On: Katoomba, NSW, Australia

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie Katoomba travel guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie Katoomba travel guide

On April 11 through the morning of April 14th, 2014, we went to The Blue Mountains and rented a cottage (see last post) in Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia.

Today, I want to share with you some of the flavor of Katoomba. It was a quaint, charming and eclectic community – MY KIND OF PLACE! Besides the fact that it is located in The Blue Mountains and is quite hilly to walk the streets, it reminded me of Telluride, Colorado in the United States. Telluride is a community in the Rocky Mountains where people come to ski in the winter and it is also a hub to get to Aspen or Vale when those areas are closed to airports or other transportation, due to the weather. Although Telluride and Katoomba do not share the same type of weather conditions, it’s their common flavor that is similar to me. Telluride basically started as a ‘hippie communue’ back in the sixities. I suppose as many of them grew up and decided to get jobs and start a ski resort? 🙂

In Katoomba, there are many young people, arts and crafts, just like in Telluride. Our pictorial journey below, begins with an example of some local artwork, a mural painted on a brick wall of an abandoned garage across the road from our cottage. We saw this as we were heading into town.

In Katoomba, we noted many wonderful and fashionable hats on the heads of many people, young and old, male and female. ‘The Hattery,’ where I found and purchased my Akubra hat you see me wearing in the picture above, is from Katoomba. For more information about my hat in a previous post on this blog see: Hats

But Kotoomba is more than just a young/artistic/eclectic community, it is a travel destination! Katoomba is the city host or gateway to The Blue Mountains and both attract many people from around the world, every year. We noted many differnet people, accents and languages being spoken while we were here. There are several popular and international establishments and connections here. A friend from the United States informed me that soon after we returned from our trip to this area, Prince William & Kate of England were planning on visiting the following week. The English and Australian connection is just one example of many international connections.

Our first night here as we were walking to downtown for some food, some one-hundred (at least) sulfur crested cockatoos flew over our heads. Caitlin stayed at the cottage with baby Felix and she saw them fly right over our deck and into the eucalyptus trees of the Blue Mountains, right around sunset. Even though I did not get a picture of this amazing sight, in a future post, I will share pictures of four of these beautiful birds and sppecifically one that certainly seemed to want to pose for me, from the huge evergreen near the deck of our cottage.

But this night, on recommendation of a local librarian, we went to dinner at an authentic Korean restaurant. Susan and Jonathan ordered each a different entree and I chose one that is supposed to be one of the most popular among street people in Korea. Dduk Bok-ki was so incredible, both Susan and Jonathan wished they had ordered it! It was a sweet rice, shaped like tube pasta, but not hollow. It was made from rice flour and steamed. It was included in this huge plate of steamed vegetables. You could have it mild, medium or hot. I chose medium. It was inexpensive, delicious and so filling and yet, I can’t believe I ate the whole thing, even sharing a lot with Susan and Jonathan, I was stuffed with delight!

Other foods include the best coffee I have either ever had or it’s been so long, I cannot recall any better. This we purchased from a little, almost a hole in the wall, cafe from the Elephant Bean Coffee. Then there was the most incredible fresh-baked croissant from a cute little bakery, I’ve ever eaten and shared the crumbs with a local pigeon. 🙂

In another post in the future, I will share about some Australian beverages, including the chili wine we tasted and bought in Katoomba. Yes, you read that correctly, Chili wine made entirely out of 100% chili. It was sweet and hot. We intended to bring it home, but we opened it as soon as we got back to the cottage and finished it off the next day when we got back home to Camden. It was fantastic with cheese and now that I’ve come to appreciate oysters (at least Australian and Apalachicola, Florida oysters in the US), DEFINITELY WITH OYSTERS!!! I’m almost sorry we drank it with out purchasing another bottle to bring home, but “no worries,” this Australian exclusive product, has a website and this wine can be ordered online and shipped to your door!!!! 🙂

We had dinner and some chocolate at the Paragon restaurant. This place could have a post and then some, all its own. It was a mixture of Greek/Romanesque architecture and art-deco and hand carved reliefs on the walls. It does make me wonder if the garden area behind our cottage might actually be owned by the owners of this restaurant or some related family members? The food was fabulous and but of course, WE HAD TO TRY THEIR CHOCOLATE! According to their interior signage, it’s the chocolate that made Katoomba famous. I have no way to prove or disprove that statement, but this place has been here since 1921 I believe, has a US connection (the wife of the owner was from the United States), and there are many pictures throughout the place of famous people that have signed their names and have eaten here. So what does that say to you?! Some of the pictures I recognized and some I did not. Art Acord (silent film western star), Clark Gable and Peter O’Toole. So, that’s pretty telling. You can search for the Paragon Cafe online and find many interesting things. They also have a page on Facebook.

There were many unusual and wonderful things to experience in Katoomba, but time and words fail me. The best that I can offer you are some humble pictures. I hope you enjoy them! 🙂

As stated previously, Katoomba is quite hilly and it exercises your heart, lungs and legs to walk here, but well worth the effort! The air was crisp, cool and clear at this time of the year during Australia’s late fall or early winter. Days were nicely pleasant with a couple of layers of long sleeve shirts and the nights build-a-fire cool. The downtown district is home to many cafes, shops and stores from the unusual, the bizarre and the, just lovely. There are examples of fine architecture in beautifully restored or well-maintained hotels and other buildings.

There were many unusual and wonderful things to experience in Katoomba, but time and words fail me. As I said, the best that I can offer you are some humble pictures, my personal recommendation to COME HERE if you ever have the opportunity and a link to some Irish music I recorded live, on my way back to the cottage one day. I hope you enjoy all that follows here! 🙂

Mural on Wall — Mural on wall of the Three Sisters and etc., of The Blue Mountains at Echo Point

Downtown Katoomba – sure why not espresso and waffles! 🙂

The Elephant Bean Cafe (notice anyone familiar?)

