I must have been very tired yesterday that I forgot to tell you what kind of day it was. Here in Australia is the day after Christmas, boxing day. And thanks to my jetlag I know what it feels like at 8 in the morning haha. I went to the nearby shopingmall in the morning, because I remembered that they open at 8 am in the morning. Of course, my much needed phoneshop wasn't open yet, but other stores were. And they all had sales, and some of them even had security at the door to make sure that not too manny ppl at the same time entered. So there was a huge queue for the Armani shop, and a huge queue for the Svarovski shop. And believe me, that was at 8.30 in the morning! :P Even later, when I went to the Sydney Tower in the evening, there were still queues everywhere. I am glad I spent the day walking on the coast, instead of shopping in town. ;)

Today I did an amazing discovery and I would love to see that back home too. I went to the Blue mountains so I was in the train at 8.24 this morning, desination Katoomba. Here in those trains you can decide for yourself in which direction you travel. Because every seat in the train, you can flip over the part you lean against. So one seat can go both directions. Isn't that something great? I'd love that back home too. First part of the trip was a bit boring, still in the suburbs of Sydney, but the last hour was interesting as the landscape was changing and we entered the mountains. I love sitting with my nose stuck at a window and so I did this time too. Haha not sure how that looks like but hey, you can't blame me on my fourth day down under!

In Katoomba I got my ticket for the hop on, hop off bus and also for the scenic railway, cableway and the walk. This wasn't part of the plan, but you know, I am now here so why not do everything as good as possible? ;) It was totally worth it with the great views and the Three Sisters. No they are not hunan but they're very hard, made of stone, all from the same mountain. :) Later on that day I planned on going up close and personal with them, but first there was another walk to make. The great thing about a bus like this is, the route is part into 23 stops, and from some stops you can walk to the other stop. So I did a walk that should lead me to some great viewing points and also close to the three sisters. Down there, I discovered the Giant Stairway, and believe me, it is giant. First I went down, all 916 steps, the stairway goes along one of the three peeks, all the way down. Then I thought, ok, I feel fit and energetic ( did sleep quite good tonight, even though it´s still short :P) so let's go up again. I had seen many ppl resting and searching for their breath, and I thought that t wouldn't be that hard. So with much enthusiasm I went up, the first 250 steps. Then it went a bit slower, and around 400 I took a rest too. Hard to admit, but I had to. I helped myself by counting the steps, so I kept walking faster than without counting. But wow, I have had my daily exercise and worked that butt hehe, beat that, all you fitness trainers. :P

So, soon as I reached the echo point, I bothered again another tourist to shoot me a picture with those stoney sisters. Proof again, sorry for the sweaty shirt, but now you know at least wby I was so sweaty after climbing some towers. (Imagine that the Dom tower back in Holland has 465 steps, so I climbed two Dom towers today ) I have told myself that this holiday I am not going to hurry, for nothing, not even if my faourite tennisplayer would walk around without others around, but today I did run a part. had to catch the Explorer bus again as I wanted to see some waterfalls.

Hahahahahahahaha waterfalls you say? When I think of waterfalls, I think of the Niagara falls for example, not that what they call waterfalls here. It wasn't a real waterfall but just a bit water coming down. You have several of those things, Katoomba falls, Gordon falls and some Cascades where I forgot the name from. I didn't even get the chance to check out the Gordon falls because it had taken me too long to take the giant stairway and the bushwalk earlier. The next bus was almost the last bus, so I would have never made it back in time to catch one bus to the station. Oh well, I did my walking for the day at least, and the day ended good in Katoomba when I found a little present for my mother. It's her birthday next month, when I"m not home, so I bring some pressies from here then ;)

It's nice to stroll the shops for a while, and not to think about other things. Pity that I missed the train because of that, but no worries, there's a café and they sell cold beers. Exactly what I need after a hot day walking. The bartenfer asked me what beer I would like, but I still don't know what a nice beer is. The one he gave me tasted great, but I don't remember the name... hopefully I do by the time I go home. ;)

Oh and you know what? I love that Aussie accent so much! The man I met on the ferry yesterday, who asked me with his strong accent where I came from and what I was going to do, he was exactly what I think an original Australian is like. complets with hat and all. Today I met a nice guy too, he worked in Scenic world at the train there, and the way he greeted and said 'Winner!; when my ticket was accepted, yes, that makes me smile. Just love it, every day a bit more. Who knows, I might not go home in january... Haha I am here only for four days and already think so...uhm, first let's survive the rest of the trip, then talk again. :D

Tomorrow around 5 pm they will pick me up to go surfing in the weekend. So curious what it will be like, I can't wait to find out! I am not sure if I can get photographic evidence, but I give it a try and ask someone to shoot some pics haha. Sorry in advance if it's only pics of me in the water and not on a board. I'm planning to go the beach in the morning or early afternoon, and see if I can take swim and soak up some sun. I need to work on my tan, because a friend told me that I need to be black when I return to Holland. And if you know my skin, well, then I have lot of work to do... ;)

And I'm also planning to visit a market tomorrow, which I discovered today in China town. I took a walk from the station and suddenly I was in a neighbourhood that reminds me a bit of catalunya. Written in two languages. The english name and the chinese name under it. But at least the market looked big so I'd like to check it out. They open at 8.30 in the morning, so should work with the beach. :) right, time to give my pics some titles and then off to sleep. All my roommates are sleeping already and it's just me typing in the dark.

G'nite mates. :))