On Friday afternoons at work the conversation usually turns to our plans for the weekend. My fellow florists get up to all sorts of different things whereas my reply is usually " Oh you know me... I'll be sewing".
This week I had something different to say!! 
My reply was " Mr Daisy and I going on a a twilight trip on a vintage steam train through the Blue Mountains!!" 

And that's what we did. 

On Saturday at precisely 4.48pm the train arrived in clouds of steam and smoke. 

The sound was thunderous!! Really, really, really loud!!!

We were in economy but it seemed luxurious compared to modern trains. 

We settled in nicely

and were soon on our way.


I didn't capture it in a photo but at lots of points along the tracks people were lined up to wave as we flew by. Of course we had fun waving back!!

The views were picturesque,  the Blue Mountains are always beautiful. 
Travelling with the windows wide open created a more intimate experience with the passing vistas. The wind blew in our faces and also blew in little bits of coal from the engine. At one point I looked down and noticed the little bits of coal had gathered on in my napkin,


Some detail shots from around our carriage,

funny how I'm attracted to circles in my photos. 


Our destination was Katoomba where the train waited while we had an hour and a half for dinner. Luck had it that there was a restaurant across the road from the station that we'd been wanting to try. Bistro Niagara was wonderful - great service, great food, great atmosphere. A real gem in the mountains, we'll definitely go back.

By the time we returned to catch the train home it was dark. 

but that just added to the fun and added another element of the experience. 

As we pulled away from the station the conductor kindly offered to turn off the lights in our compartment so we could more easily see out the windows. It was a clear night and the stars really put on an extra shiny show for us. As we rolled through the mountains on our way home we reminisced about our train trips in the past from the Red Rattlers from our childhood days to stories of travelling overseas. 

We soon arrived at our station. Happy travellers, slightly windswept. 

 It was so good to get out and do something different. It certainly blew the cobwebs away.
 But it's also nice to spend the day in my sewing room - that's where I'll be today!!
And Mr Daisy will be off flying planes , but that's another story for another day. 

I hope you've got fun things planned too.