Vacation !!!!:))) and the days after :((

Hello !!

So nice to be back here on blogland after around 10 days of vacation . We had a great family trip to the land of Koalas and Kangaroos -- Australia !!! :)) Lots of pics to share , but I need to split around few blogposts .

Back home as usual it took lot of time to convince me to enter the kitchen :( though I kept lingering around laundry work for couple of days as that sounded easier . I did some stitching for few days on Ladybird fairy . Here she is now .....

Completed the stole and flowers in the bottom . I am working on her wings and there is some mismatch in the Anchor shade range mentioned in the design and those we get here so I am substituting the best possible ones .


We went to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia . The weather was pleasant it was their beginning of winters . I wanted to send my parents on a senior citizen tour to Europe but after I lost my father , we did not plan anything . More than four years after then my mother was ready to go for a foreign trip so we decided to take her to Australia as it is not that cold for her . Here are the highlights .  

The Opera House

Me and Raj at the Opera house

Opera House (one of the theatres)

There was a big Cruise ship at the Sydney Harbor opposite Opera House . 

Anshita, me and my mother

The Harbor bridge in the backdrop

The Blue mountain. It is similar to Nilgiris (blue mountains) in South India except that in India tea and coffee plantations are also done on mountains . Here it was forest area but very cold and windy .

These three mountains are known as three sisters.

The most fascinating was the scenic world train ride near Katoomba village in the Blue mountains . It was a steep train ride at 52 degree inclination considered as world's steepest passenger railway . In olden days this area was used for coal mining .

Here we are going down . It was very steep and scary for few seconds and then your hand and legs eventually find places to grip . That was real fun !! :)) We also had some rain forest walk .

and Skyway - Cable car ride across the mountains

(Courtsey : internet)

and Cableway - Cable car ride at elevation

(Courtsey : internet)

The Sydney tower eye . 

There is a lift to go up and you can then see a great view from the top . They also have a skywalk (walking on a glass bottom floor at the top point) but we did not go for that .

Sydney was warm and we did lot of walking there . We booked our own itinerary so there was no pressure of seeing all or nothing as is the case with some tour operators . We went to places we wanted to go .  I am a camera shy person and most of the time we end up taking pics of landscapes and Anshita gets tired of posing for all . I have been brave enough this time to look into the camera and also to share pics here . 

Next post - about Koalas and Kangaroos and some yarn/crafts shopping in Australia .

We are still having summer temperatures and next week we might get Monsoon(Indian rains)   showers . Anshita's summer vacation will end on 2nd week of June ans she is feeling bad about it . She doesn't know that her wicked mother is making big stitching and crocheting plans and looking forward to the school reopening :)

Have a crafty week !!
Preeti