A weekend to remember

We had such a good night on Friday, we went into Northbridge to an Italian restaurant where we got chatting to the pizza chef, a guy who had only been in Perth for a month, from his home in Ischia. We spent some time bemoaning the ingredients he had to work with - plastic cheese rather than the lovely Italian hard cheeses and mozzarella. He was such a lovely man, he is liking Perth because he earns much more than he can in Italy. After leaving the restaurant we made our way to the Moon and Sixpence for a small beverage, there was an English band on, they were really good, we had a little bop! You can't beat a bit of Oasis!!
On Saturday we went back to Fremantle and saw the tall ships properly. The markets are superb, loads of quirky and very lovely things which I coveted but applied the retail brakes and did not buy. Great food stalls, we shared a Turkish feta and spinach gozleme and mushroom paella. Sublime.




After a stint - about 2 hours - in the Maritime Museum, which had an amazing wildlife photography competition exhibition on, we found ourselves drawn by the music to a huge warehouse, which is home to the Little Creatures brewery. It is massive, with big silver vats down each side, you can see into the working brewery, and bars and a restaurant down the middle. A couple of pints of Bright ale, marinated octopus, creamy hummus and a huge silver pot of chips later and we boarded the train back to Perth. I feel I have eaten loads today!!
Super fit Sunday! We woke up to beautiful blue skies and hot sunshine so took a couple of bikes and cycled alongside the Swan river, the path goes on for miles. We cycled out of Perth and through the city of Vincent and beyond, through nature reserves, children's playgrounds, suburbs and countryside till eventually deciding to turn round and make our way back.




We arrived at an old jetty and spent a pleasant 30 minutes watching boats go by and the odd fishermen before getting back on our bikes. The next port of call was a development around what had been a small riverside port, now surrounded by picture perfect townhouses and bars. We only stopped for a coffee but reasoned that as it was after 12 noon why not have brunch - so Eggs Benedict for two was ordered, beautiful! After cycling 28km altogether, and depositing our bikes back at the hotel, we ventured again into Kings Park. Our walk took us through some pretty impressive bush, amazing to think we were only 10 mins from the CBD as we left the park.
Today, Monday, we left the hotel and began our journey to the airport. Onto our next plane, this time a Qantas flight and in 2 1/2 hours we landed at Alice Springs. First impressions? Dry, red and dusty but very pretty with towering rock formations around it. It's as the Americans and Aussies would say - awesome!
We are now another 1 1/2 hours in front so no sooner checked into out hotel and we meandered round to find something to eat. There are lots of Aborigine folk around, many art galleries and paintings being sold on the street. Lots of security everywhere too, as many people seem to have had a drink or two! Takeaway pizza it is then!
I think the exploring starts tomorrow.
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Location:Todd Street,Alice Springs,Australia

Pretty Freo and grey skies

Thursday, 25th July
We've had a great day in glorious sunshine. We took the train to Fremantle, or Freo as its known round these parts, an hour from Perth and the most laid-back, pretty place, it's all big blue Indian Ocean, silvery decking and fine sands with lots of quirky shops and eateries. A perfect day.




Four tall ships had just arrived from Britain and Holland, we intend to come back over the weekend to have a good look at them and to visit the markets which are open on Fridays and Saturdays, oh, and to partake of a little beverage or two in The Ship.




Friday, 26th July - 4.30pm.
A whole week since we broke up, how can time pass this quickly!
Woke up through the night to hear the rain and when I eventually surfaced at 9 it was raining good and proper! Took this as an opportunity to visit the library and plot next weeks itinerary. We did a bit of research into tours from Alice Springs to Uluru and what to see whilst in the town. I e-mailed Emirates yesterday morning re my 'mislaid' kindle but have not received a reply. By now someone else will be reading my book club choices, travel books, biographies, etc. Oh and soppy chick lit and a bit of fifty ...!
We have spent the afternoon perusing the art gallery and the museum of Western Australia. Found some fascinating facts - Western Australia is huuuuge. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland plus Texas and several European countries can fit in to it with space left over. It has a population of 1.8 million. Perth's 1.5 million people live in an area of 90km x 40km. London has an area of 39km x 39km and sustains over 8 million people.
I'm just a walking fact machine. Cattle ranches are so massive, it can take up to 4 hours to drive from the entrance to the homestead!!
- Posted using BlogPress from Annie & Jim's I-pad

Location:Mounts Bay Road,Perth,Australia

A regurgitation of sorts

We're revisiting our old friend - the blog. If anyone reads it that'll be grand but really it's a way of keeping a diary, because without photos and events written down, it is as if they never happened in my non-existent memory! No photos yet though cos we've forgotten to bring the I-pad adapter. We made Perth at 12.15 pm on Monday. The train left Cattal to Leeds at 1.30 pm on Saturday and was pretty uneventful, followed by an equally straightforward trip to Kings Cross. We then caught the train to London Bridge and on to Gatwick where we stayed in one of Lenny Henry's favourite hotels.
We were up, breakfasted and on the plane to Dubai at 10 am on Sunday morning. Go Emirates! What a perfectly brilliant airline, great service and edible food! We arrived in Dubai after 6 1/2 hours at 7.45 pm (3 hours forward from UK.) Just before we sat down on the plane 2 hours later I realised I'd left my kindle on the Dubai plane!!! The very nice stewardess advised me to report it to ground staff in Perth. Our first awkward moment. My husband simply said, 'Do you expect me to be surprised?'
Arriving in Perth after another 10 hours on a plane we were both slightly knackered but pretty buoyant and excited. We had our first cup of gorgeous Australian coffee then caught the shuttle into town, it dropped us off right outside our pretty little hotel. A quick shower to wake us up and we set off into the city. Perth is situated on the Swan river estuary and is beautiful. We wandered round, bought a new kindle and found a pub where we began to feel a little spaced out before James succumbed to big zzzz's at 7.30pm! I then found I couldn't sleep and was wide awake.
On Tuesday we meandered up to and around King's Park, a massive area which has lawns, the botanic gardens, hiking trails up and around the hillside and wild bush. Feeling invigorated we tackled a pretty big walk which took us through the grounds of the University of Western Australia, to the riverside and all the way back into the city. The weather is beautiful, blue skies and really hot, if this is winter in Perth it's fine by me! However evenings are pretty cold and it's dark by 6pm.
Today we've been to Heirisson Island, across a causeway and onto the island which is a nature reserve and kangaroo sanctuary. We past the West Australian Cricket Association or as the locals say, the 'Wacker.'
We'd forgotten how loud Australia is, forget the gentle dawn chorus, the birds here are bruisers! They shriek, squeal, yell and moan. You kind of forgive them though cos they are pretty spectacular, both in attitude and looks.
We're on the train tomorrow for a trip to Fremantle. At the time of writing - 10pm - it's raining heavily. Hopefully it'll be clear in the morning.
- Posted using BlogPress from Annie & Jim's I-pad

Location:Mounts Bay Road,Perth,Australia