The Elephant Bean Cafe (Awesome coffee) — The Elephant Bean Cafe
(awesome coffee)

Bakery with fresh baked almond croissants. YAY! :) — Bakery with fresh baked almond croissants. YAY! 🙂

If you must eat croissants, why not artistically!

And the pigeons enjoyed your crumbs :) — And the pigeons enjoyed your crumbs 🙂

My first ever female street performer. She was actually very good.

Little Aussie squirrels picture, for my sister Carol Lee

Ducks or Kiwi birds in boots? I dunno, but they were cute, so I had to take this! :) — Ducks or Kiwi birds in boots? I dunno, but they were cute, so I had to take this! 🙂

Hotel Carrington Entrance — Carrington Place (hotel) Entrance

Hand carved wall, Carrington Place Entrance

Want to Wassail me for some mulled wine? :) — Want to Wassail me for some Mulled Wine? 🙂

The circus in town? :) — The circus in town? 🙂

Paragon Chocolate "The chocolate that made Katoomba famous" — Paragon Chocolate
“The chocolate that made Katoomba famous”

Whale out of wooden sticks in window of Lost Bear Gallery

Oh, there the lost bear is! :) — Oh, there the lost bear is! 🙂

Interesting Walk II (same walk, different view) — Interesting Walk II
(same walk, different view)

Last stop before back to cottage and look what I saw and heard! : — Last stop before heading back to our cottage and look what you saw and heard! :

Locals, quite possibly of Irish roots, gathered in this pub for grub, beers and cheers and playing some really nice Irish jigs. There were children present and other watchers/listeners like me. Flutes, violins, guitar, banjo, a concertina (similar to an accordion) and one gent (laddie) played the Uilleann pipes. The bar was open and run by another international connection. She was anice lady from Vietnam. It was a gorgeous day and the windows were open in the pub.

Several falutists — Several flutists and violinists and concertina far left

The uilleann pipes are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as “union pipes”, their current name is a partial translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann (literally, “pipes of the elbow”), from their method of inflation.There is no historical record of the name or use of the term ‘uilleann pipes’ before the twentieth century. It was an invention of Grattan Flood and the name stuck. People mistook the term ‘union’ to refer to the 1800 Act of Union; this is incorrect as Breandán Breathnach points out that a poem published in 1796 uses the term ‘union.’

The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a small set of bellows strapped around the waist and the right arm (in the case of a right-handed player; in the case of a left-handed player the location and orientation of all components are reversed). The bellows not only relieve the player from the effort needed to blow into a bag to maintain pressure, they also allow relatively dry air to power the reeds, reducing the adverse effects of moisture on tuning and longevity. Some pipers can converse or sing while playing.

Source: Wikipedia

And a good time was had be all! :) — And a good time was had by all! 🙂

Please click on the following link to a recording I made of these musicians. It’s only about a minute clip, but I think you will enjoy it.

https://soundcloud.com/dahni-4/irish-music

April 22, 2014 0

On: Cottage in the Mountains

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie Blue Miuntain Cottage Guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie Blue Mountains, cottage guide

On April twelfth through the morning of the 14, 2014 we rented a cottage in The Blue Mountains, in the city of Kat0omba, New South Wales, Australia.

It was a wonderful place full of antiques, plush thick big towels and all the necessary things for comfort as you could imagine. They even had the refrigerator stocked with food which we gladly added to with what we brought and enjoyed some cooking at our home away from home.

The cottage was called: Sidney’s Retreat (Not Sydney, but I think they live there) and is named after the owner’s wife, I believe.

Hot water was supplied by a Rinnai tank-less water heater, so we always had hot water. There was a microwave, coffee/espresso/cappuccino machine, four slice toaster, plates, and other cookware and utensils, silverware, spices, an assortment of coffees and teas.

We had a wood burning fireplace with plenty of wood, but no kindling to start one. Jonathan and I manged to burn a roll of toilet paper and some paper towels for a short-lived fire, due to the wood still being damp and no kindling, but we had a great time trying.

There were gas or electric heaters in every room – each of the two bedrooms, the bathroom and the kitchen/dining/living room = Great room with a vaulted ceiling. There were electric blankets in every bedroom. There were toys for children, a high chair for Baby Felix, DVD movies, a falt screen TV, books even playing cards which we four used a couple of nights.

The deck outside was massive and even supplied a grill if we were inclined to use it. There was an outside table and chairs for 6-8 people. The deck overlooked an interesting classic, ancient Greek/Romanesque courtyard, of stone and statues in process. All of us concurred that we would love to live in this place! 🙂

This was agreat place to explore and visit the town of Katoomba (more about this in another post). But after all is said and done, it’s all about the view from the Great Room or from the deck! The Blue Mountains were right in our back yard!!

Jonathan & Susan at the gate to our cottage — Jonathan & Susan at the gate to your cottage

No. 36 Laurline St — No. 36 Lurline St., your temp. address in Katoomba, NSW, Australia

Path to home away from home — Pathway to your home away from home

What's this Samsung thing? Touch your palm to the face? — What’s this Samsung thing? Touch your palm to the face?

Press the two numbers that show (different each time)

A full panel display, insert the four digit password followed by the pound sign and the door opens! AWESOME! i want one of these!!! :) — A full panel display, insert the four digit password followed by the pound sign and the door opens! AWESOME! I want one of these!!! 🙂

Our Bed. Rm. with chairs and stuffed toys for kids — Your bed rm. with chairs and stuffed toys and stuff for kids

Big room bath with shower and claw legged tub and the room had a skylight

I loved the old telephone! wing, wing, wing, Hehwo! :) — I loved the old telephone! wing, wing, wing, Hehwo! 🙂

Jonathan, Caitlin, baby Felix and Fritz the dog even had an old pump organ in their room that Jonathan played. This video is for you, Janet Beaman! 🙂

It's All about the View — It’s All about the View from our deck!

