This next suburb is best known for being the last train station in Sydney before you enter the Blue Mountains. Hold onto your giant green eggs, because this is
Emu Plains
Emu Plains is where you end up if you cross the Nepean River from Penrith to the other side. I know this because that's what I did, driving from my previous post across the car and rail bridge. Taking a photo while driving is naughty so here's Google Street View instead.
Pretending to be cultured, my first waypoint was an art gallery on the Nepean River, so once I crossed the bridge, I turned onto the appropriately named River Road.
River Road turned out to be quite beautiful, with a lovely wooded park at the head of the road,
green pathways streetside,
fancy houses,
and, of course, views of the Nepean.
A little up the road is Penrith Regional Gallery.
The former home was donated for use in 1981 and is now an art gallery as well as a place for art more generally, hosting workshops, talks and the like. To be honest, I didn't care for it much as a gallery (for instance, these egg cartons are an art)
but the idea of a home being donated for public use is an honourable idea.
They also have a nice little cafe in their gardens, so that's something.
I skedaddled away. Wikipedia told me that Emu Plains station is a heritage station, and being that it's Sydney's most westerly train station, I thought that'd make it worth a visit.
The actual heritage-y bit is the two-storey station house from the 1880s which runs along the platform.
That's nice enough, but for me the more memorable bit is the view of the Blue Mountains just next door.
Emu Plains is not the westernmost suburb in Sydney, but the fact that it's right at the periphery of the Blue Mountains gives it a lovely feel.
While I'm not sure if emus hang out here at all, I can understand the "plains" bit of the name due to the wide sweeping land of this suburb. Combining that with the mountains at your feet, makes this otherwise fairly ordinary suburb shine.
Here's a bonus picture of Emu Plains Correctional Centre from where I pulled over to take that sort of rubbishy photo above.
Lest I attract police attention for randomly pulling over next to a prison and snapping a picture, I kept moving to see if Emu Plains has anything else to offer the casual local tourist.
To do that, I thought I'd give a quick go to this residential area.
Before I tucked into the residential streets though, I stopped by this large park next door.
Google maps suggest that this is called Lions Park. It's not too notable apart from its above-average size, and the fact that it contains multiple ovals, tennis courts, the local community centre and even a canal or two.
Emu Plains, where you go if you can't afford the flight to Venice.
Anyway, off I went.
As you may expect, rather than the wealthy homes along the river, this bit of the suburb is a lot more normal, full of what I can only describe as your standard "Aussie suburban home".
Through here, the beautiful views of the Blue Mountains continue, only assisted by the afternoon sun.
In amongst the houses, I also ended up stumbling across this lovely historic church from 1848.
The grounds of the church is shared with this mountain-side cemetery. What a beautiful spot to lay rest.
At this point, I felt that I had given Emu Plains its fair representation, so I jumped back into the car and to the next suburb, on the other side of this railbridge.
Emu Plains: This probably would be a lovely place to live if I wouldn't have to commute for twelve years every morning to get to work.
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