I'm in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, full of cider and thai green curry and am consequently a very happy bunny. We left Sydney this morning absolutely comatosed from lack of sleep and so wrote today off as a casualty of travelling, saving our sightseeing for tomorrow. Therefore there's not a lot to report.

Katoomba seems really cool - it's only a little town in the mountains but there is a disproportionately large number of cafes and secondhand book shops which are probably my two favourite things in the world. So I like it here a lot! Jim had a big fat nap this afternoon so I indulged in some of the best secondhand book shopping ever (literally original Penguin Classics as far as the eye could see). I came away with a beautiful 50 year old copy of Billy Liar for $3. Then I woke Jim up and we went for a cuppa in the most amazing and bizarre cafe I have ever had the priviledge of visiting. It was called 'Common Ground' and was made entirely of wood with little booths carved into nooks and crannies. I felt like I was a hobbit or a Borrower or something.

We went out for tea tonight at a BYO Thai restaurant and, as Jim had previously dismissed Australian beer offhand he thought it was only fair he gave them a fair appraisal, courtesy of Liquorland and under the watchful eye of the slowest bottle opener in the Southern Hemisphere (who thought Jim was an alcoholic). As it's a particularly slow news day, I will publish the results below:

1. James Squire Golden Ale - "Tastes like real ale. Nice." - Bronze award
2. James Squire I.P.A. - real ale again but nicer than Golden Ale. Jim could "taste the badger in this one. In fact, it tastes exactly like a beer from the Derby Beer Festival called 'The Hairy Badger'." Gold award
3. James Boag's Premium Lager - Before tasting Jim said "It looks like it will taste like a monkey's snatch". Once tasted: "It's very clean - a European lager, wrapped in plastic, dunked in crystal and chilled on an arctic tundra. It's alright." Silver award.

So there you go. I sampled several bottles of 'Mercury Medium Sweet Cider' - distinctly underwhelming.

Adios amigos x x x