My last full day in Sydney :-( I've been pretty busy too. So on Thursday 15th I visited the New South Wales Art Gallery which was a great way to spend a couple hours, didn't think much of the modern art in the basement e.g. a huge canvas just painted blue...I didn't get it. Then from there I walked through the botanic gardens which are so beautiful and it was a perfectly blue sky and really warm in the sun, walked all the way to Macquaries chair a famous outcrop of land that affords a great view of the opera house and the bridge- posed in front of both of course for a cheeky photo. Found out where all the fruit bats hang out (literally) and took way too many photos of them but there were so many of them. Popped down to Paddy's Markets but got there a bit too late as they closed at 5pm so only had a while to look around.

On Friday I explored the Queen Victoria Building, well mostly its shops! But also went to see the Plaza shopping centre again, Harbourside and Paddy's Markets, a day of shopping really! Then met up with Stan at 5ish to catch a train with him back to his home in West Ryde to stay for the weekend...and I'm here now.

Saturday I actually enjoyed doing nothing. It was so nice to relax in someone's home and just use the internet and make lots of cups of tea on my own. In the evening we all went out for Dan's birthday (Stan's older brother) to Ribs 'n' Rumps a true Aussie dining experience. Everyone gave Dan his birthday presents and suprisingly I got given a present too! A lovely little Korean fan :-)

Then today Stan and I went to the Blue Mountains, to Karoomba, by train. It only took 2 hours and $10. We had some lovely hot drinks in a cute old fashioned coffee shop that had a roaring open fire and wooden barrels as seats and tables. I got to see the three sisters, the three rocky outcrops you can view, supposedly legend has it that there were three sisters and they were mourning the loss of their brother in battle and stood waiting to hear news of his return and they waited so long they turned to stone..you can believe what you what to believe but it's a beautiful site. After a nice cliffside walk with some amazing views and loads of flying cockatoos we descended the furber steps all the way down (and it's a long way down) to the scenic railway which used to be used to carry all the mined rocks but now is for passengers and it drags you up backwards at an almost 90o angle so you are staring down at the rocks beneath you!! Very good fun, I heard it's much more fun to go down the railway!

A lovely way to end the weekend, Stan's parents prepared an authenic Korean meal for me and we gambled playing Korean card games, and I walked away with $2 even having not understood the rules! Result!