It's All about the View II — It’s All about the View II

It's All about the View III — It’s All about the View III

It's All about the View IV — It’s All about the View IV

It's All about the View V — It’s All about the View V

It's All about the View VI — It’s All about the View VI

April 21, 2014 0

On: From Australia With Love

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie gift guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie Easter gift guide

Easter is, the first Sunday; after the first full moon; after the beginning of Fall down under here in Australia, so that you in the United States, can celebrate Easter on the first Sunday; after the first full moon; after the beginning of Spring, up there. 🙂

The stores here were all mostly closed on Friday, supermarkets opened on Saturday and closed again on Sunday and Monday. In fact, most stores here in Camden, New South Wales, Australia will not open until Tuesday.

We went to the supermarket here on Saturday which is your Friday and they were nearly all sold out of Cadbury Chocolate products for Easter. So, we didn’t get any, can’t send some home or bring some home to you. And sorry Janet, but we cannot bring home any butter. 😦

Besides all of that, down under’ here, there is a concerted effort to replace the Easter Rabbit with the Easter Bilby.

But for now (your tomorrow, but when you get this it will be your today there and yesterday here ), most stores, well they used to until they were sold out, had Carmello Koala.

Anyway, We down under here, having already lived through your today, yesterday, are already living in your tomorrow, tuhday mates. But what can be done for you is, to capture the past, for your today. So I did. I have captured the moon, for you yesterday, so you can have it tuhday! HAPPY EASTER, which is now your first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the beginning of Spring up there! 🙂

HAPPY EASTER up there yesterday, from down under here, now tomorrow for your tuhday! :) — HAPPY EASTER up there yesterday, from down under here, now tomorrow for your tuhday! 🙂

Seriously, I did find some Cadbury Creme Eggs for you! 🙂

Rent or watch the movie ‘Hop,’ with your family!

Rent or Watch w/ the Fam' :) — Rent or Watch w/ the Fam’ 🙂

HAPPY PAGAN UNHOLY DAY! 🙂

Note: Easter is an ancient Babylonia celebration of the goddess Ishtar of love, war, fertility and sexuality or Ostara a Germanic pagan goddess. Rabbits and eggs are mere symbols of fertility as is the Spring equinox for procreation. including rabbits and eggs as symbols.

“An important historical result of the difference in reckoning the date of Easter was that the Christian churches in the East, which were closer to the birthplace of the new religion and in which old traditions were strong, observed [the Resurrection] according to the date of the Passover festival. The churches of the West, descendants of Greco-Roman civilization, celebrated Easter on a Sunday.
“Constantine the Great, Roman emperor, convoked the Council of Nicaea in 325. The council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout the Christian world on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox; and that if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and thereby coincide with the Passover festival, Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following. Coincidence of the feasts of Easter and Passover was thus avoided.”
“The name [Easter] probably comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts…” –

Source: Encarta Encyclopedia, article: Easter.

The word holiday is a transliteration of the word holy day and has nothing to do with Easter.

Easter has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity or the resurrection of Jesus Christ, except its close proximity to the calculation of time of the spring equinox. Jesus Christ was crucified on a Wednesday (the 14th of Nisan), before sunset (sunset began the 15th or the Passover feast) so in the year of his death, he would have been the Passover Lamb. Death requirements were for 72 hours for one to be declared legally dead. So 72 hours from the 14th of Nisan, would make his resurrection occurring on Saturday the Jewish (Judaic) Sabbath. When the two Mary(s) went “early in the morning” and found the stone rolled away and an empty tomb, “the first day of the week,” it was sometime after sunset of Saturday making this day, Sunday, but as the angel at the tomb said, “He has already risen.”

The Bible, The gospel of Matthew 28: 1-8

King James Version

April 20, 2014 0

On: The Blue Mountains

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Blue Mountain guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie The Blue Mountains guide (yours). 🙂

Australian late Fall – April 12th, 2014

Today, we journey into and through the Blue Mountains near Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia. It is an awe inspiring journey into some of the finest, picturesque and photographic adventures, I have ever experienced. But our adventure is for more than just the area’s calling card which is, The Three Sisters Rock formations. For more on the Three Sisters, their lengends, The Three Exploers and etc. from this blog, click The Three Somethings

Our trip begins at Echo Point and The Three Sisters, then we will hike around the mountains and through the forest to Katoomba Falls. The trek is quite rigorous, but I am sixty years old and if I can do it, so can you! My Keene sandals are more than up to the task. Wear warm clothing (long pants, a nice wool shirt and an undershirt, a hat and some sunglasses if you like, but we will be passing through the forest floor of shade and shadows). Grab some water and a camera and prepare yourself to transcend into an incredible state of mind as we ascend the mountains and descend towards the falls. The air is crisp and clear. The sun is full and the clouds are gorgeous. We may even see some bird of prey, soar the thermals above the mountains.

Caution: There will be times that you feel as if you are all alone. You may be able to hear yourself think? You may at times be so at peace within the quiet that the only sound you may hear if you stop moving is, the sound of your own heartbeat. That my friends and companions, is the sound of exuberant joy! 🙂

Glad not alone, for you are not alone. We are all pilgrims here, just passing through. It is a gift to us and to all. The Blue Mountains was made for all to enjoy. For joy, get en (in) to it, all of it and all of your all – en-joy!

Our trip below Echo Point along the mountain side to the falls, will take about 2 hours in and back another way. It is a well made path, but there may be some water from many small mountain streams that may trickle over it sometimes. This will be some good exercise, but well worth it. I do highly recommend this trip to most anyone of fair to good health. Take it slowly if you must, as they say here down under, “No worries!” Catch every breath from every moment that leaves you breathless from such breathtaking views! 🙂

Immerse yourself in this, perhaps a once in a lifetime experience. So, this ends and your vicarious adventure begins with photographs and captions. Enjoy!

