'd planned, what a relief when we finally hooked up!!  Well, we kept each other company all the way up into the Blue Mountains. During the ride we were all chuckling over a handful of Aussie slang Jan shared with us:

-Earworm:  when a song someone starts singing or humming starts a ripple effect with everyone else around.  Neil Diamond songs tend to be ones that when 1 person starts singing/humming one, others suddenly jump in.  It's contagious.
-Cheesed off:  Fed up, angry (verb).  Irritated, annoyed (adj).
-You're a 'Dag':  This one can go either way, insulting or affectionate.
--Urban definitions:
1. A turd hanging off the rear end of a sheep (caught in the fleece).
2. Someone who is daggy, i.e. uncool. This can be meant insultingly or affectionately. (Much like that other well-known Australianism, "you old bastard".) On the face of it, it's an insult, but there are ways in which it is seen as admirable to be a dag – having one's own style, not caring for public opinion, being outrageous, being a source of friendly amusement, being original.
1. "About time the farmer cut off those dags."
2. (a) Insulting: "I wouldn't go out with him, he's the biggest dag around."
    (b) Affectionate: "She's such a dag, we always have heaps of fun."

It's at least 18 stops before Katoomba Station appears, about a 2hr ride out from Central Station. Hopped off the train and right into the top and center of the town.  Turns out that 20yrs ago, Jan had spent a year in Katoomba attending Bible Studies School so, she was very familiar with the town. Jan spent a little while trying to find an old 'haunt' she used to frequent along the main street back in the day but, couldn't find it. We tried sorting out which Opal bus might ferry us down to the viewing area but, quickly decided just to hoof it.

About a 3km walk, mostly downhill to get to the viewing area.  We didn't get very far before I felt like a hot chocolate and we stepped into a cafe called the Paragon... according to their own promotion:  'The Paragon is arguably Australia's oldest cafe and certainly one of the most opulent ever built in the country.' Opulent, perhaps but definitely dark and the young lady working the reception really put Jan off with her demeanor.  We agreed she did not, at least on this day, possess a very accommodating Services provider persona.  So, 2 not very hot chocolates later (Jan did enjoy the chocolate powder covered marshmallows that I passed on), we left and continued on our trek to see the 3 Sisters.

Side Note:  The Paragon in Katoomba.  Open since 1916 and situated in the heart of Katoomba, The Paragon is an iconic landmark in Katoomba. The three rooms that comprise the Cafe, Formal Dining Room and Banquet Hall are some of the finest and most richly detailed Art Deco interiors any where in the world. Lunch, morning and afternoon teas are available 7 days per week, with dinner available Friday and Saturday nights.

The Paragon is best known for its range of hand made chocolates. The Paragon’s brand is one of the oldest in Australia and unique, with its logos and much of its packaging unchanged in 80 years. Its world famous Warratah Bar is probably the oldest chocolate bar in Australia; its presentation, packaging and even manufacture unchanged in over 70 years.
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The wind was quite stiff on this particular day adding a bit of a chill to the air however, the sky was clear blue and the company was fantastic.  Along the way we stopped at the location where the Bible School she attended used to be.  Unfortunately, it was gone, replaced by a much different venue, the Blue Mountains YHA - a youth hostel.  The hotel she and her classmates stayed in was still there, the Palais Royale, and we did make time to go in, wander around some and enjoyed some of Jan's recollections back then.  Left after a bit and continued our way down to the tourist viewing area, Echo Point, via Lilianfels Park and the Waradah Aboriginal Center.

It wasn't overly crowded on this particular day however, the wind was blowing pretty hard and that was definitely making the ambient temperature feel much colder.  After spending time on the upper viewing level, we took the switchback walk down to the Queen Elizabeth lookout area.  The spot has a plaque on a concrete pedestal commemorating the Queen's visit and viewing of the 3 Sisters. Decided to forego the trek down to the 3 Sisters via the walking track and stepped into the Visitor's Center to do a little souvenir shopping.  It hasn't changed much since my last visit and that felt reassuring to me for no particular reason.

