'Riding along on a carousel, trying to catch up to you'..

There's so much to see and do at the Perth Zoo in South Perth, you might even spot a dinosaur or twenty during the zoo's 120 year celebration Zoorassic Park event. Arriving back on the ferry to Elizabeth Quay a ride on the gorgeous carousel for the grandchildren.. and Aimee 💙 I hope you have the best Christmas possible, it's going to be a hotty here in Perth, 35C.. ah well, there are many more positives than negatives to that :) See you here in the New Year, take care and stay safe..

Compliments of the season..

I leave you this year with one of my favourite reflections taken at Elizabeth Quay.. facing away from the mega construction work going on behind me and with the beautiful Venetian carousel and the sculpture Spanda in the foreground. My Sydney famille arrive today, can't wait to see my two treasures below. Will be back on the first of January for the CDP 'favourite shot of the year theme'. I wish you the happiest Christmas, take care and most of all stay safe..💙

visit James to see more Weekend Reflections from around the world.. 

Bootylicious Bella..

This is one of my favourite sculptures in Fremantle. On a bench beside Bathers Beach bodacious Bella in her blue bikini beckons, nine b's, not bad :) to passers-by to pause for a moment for a picture. There are many sculptures around Perth and Fremantle, and in other parts of the world, by Perth artist Greg James who's work you have seen on the blog before, you may recognise some of them here. I persuaded P in his floppy hat to participate.. he's a good sport :) Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe.. 

Looking out for an ugly man..

Every-time I pass the street sign above, you may have to embiggen, for the Ugly Mens Barber and Shave Shop on St Georges Terrace I do hang around for a few minutes to see if anyone fitting that description walks down the stairs to the super cool barbershop in the basement of the State Buildings. If I was a man, ugly or not, I would be tres tempted, what a fab situation it is, check it out. If you have time take a look at some exterior and interior shots of the restored State Buildings here.. incroyable! Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe..

Dream big..

'Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming,

we lose the excitement of possibilities.

Dreaming after all,

is a form of planning' .. Gloria Steinem.

The four young men above on a school excursion to Kings Park, stood for a long while in silence looking out over the city and Swan River. I couldn't help wondering what they might be thinking about. End of term, exam results, Christmas holidays? I did notice the lad on the end left had a piece of paper stuck to the back of his shirt.. there's nothing that spoils an epiphany moment quite like a 'kick me' sign pinned on the back 😉 Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..

'Do justice to your talent'..

So says the creative Horatio T Birdbath.. the 'T' standing for anything he damn wants :) You last saw Mr Birdbath's work on the blog here, the incroyable Hiratio's Wall on the corner of South Terrace and Market Street, a must see when visiting Fremantle. Above and below the planter boxes along South Terrace aka the 'Cappuccino Strip', the panels manufactured in Italy, the designs uniquely Birdbath..

Below a tiny section of the above mentioned Horatio's Wall. Mr Birdbath states that 'what he truly loves about his work is that he has a live audience which he can interact with. He can at any point in time pause and have a conversation with anyone passing by'.. I'm looking forward to the day he is there working on this never ending project when I walk by :) Happy Monday, take care and stay safe..

Visit Sami to see more Monday Murals from around the world...

It had to happen.

... sooner or later. Christmas pics! We were in the city last week to follow the Christmas Lights Trail. Not yet fully in the Christmas spirit despite the jolly elves and carolers, it was a fairly half-hearted look.. check out the link above for a more enthusiastic view :) Our Sydney famille arrive next week, makes all the difference looking at Christmas through the eyes of children/grandchildren, their excitement is contagious :) I did like the walk-through Christmas tree above, a bit different, one more opportunity for that merry photo op! Happy Sunday, take care and stay safe.. P.s. are you full of Christmas cheer yet? 🎅

Wishing on an eyelash..

A lash and a wink..

gets you further than you think..  😉

Who doesn't love a reflection that makes them look tall and slim.. pity about the huge hands though :) You might have guessed by the long-lashed French beauty in the background that this reflection was taken last month at the French festival. Lashes so long that they cast a shadow! Have a fabulash weekend, take care and stay safe.. 

Visit James to see more Weekend Reflections from around the world..

Smile :)

In west Perth early yesterday morning for an appointment we were so close to Kings Park it would have been unthinkable on such a pretty day not to have coffee in the Botanical Cafe, absolutely one of the best views of the city. Kings Park is the most popular destination when visiting Perth and the view above and last shot looking over the Swan River and the city would be top of the list as backdrops for photos..  

Kings Park is all about the trees, plants, memorials and oh yes that fabulous view! Despite the flamboyant colours of the Aussie native plants it was the incroyably big and beautiful flowers of the Southern Magnolia  that took my breath away. Details above as to why it is here in the park. The lady in the red below made me smile with her determination to get that selfie shot just right :) Happy Friday, take care and stay safe..

'A smooth sea never made a skilful sailor'..

Taking the shot above I was buffeted and almost blown off my feet. Later taking the shots below standing in the shelter of the South Mole Lighthouse I watched a variety of vessels heading out of the safety of the harbour to battle the waves whipped up by the gale force winds. I read that a phobia is not a real fear, it is an 'irrational' fear. I beg to differ, whether you call it thalassophobia or aquaphobia it is super real! There is no way in the world you would get me out there on a boat even on a calm day ever! Do you have any phobias you are willing to share :) Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe..