Dahni

Note: The Haze over the mountains from which it derives its name is from the oils released from the thousands of many varieties of eucalyptus trees that cover the mountains.

The Three Sisters from another point of view

Our journey ends here as close to the falls as we could reach as the lower path was closed. We will just have to return for more views and closer views sometime in the future or in our dreams. My sincerest thanks for allowing me to be with you in this place of beauty. You are beautiful and Donnie Luvs Yah!

Donnie

P.S. WE THANK YOU AUSTRALIA, FOR SHARING YOUR TREASURE!!! 🙂

All Photography by Dahni

any photos you would like either as enlarged prints to purchase or to share for FREE, by purchase or permission ONLY

contact me for more information: Dahni1@gmail.com

April 19, 2014 0

On: Hats

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie Hat Guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie Hat Guide

by Donnie Hayden

Besides meeting baby Felix for the first time, spending time with family, visiting Australia for the first time, seeing the plants and animals of this wonderful country, I had one thing I wanted to bring back home, a hat.

I love hats of all kinds and always have I guess. But personally, I don’t think I look all that great in them. There is just one exception, in my opinion. Years ago, Susan found a relatively inexpensive black felt hat from J.C. Penny or JCP for short. I love this hat and have received several compliments in wearing it, so I suppose I look OK in it?

It has been associated with everything from Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, and Indiana Jones from the movie, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ OK, I get those connections, but one person thought it was a cowboy hat, which for the life of me, I do not understand that at all!

I also have a used, but cleaned white canvas hat given to me by a friend for spring and summer wear. I also purchased an inexpensive white panama-like hat. Neither of those two hats has ever received any comments while I’m wearing them so, what does that tell you? 🙂 I do have a baseball type cap which I rarely ever wear and one that has flaps to cover my ears in winter that I use when plowing or shoveling snow. I probably look like a dork wearing it, but my head and ears stay worm. 🙂

It is difficult to find anyone to dry clean hats anymore where we live. Most dry cleaners used to perform this service. I have had it cleaned twice. Once when I worked for Coit Carpet Cleaning in the Rochester, NY area, as their central office in Buffalo, NY. had a large dry cleaning and rug cleaning plant. But I no longer work for Coit and I’m not sure if they perform this service anymore?

The second time I had my hat cleaned was performed by a master hatter, right in Henrietta, NY. A friend told me to check him out. He was close to where we lived in the city until we moved to the country. His name is, Dave Brown. Dave Brown is a master hatter and he makes custom designed hats for many stars on TV and the silver screen. His hats have been featured in many familiar movies and soon to be seen in current projects. One day, I would love to have a hat custom made by him. Dave Brown the Hatter, is located at: 3054 West Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14623

You should check out his website, you will be amazed! see:

http://www.davebrownhats.com/clients_f.html

Well anyway, back to my story. I really think hats are sexy and men and women that wear the right one look handsome and gorgeous and children look adorable in them, adults and the elderly look great! Sometimes, even pets look spectacular in hats.

I was walking around Camden, NSW, Austraila just a short time ago, becoming familiar with this great community and yes, always on the look-out for a hat store or place that sells them. I found such a store and actually, I was just looking for a short sleeve shirt. But there they were, hats! 🙂

My search just started off looking for a bushman’s hat, a traditional top wear in Australia. But this store had Akubra.

“Akubra Hats are an Australian Icon. For 130 years Akubra has been making its famous fur felt hats. The Akubra name is synonymous with the landscape of outback Australia, and our unique hats form an important part of the Australian national uniform. In the modern era Akubra Hats still form an important part of the national culture, being worn by the hard working men and women on the land as well as being presented as national gifts to those visiting dignitaries who want to take a piece of Australia home.”

Source: http://www.akubra.com.au/

The store had several styles including the one like Paul Hogan wore as the character, ‘Crocodile Dundee,’ in the series of movies made with this name. It was called, ‘The Croc.’ I really thought the crocodile teeth were fake and made out of plastic. I found out later that my assumption was false.

But I found a style in black that I really liked called, ”The Coolabah,” so named after the tree in the famous Aussie song, ‘Waltzing Matilda.’ But alas, it was more than I wanted to pay and besides that, they did not have my size, which was supposed to be size 57 cm by Australian metric standards. “No worries,” as they say in Australia, we would soon be attending the Camden Show and hats would be sold there.

At the Camden Show, I could not find any hats I liked and there was not a single Akubra sold at the show. Hats for sale were just some inexpensive and poor quality ‘knock-offs,’ mostly made in China. I even tried on a ‘Croc’ wannabee, but Susan said, “Absolutely NOT!” 🙂 I will say though however, this hat was made in Australia with farm raised crocodile with leather band and teeth. One actually has to have a travel permit to carry this hat or a real Akubra out of the country. “No worries,” the permit is attached to the hats! 🙂

Later in the week, Susan & I returned to the local store. My heart was still fixed on, ”The Coolabah.’ The owner of the shop was away and a clerk promised to see if any were available, anywhere and in my size, even if he could trade one for another. Apparently, size 57 is the most common and ”The Coolabah’ is the most favored among foreigners and in black. Have you ever experienced something similar, you like something, but can’t get it or they stop making it?

Things did not bode well for, but the store took my email and said they would try to find one and promised to send a note as such – “Found Hat – Bring Head!” 🙂 Sadly, I never received such an email and it takes about 3 months for Akubra to make new hats. Once sold out, this is typically how long you need to wait. It looked like I would be leaving Australia in a couple of weeks without an Akubra!? 😦

To give you an idea of how great these hats are, the clerk told us that in 1986, Stetson hats of the United States had an arrangement with Akubra to make their hats in Australia. A Stetson hat is referred to as: ‘An American Tradition.’