Visit completed we queued up for the Opal 'blue bus' to take us back up near the Katoomba Train Station so we could catch the next train to Leura for lunch.  Didn't have to wait long for the train, hopped on and made the quick ride to Leura Station.  Hopped back off and walked down the very familiar and steeply inclined Main Street until we found an interesting place for lunch:  the Leura Gourmet.  We were all a bit 'peckish' and thoroughly enjoyed our meals - even though my first choice, eggplant parmigiana, was not available.  Settled for my second choice, a chicken pot pie.  Jan enjoyed some corn fritters and Rosie had turkey/avocado/brie on a baquette with cranberry sauce. Not sure how we got on the subject of sweet peppers but, found out that Aussies call 'bell peppers' by their more generic name: Capsicum.

Lunch consumed, we leisurely made our way back up to the Station, via an arcade (arcades in Australia are not gaming venues, they are shopping venues).  Jan wanted to check out a 'lolli' shop (candy store) there.  I was hoping we'd take the next train to Wentworth Falls Station to re-create the photo I took back in 2010 but, after talking it out and with the day going 'long in the tooth,' decided to pass on it.  Primarily due to the fact that this area has had so little rain, we hypothesized that the falls wouldn't be more than a trickle.  Maybe next time.

Had a very pleasant train ride back and had to bid Jan a sad farewell at Penrith Station. She had another busy day coming up hosting another friend and we planned on spending the next day with Rosie's cousin, Gearoid and his 2 kids.  It's been wonderful seeing and spending time with Jan over the last 2 days.  The conversations, history and, laughs we've shared will hold me until the next time we meet up and I dearly hope we stay in more frequent contact.  Jan's a remarkable person, great friend, good soul and, talented artist.  We do so hope to be reading her novel(s) in the not too distant future.  Love, hugs & kisses, Jan!!

Our train ride continued and instead of staying on until Central Station, we hopped off at Parramatta Station, based on a recommendation we'd received from Mary at the Holiday Inn, George Street.  She said if we'd never done it, would be an interesting way to see more of Sydney's waterways than just training it the whole way.  So, what the heck, we'd give it a go!  Left the train at Parramatta Station around 1645 and once we got our bearings, made our way towards the Ferry dock.  We had no idea what to expect and it was getting late in the day.

When we got down to the dock, it was a little after 1700.  The signage wasn't very good but, there was a boat tied up to the pier.  We wandered around a bit and found a Ferry schedule.  The next ride was in about 15min... if we missed it we'd have to wait 2hrs for the next one.  Strangely, this particularly ferry only went down the Parramatta River to the next available Ferry Station.  We'd have to disembark and wait for a different Ferry coming upstream to take us back down to CQ.  Besides a nice lady and her son, there was no one else around. About 1710 we noticed a young man approaching who appeared to be headed out onto the boat.  We quickly intercepted him and asked him whether or not this Ferry was the one we were looking for.  He confirmed that question and 5min later the lady, her son, Rosie and I and, one inebriated Aussie 'bogan' boarded the Ferry for the short ride to the next Pier.  Light was fading quickly.

Side Note:  Aussie slang, 'bogan'.  The term 'bogan' is a derogatory Australian and New Zealand slang word used to describe a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplify values and behaviour considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating.
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We cruised down the river, passed under 2 low bridges (our Ferry had a very low profile) and pulled up to the Rydalmere Wharf and disembarked.  Didn't have to wait long until we saw a Ferry coming up the Parramatta River to pick up the 5 of us.  To make a long story short, after a dozen or so stops along the way, picking up and discharging Pax and having to put up with the obnoxious 'bogan' (he kept threatening some Asian tourists for taking some 'selfie' flash photography out on the prowl of the ferry apparently because it irritated him), we pulled into CQ at 1930 after over 2hrs of cruising down the river!  Definitely not something I'd do again, at least in the dark but, glad we did it just because it was different.

Couldn't decide on what to have for a late dinner so, just headed back over to the Mercantile just up from the Holiday Inn and sat down for dinner there.  A nice Irish lass from Galway was our waitress and served us up some fish & chips, chicken wings, wine and Victoria Bitter (VB) to wash it all down. We were starting to drag and after dinner went directly up to our room and called it a night.

Side Note:  When we got back to the hotel, we had a package waiting for us.  The AirBnB we stayed out in Kirribilli had returned my power converter!  So thoughtful of them to do so and thanks again to Avril and Ross for communicating our left behind article to the management of that property.
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By the way, it's our son, Conor's, 30th birthday here today in Australia... Happy Birthday, Conor, from the land down under!  Have a great day.  Love, Mom and Dad!

Fuji