'Sleep is good.. books are better'.

'I'm not addicted to reading..

I can quit as soon as

I finish one more chapter!'

They say what goes around comes around. Over the last few days I've been reading about an 'idea' that's going around at the moment, 'the four gift Christmas challenge.' Have a look. Seriously! Back when my mum and dad were young parents and money wasn't as free flowing, credit cards unheard of, the four gift Christmas was a necessity not a challenge and yet I look back on childhood Christmases with the fondest of memories, it was the most exciting time, and there was always a book.. bliss! I thank Santa, aka mum and dad, for igniting my passion for reading that continues with 💙today. When I see bookshops such as Elizabeth's Bookshop extra busy at this time of the year it makes me happy :) Have a wonderful Wednesday, take care and stay safe.. 

Dreary be gone!

Found this colourful fantasy by Perth artist Daek William, who's work you have seen here many times, when we were in Subiaco. Way to go to brighten up an otherwise plain-Jane of an alley, a wee bit twicky though to get the whole mural in even with my wide-angle lens. It's a fact that art in the street makes people happy, finding this cheered me up like a cool breeze on a hot day :) Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..

Visit Sami to see more Monday Murals from around the world..

Council reflections..

We visited Council House during Open House last month with the hope that part of the tour would include the 13th floor so that I could take some shots across the city from up high. No such luck, ground floor only.. unlucky 13 strikes again! Still an impressive foyer, seemed a shame not to take advantage of that super shiny floor, never miss an opportunity oui :)

Council House artwork.. et moi :)

The gorgeous pics below made me smile but were a bit puzzling. Steps to the foxtrot? The waltz? The bossa nova.. only kidding with that one :) If you look at the steps in the middle pic at one point, the woman presumably, is airborne! Any guesses? Hope you had/are having a good weekend, happy Monday, take care and stay safe..

Visit James to see Weekend Reflections from around the world..

CDP Theme.. Joy .

The City Daily Photo theme for December is joy. Earthly angels above spreading Christmas joy around the city. I couldn't help wondering what was in the golden files.. the naughty and nice lists perhaps, it's possible I may be on the former :) How about you 😉 Happy Sunday, take care and stay safe..

See how CDP bloggers from around the world have interpreted the theme here..

Le crêpier..

As a fully fledged Francophile I was delighted to come across Crêpe Street yesterday while in Fremantle with mon amie française Marie. The energetic Jean Luc Gilbert below who makes the crêpes in the French culinary tradition with fresh and quality products states 'to smell and to savor our crêpes is to travel for a while into the heart of the terrior of France.' It is true that for a while, in the middle of the day in Freo I was indeed transported to the 4th Arrondissement, I wish :) Happy Friday, take care and stay safe.. P.s. mon amie française Marie highly recommends the Monaco, the special of the day below!

Dwarfed by progress..

There was a time when the Bell Tower, middle of shot above, was the prominent feature on the city foreshore.. now monstered above and below by 'the customer is never wrong' Ritz-Carlton, due to open mid 2019.. 

The best view now is looking down Barrack Street from the city..

Remember when it looked like this below! Taken two years ago when Elizabeth Quay was shiny and new and the Ritz was but a twinkle in the developers eye :) Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe..

Swan Lake..

Black swans are incroyably elegant as they sail along on the water. Here at Floreat Lakes I followed mum and her four cygnets along the way where they met up with dad below. Taking his place at the head of the group they sailed majestically around the bend and out of sight..

You might have noticed that the male (cob) is slightly bigger than the female (pen) but it was the female below that at one point turned and glared menacingly at me to warn me I was getting a little too close to her bubs for her comfort.. I did back-off, have you ever been chased by an angry swan.. it's not fun :) Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe..

'Run Forrest Run!'..

Love, love, looove the whimsical wonder here created last week on the Walter Road water pump station in Morley by Perth contemporary artist Peter Ryan, so much so that I took many photos making it all the more difficult to choose which to show here :) A collaboration between the Water Corporation's Splash of Colour project enhancing their facilities around the city, the Morley Momentum and the City of Bayswater. This area is up for beautification in the future, it is off to a delightful start. Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..

Visit Sami to see more Monday Murals from around the world..

Raining confusion..

The skies were thunderous over the city yesterday. As we drove over the Narrows Bridge (super pic of the bridge) to a birthday party on the other side of the world river the rain bucketed down for all of ten minutes before we emerged into the sunlight once again, a little like going through a parallel universe and out again.. I should think :) 

We were heading for Coogee Beach Marina but missed the turn-off and were almost at Rockingham before P would admit we were lost and turned on the GPS, never again will we come South of the river without technical help :) but I did rather like this shot as we drove past the Alcoa refinery, I call it 'when nature meets industry'  :) the smoke from the refinery funnels almost indiscernible from the clouds in the sky! We left home with time to spare and arrived three quarters of an hour late.. better late than never oui :) Happy Monday, take care and stay safe..