In 1865, with a $100 investment, John B. Stetson rented a small room, bought the tools he needed, bought $10 worth of fur and the Stetson hat company was born. They are still made in the United States. A ‘Stetson’ is considered the most popular ‘cowboy hat in the world.’ Unlike the comment one person made about my black, JCP (J. C. Penny) hat, Stetsons’ are really cowboy hats! But the clerk in Camdem, Australia wanted a Stetson styled cowboy hat, made by Akubra in 1986, He still has this hat and it virtually, still looks brand new, though now, around 28 years old! I believe an Akubra is not a purchase, but an investment which will last for many years in rain, sleet or snow!

For more information on Stetson hats see:

http://www.stetsonhat.com/

During April 11-14, 2014, we were in the Blue Mountains in the town of Katoomba, NSW, Australia. We walked into a very unusual place that was part hat shop on one side and part cafe on the other, both sharing the same address. I chose the hat side and Susan and I went in for a look.

The Hattery sells all kinds of hats and accessories. They sell more Akubras than any other store in Australia. With this much clout and selling-power, they are allowed to change the bands for custom designing of Akubra hats and they have an exclusive design and color to their store. This hat cannot be purchased anywhere else in the world, but in the Blue Mountains, in Katoombah, Australia and at The Hattery or through their online store!

The Hattery

one of Australia’s largest specialist hat shops
holds the largest inventories of stock in Australia – so when you order you can be confident the hat is available immediately.
is located just west of Sydney, Australia, in the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains at Katoomba.
is open 7 days a week, for visitors to our shop and on line customers
is a established family owned and financially secure company that has specialized in mail order for international and local customers for over 16 years.
we pride ourselves on offering the same level of service to our on line customers as to our in store customers

The Hattery
Shop 2, 197 Katoomba Street, Katoomba, 2780, Australia.
Australia: Phone: 02 4782 5003 – Fax: 02 4782 6265
Local call Australia wide: 1300 302 146
International: Phone: + 61 2 4782 5003 Fax: + 61 2 4782 6265

https://hatsdirect.com/help/about.html

Hats & Cafe (same address and right next to each other)

Cafe for while you wait for your hat or wear while you enjoy the Cafe

Even a formal tophat — Even a formal top hat

The Croc – Akubra

Black

53-64 cm

83 mm, Cut Edge

Features a genuine farmed crocodile band with real crocodile teeth and satin lining.

Coolabah – Akubra

Black, Bran, Regency Fawn, Santone Fawn

53-64 cm

79mm, Cut Edge

This hat has been a successful addition to the Akubra range and is particularly popular with visitors to Australia.
Features a genuine farmed crocodile band, satin lining and eyelet vents.

The Coolabah in black size 57 is what I was looking for. But my head size was measured at the Hattery and it was a size 58. Guess I have a bigger head than thought. 🙂

Actually, you really cannot go by size necessarily. You really need to try on one, but if you are pretty sure of your size then order it from the Hattery in that size. They can ship it from Australia to the United States, almost faster than it would be to ship something from within the USA! And if it is the wrong size, let them know and another will be quickly sent out, even before you send the other back! They pride themselves in exceptional service, going even beyond Akubra’s suggestions, for the care and instructions for the long-life of your hat.

For myself, I chose ‘The Blue Mountains,’ Akubra, with approval from Susan. 🙂 It is an exclusive hat to The Hattery and the exclusive color is a dark blue (almost black), representing The Blue Mountains. I have had several compliments. I am very happy and more than satisfied! 🙂

Dahni's 'Blue Moutains' Akubra, size 58 color: Loden (dark blue) — Donnie’s ‘Blue Moutains’ – Akubra – ‘Leisure Time’ – size 58 – color: Loden (dark blue)

Oh by the way, my hat cost $40 less than what I was expecting to spend. Gotta love that! Also, after publishing this post, a friend of ours Janet, read it and left a comment on my Facebook page that this week, Prince William and Kate will be visiting The Blue Mountains. Janet wrote, “Maybe he (Prince William) will get a hat like yours!!! “

If you would like additional information or to see how these authentic and superior quality hats are made, see videos from the Akubra website to follow here.

http://www.akubra.com.au/creation.html

April 17, 2014 0

On: The Three Somethings

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates from Dahni, your Aussie Blue Mountains guide — Guhday Mates from Donnie, your Aussie Blue Mountains guide

Yes, tis’ me! I am no longer wearing shades, eating eucalyptus leaves and looking like a Koala Bear! 🙂 A brand new, Akubra hat, exclusive to this one hat store (The Hattery) and this area and actually dark navy blue and appropriately named, Blue Mountains,will do that to you! 🙂

I am standing at a rail at Echo Point in front of The Three Sisters/Explorers/Rock Formations/Somethings, immediately behind me to your right.

Last weekend (April 11-14), we had the breathtaking, perhaps a-once-in–lifetime experience of the Blue Mountains around Katoomba, N.S.W. (New South Wales or NSW), Australia. NSW is a province or like a state in the US. It is a large area and includes: Sydney, Katoomba, The Blue Mountains and Camden (where we are staying), among others cities, towns and areas. I wrote “perhaps a-once-in-a-lifetime experience,” as we never know where the roads we travel or may one day travel lead, until we take them or find ourselves upon them.

But the road we traveled this weekend, was only about an hour’s drive from Camden to Katoomba. Traveling by car, we noticed large parcels of land and large beautiful homes as if estates or ranches. And there was an enormous amount of construction going on. We were told a brand new International airport has been approved to be built soon and that there are estimates which suggest that over 1,000 people are moving to this area every month. But for us, soon, in the distance, we could see our destination, The Blue Mountains and the gradual, soon-to-be, ear pooping ascension up into them.

