Garden of Earthly Delights

On Wednesday we decided to ride the bus all the way into the Central Railway station in Sydney so we could have lunch at Chinatown and waste an hour or two wandering through Paddy's Market. The latter location is a popular shopping destination for anyone looking for cheap Asian made electronics, tee shirts, and "authentic" Australian souvenirs. It was not very crowded; many of the stalls were closed, but we still got an overdose of material goods that dazzled the eye and tempted the wallet. Ronald and I both got some fruit before frittering away a few dollars on lesser items, and then made our way to the dark passageway of Chinatown. I doubt one could fit another restaurant in between the dozens that line this particular walkway in Sydney, and we made our choice based on Ron's memory and navigation skills. The beef noodles were more than I could eat, and were served with soup and tea, all for a rather low price. The couple sitting next to us spent considerably more, and it was amazing to see how much those Asian octogenarians could put away. One nice thing about this trip was our ability to have a few drinks, since the ride home was taken care of by the bus driver. After an evening of the "Amazing Race, Australia" where we saw the good guy team win, we decided on Thursday to head back to the Blue Mountains. This was a considerable drive, but we made our way to the Mount Tomah Botanical Gardens, a really beautiful patch of land high on the slopes overlooking the land to the east. It was stunning, especially considering the fact that the plants are in the dead of winter, yet many are still blooming. There were plants from all over the world, and a great little creek and waterfall system flowing through the heart of it. My favorite part was our journey through the "Jungle," a deep green cavern of trees and vines that was cool and dark even at midday. The forest seemed almost like a scene from the beginning of the world, and it was a great little walk.

After lunch, we pushed on to the "town" of Bell (which is actually an intersection with an abandoned gas station) because it seemed to be the heart of the area designated as the sister city of Flagstaff, Arizona. However, we came to realize that the sister city is actually the Blue Mountains and all the communities within its precincts, which includes Katoomba, Leora, and a host of other mountain hamlets. As such, this is the second time I have paid respects to the sibling metropolis of my undergraduate location, the first being the nights Jayne and I stayed in Katoomba in February 2011.