ONE NIGHT IN THE BLUE MOUNTAIN’S MISTS
Whenever Sydney life gets too much the answer is the Blue Mountains. It used to take the first Europeans weeks of treacherous journey to reach them, they were so impenetrable , but these days it’s only an hour and a half drive . R&R destination : Lilianfels hotel perched on a cliff with beautiful vistas .
This place is like going to visit your rich , slightly crazy aunt . It’s a little bit of luxury, a little bit of kitsch and a whole lot of homely. I got myself a room with a view, read all the papers while eating scones, jam and clotted cream, had a nap by the pool, got a massage, watched people play tennis with a pimms in my hand, went to Darleys’ for a delicious, dizzily expensive dinner then took my tipsy overindulged ass to bed.
Darley’s at dusk
Salad of heirloom tomatoes with curd, fresh sprouts,fried bread and Pedro Ximenez Nobel Sour
Breast of guinea fowl,toasted millet seeds,young leeks,butter beans and lemon marmalade
Like a starfish I woke up stretched over the bed . Birds chirped and sunshine invaded the room. Beyond the windows the valley was enveloped in the famous blue mists and the air smelt fresh and crisp. I jumped out of bed and went on a long trek through the bush, then came back to a large cooked breakfast. All I wanted to do was go back to my room for a long nap, but it was time to get back to the grind. On my way back I mourned all the other great things to do in the mountains- a visit to the Leura village and a cheeky lunch at Silk’s Brasserie , homemade dessert at Katoomba’s Common ground cafe, a ramble through for fur and old books at vintage stores, cable car ride across the valley, that great jewellery find at an antique store , picking apples at a farm , or my favourite : doing nothing at all.
Three sisters
Blue Mists
