Perth Part 1

Oops we actually stayed in Perth for more than 2 weeks and left a few days ago so I am a bit behind on the blog. Anyway, what to say about Perth. We really enjoyed it. Even though it is a city, it is really small compared to Melbourne, you are never more than about 20 minutes away from anything.

We were lucky enough to have Michael's mum come out on the 23rd December for a few days. With Xmas fast approaching we didn't do much for the first couple of days. We caught up with some friends from Mlebourne, the Howell family who were spending Xmas in Perth with some family. Xmas day was very relaxed and low key. We shared the cooking with the Walls and the Yewens and sat around their caravans while the kids entertained themselves. It was the most relaxing December I have had for years. No Xmas concerts or pre Xmas catch ups to deal with, it hardly felt like Xmas at all.

Boxing day we headed into Fremantle to check out the Fremantle Prison. It is a very beautiful sandstone building from the outside but quite eerie once you get inside. The tour was very informative, the tour guides have to be either ex cons or ex guards to get a job. Luckily our guide wouldn't say which category he fell into! The kids were fascinated but a little spooked by the execution room. There was a cell that the condemned prisoners had to wait out their final hours in nearby that gave you a really odd feeling when you went inside. Apparently there are plenty of ghosts around which doesn't surprise me in the slightest. The prison only closed in 1991 and even up until that point there was no plumbing in the cells, so no running water and the prisoners had to use buckets as toilets. Tiny cells too. I hate to imagine what it smelt like during summer.


View from the outside.


The cell block.

The next day we checked out Cottesloe Beach which is really pretty.


We caught up with Jill and Kumar and their kids who we travelled with earlier in our trip.



We then went back into Fremantle and had lunch at Little Creatures Brewery. Very nice place to hang out. Only downside was the food was a bit gourmet for the kids and it was nearly 40 degrees. We decided to escape the heat by heading to a section of the WA Maritime Museum called the Shipwreck Galleries. This was especially enjoyable for Michael who has developed an interest in shipwrecks, particularly the Batavia. He got the Peter Fitzsimmons book for Xmas. There is a section of the Batavia in the museum that they salvaged from the wreck along with a whole lot of artifacts. The kids liked all the cannons!

By this time we unfortunately had to say goodbye to Margaret. We really enjoyed seeing her and the kids loved being able to have sleepovers with her and enjoy some one on one time.