With all due respect and credit to Jimmy Buffet, the change in altitude, definitely inspired a change in attitude. The temperatures were cooler, the air seemed to be more pure and with much less humidity. All these factors were a much needed and appreciated relief. We checked into our cottage, unpacked and set out to explore Katoomba and find some grub (food). At another time I will share more about Katoomba, our cottage, the hundred or so sulfur crested cockatoos that flew over our heads, more about my hat and perhaps other things, but today, this is about, The Blue Mountains and more specifically, The Three Somethings. 🙂

The Three Sisters or the Three Explorers — The Three Sisters, The Three Somethings or The Three Explorers?

The Three Sisters is the Blue Mountains’ most spectacular landmark, equated by numbers of people that visit and their comments. Located at Echo Point in the town of Katoomba, around 1.6 miles or 2.5 kilometers from the Great Western Highway. This spectacular view and destination is experienced by millions of people each year.

The picture above was taken in the early morning when we were about the only ones there. The smaller picture above with me in it, was taken the same day, hours later, but it was then crowded with people. I was asked to take a picture for a lady and her friend and she in kind, took a couple of me.

But, The Three Sisters/Three Explorers/Three Somethings is essentially an unusual rock formation. The character of these formations change throughout the day and throughout the seasons as the sunlight brings out the magnificent colors. These rocks are also floodlit until around 11 pm each evening looking simply spectacular, set against the black background of the night sky.

Each stand at 922, 918 & 906 meters or 3,025, 3,012, & 2,972 feet tall, respectively.

That’s over 3000 feet above sea level! It has come to represent three sisters, who according to Aboriginal legend were turned to stone or to represent three actual explorers to the region in 1813. The legends are two, so lets start with those.

The Three Sisters

Legend I

The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, ‘Meehni’, ‘Wimlah’ and Gunnedoo’ lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe.

These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry.

The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters, causing a major tribal battle.

As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witch doctor from the Katoomba tribe, decided to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witch doctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.

The Three Sisters

Legend II

Three sisters, Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo had a father who was a witch doctor. His name was Tyawan.

Long ago there was a Bunyip who lived in a deep hole who was feared by all. The bunyip, or kianpraty, is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. A Billabong is a Wiradjuri word (essentially a dead language that efforts to revise are in progress) that is used for an isolated pond that is left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end.

Passing the hole was considered very dangerous, therefore whenever Tyawan had to pass the hole in search for food, he would leave his daughters safely on the cliff behind a rocky wall.

One fateful day, Tyawan waved goodbye to his daughters and descended down the cliff steps into the valley.

Meanwhile, at the top of the cliff, Meenhi was frightened by a large centipede which suddenly appeared before her. Meenhi took a stone and threw it at the centipede. The stone continued on its journey and rolled over the cliff, crashing into the valley below which angered the Bunyip.

The rocky wall behind Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, then began to split open and the three sisters were left stranded on a thin ledge at the top of the cliff. All the birds, animals and fairies stopped still as the Bunyip emerged to see the terrified girls.

As the Bunyip began to approach the girls, to protect them from harm, their father Tyawan used his magic bone to turn them into stone.

Angered by this, the Bunyip then began to chase Tyawan. Becoming trapped, in order to flee from the Bunyip, Tyawan changed into a magnificent Lyre Bird, yet in the process dropped his magic bone. Tyawan and his three daughters were now safe from the Bunyip.

Once the Bunyip had disappeared, Tyawan returned in search of his magic bone, yet this was never to be found.

The Lyre Bird has been searching for this magic bone ever since. Remaining in rock formation, The Three Sisters stand silently overlooking the valley, hoping that one day he’ll find the bone and turn them back to their former selves.

When visiting The Three Sisters, if you listen carefully you may be able to hear the Lyre Bird, Tyawan, as he continues his quest for his lost magic bone.

The Three Explorers

Not legend 🙂

“In May 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth, set off on the first successful European crossing of the Blue Mountains. Tracing what is now the Great Western Highway route between Glenbrook and Mount Victoria, the explorers reached Mount York, before descending into the Kanimbla (now Hartley) Valley and then ascending Mount Blaxland, arriving back at the colony, a month later in June.

Gregory Blaxland (17 June 1778-1 January 1853) was an English pioneer farmer and one of the three explorers to cross the Blue Mountains in 1813. The Blaxlands were friends of Sir Joseph Banks. Gregory sailed in the William Pitt on September 1805 with his wife, 3 children, 2 servants, an overseer, a few sheep, seed, bees, tools, groceries and clothing. He bought 80 head of cattle on arrival in the Sydney colony and entered the meat trade.

William Lawson (2 June 1774-16 June 1850) was educated in London and became a qualified surveyor. In June 1799 he paid 300 hundred pounds for a commission in the NSW Corps, arriving in 1800. After a post on Norfolk Island, he returned with Sarah Leadbeater and their children to NSW, eventually settling in Prospect. In 1813 he set out from Prospect to meet Gregory Blaxland and William Charles Wentworth at Blaxland’s South Creek farm, from which the three of them left for the expedition which discovered the first satisfactory route over the Blue Mountains. In 1814, Governor Macquarie offered each of the three explorers 1000 acres west of the Blue Mountains. Lawson accepted the offer and in July 1815, he crossed the Nepean and set out to drive 100 head of cattle to Bathurst to take up his property, which he named Macquarie. In 1819 Lawson was appointed Commandant of Bathurst and during this period, he led a further three major explorations to open up the Mudgee district, where he became the first and largest landholder. Lawson went on to play an important part in the horse breeding and racing industry of early Australia and became a member of our first partly-elective Legislative Council from 1 July 1843 until 20 June 1848. William Lawson, known as ‘Old Ironbark’, often walked to Sydney on business, returning the next day. William Lawson died on 16 June 1850 and was interred in a family vault at St Bartholomew’s Anglican Cemetery, Prospect.

