I had an extra day in Sydney before flying back to LA. I gave myself the gift of a day tour to the Blue Mountains. Want to know why they’re blue? A blue mist is created by the eucalyptus (gum) trees. The trees exhale eucalyptus fumes that refract light in the color blue. At least this is what they tell the tourists.
On the day tour, I saw a zoo crocodile, pet a koala very gently on its back, saw the Three Sisters rock formation which is sacred for the Aboriginal people, walked to a water fall, and met new American friends who live in Reno and Sacramento.
We had among the group, a woman who was laid off her job in the U.S. (who decided to enjoy her severance for some well needed time to reflect) and her engineer brother (who believes a layoff may be imminent for him.) We had an emergency room physician having “a mid-life crisis” and her good natured parents who came along for the trip at the 11th hour. We went out for German food and sat on a bench with some very drunk Sydney art students.