My Blue Mountains Retreat

Hello! I'm back!

Hope that all is well with you. I went on retreat at the end of last month (from 21-28 of January). One of the teachers at our primary school had shared about a family owned cottage at the very highest point in the Blue Mountains, in Mount Victoria. Her parents had owned it and after their passing, the siblings kept the home and share it as a weekend-getaway. So I asked if she'd let me use it during the retreat week and she agreed. It was exactly what I needed!

Mount Victoria is a bit past Katoomba, the place where the famous "Three Sisters" rock formation stands. It is really right at the top of the mountain pass, yet only an hour and a half away from the friary. It was just far enough to get away and not be tempted to deal with the day to day headaches.

This first image is one I took for the teacher. It's a selfie with my car, parked in front of the house. (1) The cottage sits at the end of a steep and narrow driveway. Trees on either side huddle in close. You can either go in forwards and then back out, or the other way around. She suggested the first; I, of course, did the latter. The photo proves it can be done!

Here are shots of the living space (2) and of the "blue room" (bedroom, 3) where I settled myself for the week. And here are some views from the back porch. (4-6) Isn't it lovely?

The beauty of this place is also in the birds. Though I could only capture one species (this one is a crimson rosella, 7-9) there were several kinds of parrots and lorikeets that visited me each day. It was heavenly!

The rest of these images were taken over several days there. The street ended just a few houses down and there was a foot path that went on about 100 meters ending at some big boulders that looked over the valley. From there you could take awesome photos of the sunsets, as you can see for yourself.

It was a quiet place where I kept to myself, did much sleeping, prayed, worked out, read and relaxed. Really wonderful.

One last thing before I sign off, I am finding it difficult to continue the pace of weekly updates. It's hard to find some new place near the friary to visit each week. I've been here almost 3 years (come 1 June) and have done just about everything major in and aorund Sydney. That said, I plan to cut down on my blogging. I'll try to make one entry a month, more when there's more to share.