William Charles Wentworth (13 August 1790-20 March 1872) was an Australian poet, journalist and politician as well as one of the three explorers to cross the Blue Mountains in 1813. W. C. Wentworth was one of the leading figures in early colonial New South Wales. He was the first native-born Australian to achieve a reputation overseas, and was a leading advocate for self-government for the Australian colonies.”

Source: Historical notes collected by Robert Brown
Old Ironbark, William Beard
Horsemen of the First Frontier (1788-1900), K.R. Binney
Australian Dictionary of Biography
http://www.prospectheritagetrust.org.au/page5.html

So how these three explorers were associated with these three rock formations, I have no clue other than the number three (3). I made the comment that if you look to the right of the ‘The Three Sisters,’ in the picture above, it looks like to me, one or all of them may have had little rock formations or children? 🙂 So, I suppose which of the legends or historical journals you choose to accept or believe, depends on the level of your romantic or imaginative nature. If this helps, there was only one place I found that mentioned the The Three Explorers, and it was a local motel bearing this name, close to Echo Point and the otherwise known as, The Three Sisters. Well, here is another theory, it’s the Three Amigos or The Three Stooges?! 🙂

Three Sisters & Three Amigos or Three Stooges :) Dahni, Susan & Jonathan — Three Sisters & Three Amigos or Three Stooges 🙂
Donnie, Susan & Jonathan

April 16, 2014 0

On: Stuff

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie Tour Guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie Tour Guide

We just recently returned from the Blue Mountains where we rented a rustic cottage with a gorgeous overlook in Katoomba, NSW, (New South Wales), Australia. While I’m picking and choosing the pictures, I’ll give you an update and background information.

The day before we left, baby Felix came down with the croup. Mom, Papa and Grandma took him to the emergency room about 5:00 am – 7:30. I held down the fort with the three cats, one dog and the three chickens (Chooks).

Felix received some medicine and was given instructions that he should definitely go to the Blue Mountains and that all should enjoy the weekend! We followed those instructions to the letter! 🙂

Today, Tuesday 4/15, he went to the doctor and we received a good report. He is a happy boy again and Mom, Papa and Felix just returned from a walk to the supermarket, for stuff to put into the chicken soup, son Jonathan and Mom Susan are making for dinner. We had a lot of chicken left over from last night. Last night? Yes, last night. After we all got back from the Blue Mountains, Jonathan, Susan and I drove to Sydney for dinner. It was NOT an ordinary dinner, to say the least!

We were invited to this dinner and shared it with 16 other people, in a Jewish home. It was part of the Jewish Festival of Passover and called the seder.

The seder, the ceremonial feast held on the first two nights of Passover, is one of the most intricate rituals in the Jewish calendar, kicking off an eight-day stretch of complicated and demanding dietary restrictions. The initial meal, which ranges from eating bitter herbs to reciting Talmudic passages in a foreign language, usually lasts for several hours—and dinner isn’t served until more than halfway through.

The festival commemorates the exodus from Egypt, a key step in the formation of the Jewish people. The seder is not just a retelling of the story, like the weekly Torah readings in synagogue; it’s an invitation for Jews to relive the liberation from slavery as if they had actually been there in Egypt, to teach the narrative to the next generation, and to claim the history of their people as part of their own individual identities. But even in orthodox Judaism, families have long been accustomed to inviting non-Jews to share in this meal, alongside of them. I suppose this is because the desire for freedom and any exodus we may experience from bondage, is common to all.

But this particular seder was somewhat orthodox with some other unorthodox stuff, all thrown in together.

Guests included those from Poland, China, Sri Lanka, Australia and of course, we from the United States, but those are all the countries I can recall. Give me a break please, there were 18 people there besides me! 🙂

Just the guests themselves made an international and unusual impression. I am not quite sure, but I think all the major religions were represented at this dinner. I do know that Judaism, Muslim, Hindi, Christian and Roman Catholics were present.

Parts of the service were read by our host in Hebrew and most was in English and read by whomever desired to read and from the text re-written with a more modern update, by one of the three daughters of our hosts. The reading was done from 2 iPads we passed around the room. 🙂

It was at least to me, quite humorous to hear the readings by those Jewish with an Australian accent.

Part of the service includes the necessity of having “new” plates and utensils for each part. By “new” I mean that the same plates, bowls and utensils had to be changed during the several courses of the service. But in our case, the “new” was plenty of plastic ware. I can’t recall how many plates, small plates, bowls and utensils we used, but it was a lot! Our hosts were very giving in buying all this stuff that was thrown away as we went through each part. Once the ware or utensil was used, it was immediately thrown into a large plastic trash bag. You would eat or drink one thing and then toss the plate or bowls or glass or whatever, as these were now the “old” and had to make way for the “new.” If that seems like a lot of effort, you should have seen all the food! No one left hungry and I would imagine it took 1-2 days of chopping, dicing, cooking and so forth, to prepare this meal! And there was no bread, only Matzo.

Matzo is a flat cracker like food made with flour and water that is baked without yeast or “leavening.” I actually liked it, especially with the pickled (vinegar) beet-horseradish used as part of their “bitter herbs” requirement for the service. I sat right next to our host Lindsay and across from his wife Cheryl. I think they liked me because, I loved the beet-horseradish so much and told them about my tearing eyes and purple thumbs from making this at home. 🙂

The conversations around the room were about Jewish meanings/symbolism, history, WWII history, veterinarian medicine, teaching, psychology, sports food, differences of food between the United States and Australia and other topics! There was so much going on that I was nearly speechless and just did a lot of listening. I know, to those of you that know me best, it’s about next to impossible, for me to keep my mouth shut! 🙂

The whole event from start to finish, took hours. Sometimes, OK, most of the time, it was just loud and raucous. I loved it! And especially among the three Jewish daughters and their mother and father, the banter back in forth was hysterical! I even told Lindsay that I couldn’t believe that from across the room in the midst of all this volume, any of his daughters could still hear if their names were mentioned in conversation with others, but they did!

