Cappuccino strip

South Terrace in Fremantle is known as the cappuccino strip, with cafe's down both sides of the road. You can tell when the weather gets a little bit cooler which side of the road is most popular. Yes it's true, we do consider 20C a bit cooler.

Rottnest

Rottnest Island, (www.rottnestisland.com) otherwise known as 'Perth's favourite island playground', not in the same way as perhaps the Greek Islands are the playground for the jet set, but more in the way that it's a great place for families with young children, as you can see,  families go over with their bikes, surfboards and I even saw quite a few carrying their own pillows (I might do that too).  Rottnest was named by a Dutch explorer in 1696 when he saw the many Quokkas (see above link, it will explain everything) and thought they were rats.There are a number of shipwrecks off Rottnest which makes it a very popular destination for divers. The main way to get to Rottnest is the ferry (www.rottnestexpress.com.au) which leaves from Hillary's Marina and also from Fremantle (another post), I can say from personal experience it's not much fun if the swell is up and it's choppy, that was a few years ago and I still remember it well.

St. Georges Terrace

St. Georges Terrace is probably my favorite street in the city for taking photo's. It is a real mixture of old and new buildings standing alongside each other.  A good example being the Old Perth Boys School which was built in 1853 (http://lifeonperth.com/oldboysschool.htm) and is now a cafe, directly behind it is the City Square building which is still under construction and I think may when it is finished be Perth's tallest building (http://citysquare.com.au), this link is very cool and even has a video of how the building will be used when it is finished.

Rajah, Mila and Echo

Was woken up this morning to the sound of rain and lots of it. The best sound ever after such a long, hot dry spell. Could almost hear my garden heave a huge sigh of relief. Anyway it kept up for most of the day, so I decided to go with a photo that I took a few days ago at Sorrento Quay.  This is one of my favourite sculptures, the three dolphins Rajah, Mila and Echo had been an attraction at Atlantis which was an aquatic park at Yanchep. When it closed they tried unsuccessfully to rehabilitate them, so they were penned at the Marina and had a very happy time showing off  and even swimming with visitors and locals alike. I remember seeing them many times, they seemed happy, hopefully they were. It was very sad when they mysteriously died, they think that someone might have poisoned them, so tragic and cruel if that is actually what happened. The sculpture is atop a wishing well, when you put in a gold coin it does a complete turn, the money goes to Rotary and is used for several good causes. The link I've added is so interesting as it shows how they designed the sculpture from beginning to end (www.rotarydolphinshillarys.com.au). I chose this angle to show them as I think it looks like they are about to leap into the water. I hope you enjoy reading about them.

After the parade

It was a holiday in Australia yesterday for Anzac Day ( which happened this year to fall on Easter Monday, so it is also a holiday today). All the big stores were closed but the important places like coffee shops and certain bookshops were open. On the way back from the Anzac parade we stopped at The Rydges Hotel on the cnr of Hay and King St.(http://www.Rydges.com/Perth) to have coffee , it also happens to be directly opposite one of my very favorite bookshops Elizabeth's Secondhand Bookshop (www.elizabethsbookshop.com.au/shop) a perfect place to browse, so all in all a good day.

Lest we Forget

I went into the city today to take photos of the Anzac Day parade (www.anzacsite.gov.au). After the rain yesterday the weather was brilliant. I took so many photos of the parade, it was very impressive with the pipe bands and uniforms, so picking a shot to show here was not easy.  In the end I went with an impromptu picture I took after the parade of two veterans  (because after all that's what this day is all about) who when I approached them and asked 'good morning Lads can I take your picture'  jumped up so pleased and gave me their best smiles.

Happy Easter

It always seems to be the way in Perth, plans are made for Sunday picnics and without doubt it always rains, even though it hasn't rained for many months before this, and today was no exception. We still did catch up with family and on the way home stopped at Kings Park (www.bgpa.wa.gov.au) which was packed with families determined to picnic whatever the weather conditions.  Where ever there are Aussies  there is always a footy to kick around, that's just the way it is.