Leura's Little Charms

Monday, June 18, 2012  , , , ,  

Leura, Blue Mountains
New South Wales, Australia
June 2012, Autumn

Leura, derived from the Aboriginal word meaning "lava", is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains Local Government Area 109 km west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Blue Mountains railway line and Great Western Highway that bisects the Blue Mountains National Park. It is 100 km by road from Sydney and the train journey takes a little under 2 hours. Leura is adjacent to Katoomba, the largest centre in the upper mountains, and the two towns merge along Leura's western edge.

Upon arriving in Leura, you'll disembark into clean Blue Mountains air. The mind stills and the pulse slows. Walk at a leisurely pace, window shopping, making a purchase here and there. Sip morning tea, share a 'flower pot' scone with jam and cream. Sit happily idle on a corner bench labelled "Seat for Bored Husbands".

This was a description extracted from a website, and how apt... Coz Leura is a stone's throw away from Sydney, a short drive away, and yet, like a different time and place from the bustling metropolitan. Over here, there are quaint shops selling all sorts of knick-knacks, grouchy locals who feel intruded by bevy of tourists, an old-style confectionary with traditional cakes and breads, a colourful candy store selling humbugs and boiled sweets, a chocolatier with warm yellowed lighting and wooden shelves, delis which serve piping hot soup and "hand-warming" soup, a toy store with an array of new, old, and not-so old toys...

The main shopping area is located in two lanes after the turning at the "Clock Tower"...


The first shop we saw was this -
A resident who opened his own house to retail designer labels and vintage furniture...

Leura is full of fascinating little shops with interesting names...
 
 
 

In the cold misty rain, a fogged sign like this shows the warmth of this place,
and we couldn't wait to get in to feel the warmth!  

The post office here is a simple one-storeyed building
and the info panel at the bus stop is not chock-a-block with bus service details...

Service here is so personalized! I have not seen such a personal declaration of service standards with the name of the manager and his contact in any other country I've travelled to...

The church is one place where you can seek solace and find forgiveness. To keep in touch with the younger congregation and the tech-savvy, this church has moved beyond the call of Facebook and Twitter with a QR Code...
 

We got to know all the exciting sweet types here -
Milk Duds, Humbugs, Rocks, Aniseed Drops, Boston Baked Beans...

Pets have a good life here -
Going out with the owners for shopping and have a VIP salon opened especially for them...

While walking halfway, there are these adorable signs to tempt you to go inside
to hide from the cold and wet weather...

And of course the sizzling sounds of BBQ Chicken and Beer-Battered Fish & Chips...

Our favourite shop is a traditional confectionery with an antique sign where you want to get hold of all the fragrant breads and colourful cakes you see, where the puddings and strudels are dusted with icing sugar, donuts oozing with fresh jam...

 

The full album is available at:
Leura's Little Charms
Sources