The trip started off well with a scenic tour along the coast to Fremantle. We were surprised at the industrial areas and then the new housing estates. Once in Freeo, guess who we met up with? No, not Nat Fyfe - but Pete McDonald.
As it turns out, when we were enjoying a coffee in Mandurah, we walked past a waterside restaurant which was all set up for a 50th party and we commented that Pete was over here for a 50th - and amazingly, that was the venue of Petes party! We could have gate crashed! Anyway, whilst standing out by the old jail and talking to Pete, it suddenly poured and Darryl - who was fixing up the parking ticket, got drenched when his old faithful London umbrella turned inside out and broke - and Pete tried to rescue him but failed! Then we missed the little hop on hop off bus and trying to read our wet directions, struggling along the crowded footpaths battling rain, umbrellas and people, we got all mixed up and only by coincidence, finally caught the bus and phew!! we could relax. From then on the day was much better. It was a good decision to use the bus as we saw the main points of interest and learned some history, plus we were comfortable and stress free!!
Unfortunately, time didn't permit us to do a tour of the old jail - Darryl and I have done the tour some years ago - we'll pencil it in for another trip. We were able to pop in and see some exhibits in the front area and we even had a quick bite to eat there.
I just love the old buildings and can't believe that these convict built walls and buildings have stood the test of time so well. Our little tour took us up to monument hill which gave us lovely views of the area and was such a lovely spot.
And guess what? We found the markets - though they were very crowded and as our only item on the shopping list was an umbrella, we were disappointed we couldn't find one anywhere!
There are many statues dotted around and this one depicts an immigrant from Europe after WW2.
So in retrospect, you could say we made the most of the conditions and got an overview of Fremantle - it's got a lovely feel to it and the history makes it it a special place. We'd love to go back again.
Today we were much smarter and chose to catch the nearby train to Perth. No worries about traffic, directions or parking and the station is only 5 mins away. We all just loved Perth ❤️. - it's so picturesque, clean and so much to do we couldn't possibly fit it all in!! Our first port of call - after a coffee of course - was Kings Domain and wow what a beautiful place! We really only saw the botanic gardens and they were beautiful and with the scenery overlooking the river and city, it's sure a winner!!
I could fill the whole blog with photos from here but of course I can't - if you haven't been here, put it on your to do list! We were so fortunate too that the weather stayed fine and sunny and it was perfect! We've all fallen in love with the WA bottle brushes, grevillias, banksias - how's this beauty?
Tops and I are going to start new gardens with WA natives - unfortunately we need lots of sand and good drainage so it probably won't happen 😳!
We went from Kings Domain to the Elizabeth Quay where we had yummy lunch (no cruskits or thermos again!) and saw this beautiful old Merry Go Round:
Our train tickets entitled us to a trip on the ferry to Sth Perth so we enjoyed a relaxing trip to and fro - and were so relaxed the captain of the vessel had to ask us if we were getting off!!
There's so much about what we saw today that we were impressed with - I especially loved the beautiful London Court and all the malls were clean tidy and had a friendly feel. Tomorrow is another day - we have a multitude of choices so maybe we'll be riding bicycles over on Rottnest Island, or we'll go into the Swan Valley, or back to Perth or Fremantle ....... our options are endless!!
We are learning to understand WA. weather - it changes so quickly and if there's a black cloud, rain is sure to come!!
We trust everyone is happy and healthy and are enjoying life like us! ❌❌❌❌❌ from Marg Darryl Dennis and Tops
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