Talk about a sweet ending to our trip to Australia.
On our penultimate day, we drove for about 90 minutes west of Sydney to the Blue Mountains. Whether, like us, you just want to stroll around Katoomba, the main town in the area, or you’re up for some more rugged bushwalking, this area should definitely be on your “to see” list.
The rugged cliffs and deep forest valleys topped by the Three Sisters rock formations add to the grandeur, and if you’re as lucky as we were, you’ll get a bright sunny day to really enjoy the vistas.
We could have taken a trolley tour or gone to see the visitor centre but we had to get back to the city and, because it was such a beautiful day, we chose to do a couple of walks through town and a drive around the local area.
One of the highlights, which took a little while to actually find because it’s smaller than you’d think, is the Blue Mountains Chocolate Company.
Given its name, you might think it would be something larger than a house yet that’s exactly where this company is located, and all of the chocolate making is done in the kitchen.
Out front there are shelves full of bags of chocolate, other sweet treats, and a large case displaying so many types, sizes and shapes of chocolate that it was a bit overwhelming. Completing the scene is a café where you can enjoy your special snack.
The highlight—and something the Blue Mountains Chocolate Company is famous for—is the hot chocolate. This is no ordinary hot chocolate! It’s made in a specially-designed fondue pot, heated by a tealight, to which you add steamed milk and as many of the little chocolate wafers as your taste dictates. 
The chocolate slowly melts into the milk as you stir and sip with the distinctive straw-spoon. (spoon-straw?)
It stays nice and hot as you linger over it and keep eyeing those chocolates in the display case.
The hot chocolate can be made with regular or soy milk, and you can buy your own 5-piece Choco Fondue set.
(They were out of stock, and we really didn’t have room in our luggage for the set, but I am on the lookout now.)
While the sky was blue and the sun was bright, there was a cool, brisk wind, and after strolling around Katoomba looking at some magnificent street art and checking out some of the local shops, we were definitely ready for a hot drink.
We drove back to Sydney to return our camper van. Then we settled into the apartment we’d booked for our last night in Australia, still talking about that magnificent hot chocolate and looking forward to the delectable chocolate goodies we’d purchased. What a sweet ending to our trip.
Now that I’ve started at the end, I might just go back to the beginning of the trip to Australia in my next post. So, stay tuned.