There were two dogs hoping for scraps that made the rounds. There were a couple of cats, one that is 18 years old that did make the rounds. I think that cat must have sat in every person’s lap that attended this meal. They liked the cat and the cat sure seemed to love the attention and the stroking. I even petted Tibet, the cat. Lindsay confessed that he loves the two dogs, but hates the two cats. But he is still the one that feeds them and they know this, but just keep their distance the rest of the time. I really don’t think he hates them though! 🙂

I enjoyed all the food and even the sweet red wine with grapes from Israel, grown in California, and blessed by some Rabbi in Hoboken New Jersey before, being exported to Australia! 🙂

That was real, but also a joke as there were several like these from the host family including what they call the Jewish chicken soup, ‘Jewish Penicillin Soup’ (good for what ails you and sickness prevention) or simply, ‘Jew Soup.’ That might sound racist and not funny to some, but I’m not the one that said these things. Well, it’s what Susan & Jonathan made for tonight’s supper from the massive quantity of chicken our hosts sent us home with, for Caitlin, as she and Felix did not attend, to everyone’s disappointment, I might add. But all seemed satiated with not just the meal, but from pictures and videos shared by Papa, with Felix as the main attraction! 🙂

The reason we are having soup tonight is because, everyone here was not feeling too well, except for me, I HAD THE CHICKEN SOUP LAST NIGHT, (while Susan & Jonathan had the orange soup)! 🙂

It was so very nice of our hosts to open their home and their hearts and share the costs and time required to prepare their food with, so many non-Jewish people and even with strangers like me that they had never met. I mean come on, can you get any stranger than me? 🙂

I thought it not polite to take pictures, so there are none. but there are 18 other witnesses (not including the two dogs and two cats that it happened and that I was there! 🙂

But this experience is one I will never forget! It was informative, historical, delicious and hilarious with some really good conversation, all thrown in together. And I would like to think that there, just a for a few hours, it seemed the world people in all their many differences and separations, were all ‘In Common, for this meal!

OK, so that’s a lot of content, where’s the pictures? They are coming! It has been difficult for me to get these posts done on a regular basis. For one thing, we are doing a lot of stuff. For another, I have been having problems with my camera, which needs to be addressed when we get back home to the United States. Another problem I am having is with my laptop. It is good to have it, but it does not perform like or have all the programs I use on my desk top at home to edit and quickly reduce the size of pictures to post. I cannot just use full size pictures in these posts, as I will quickly go over my maximum allowance through my WordPress (free blog). The resolution on my laptop is not as good as my desktop at home. But there is much visually, I do want to share with you and I will just have to work it out when we return.

It has also been difficult for me to adjust here. Last night and while in the Blue Mountains, I was layered, including a wool shirt. This morning, I was wearing a short sleeve shirt, sandals with no socks and I would have had shorts on, but they were all in the laundry. This is how it is here, in Australia. It is fall or early winter here, while it is nearly spring 🙂 in New York where we live. In New York, we ‘fell back’ last fall, when daylight savings time ended. Daylight savings time just recently started here. When you are sleeping there, I am awake here. When I should be sleeping here, you are probably awake there. Sometimes here, it’s tomorrow there and sometimes your today is already yesterday here. Then there is the up and down thing. You are up there and we’re down under here. Please don’t ask about which direction the water swirls here as supposed to there, I have not seen it nor can I tell. And when we leave here in a couple of weeks, we leave on the morning of the 30th, spend the night in Tokyo on the 30th, wake up on the 30th, fly home and by the time we get home there, its already tomorrow here and yesterday there! Everything is really messed up, but people that live here, just like you there, are all probably doing fine. It must be just me that’s messed up! 🙂

Oh, about the hat. Yes, I found my Akubra hat, not the one I was looking for, but one better and $30 cheaper and at size 58 not 57, it fits great! More about that later. Closing for now until again. OK, one picture then! 🙂

Blue Mountains from Echo Point, Katoomba, NSW, Austrailia

April 15, 2014 0

On: We Sent You a Card II

For those of you for whatever reason(s) are not with us traveling in Australia, we sent you a card. Hope you like it!!! 🙂

From Katoomba, Australia - Blue Mountains — From Katoomba, Australia – Blue Mountains

April 14, 2014 0

On: Out N’ Bout Down Under

Guhday mates from Dahni, Your Aussie Koala tour guide Down Under — Guhday mates from Donnie, Your Aussie Koala tour guide Down Under

While I am getting new pictures from our Weekend in the Blue Mountains, I thought I would just share some pictures with you, Out N’ Bout Down Under! 🙂

Trashcan With Sails like the Sydney Opera House (Sydney)

Injected Chocolate with syringes (Camden Show)

April 13, 2014 0

On: John West

Guhday mates from Dahni, Your Aussie Koala entertainment director — Guhday mates from Donnie, Your Aussie Koala information & entertainment director

We have been to the grocery store or as they call them here, supermarkets several times since we have been in Australia. Each time, I have seen many products with the name of John West on the label.

So, I thought it would be informative and fun to share some stuff I found with you.:)

Who is John West?

Today, John West is a brand famous throughout the world.

In the early 1800’s though, John West was a man; an ambitious migrant from Linlithgow in Scotland who went on to chase gold seams in California, mill the giant timber of Canada and Oregon and most importantly, export salmon to the world.

The first fish John West processed were salted, packed in barrels and shipped from Oregon’s Colombia River to California and then on around Cape Horn to nourish the hungry workers of Britain’s industrial north.

Seeing the potential – and being the inventive and ambitious Scot that he was – John West not only co-founded the Westport Cannery, he devised and built his own automated can filling machine to get it up and running.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

John West has been a fixture in the kitchens of Australia for the best part of half
a century and today is one of the nation’s best loved food brands.

From About Us –

http://johnwest.com.au/about-us

Enjoy these funny YouTube videos 🙂