Saturday, 1 June 2013

Perth (population 1.6 million)

View of Perth along the Swan River. The tall green building is the Bell Tower at Barrack Square. The Bell Tower is an 82.5 meter tower which houses 12 bells (bells of St. Martins-in-the fields in Trafalgar Square)…interesting! http://www.thebelltower.com.au

Today is our day to explore Perth. One of the best ways to explore a new place is on foot, right? So our plan is to take in as much of Perth as we can by running and walking. The morning began with a run along the Swan River.

Our run was beautiful. Hector wanted to run further today, because he was enjoying it so much. Starting from the hotel, we crossed Terrace Avenue and were directly on the path that lead us to the Swan River. For those who know Portland, Perth has a similiar feel too it, great running and cycle paths and people really enjoying them. Grassy parks outline the river that runs parallel to the city's bussle.

On a interesting note, the Nyoongar people drew spiritual significance from the river. According to Nyoongar legend, Wagyi was a winged serpent who created the sacred Swan River.

Oh and even though Perth and Portland possess a similar vibe, I did learn that Perth and San Diego are sister cities (not Portland). How do cities become sisters? A mutual agreement, but why? Something to look into on a rainy day. I guess San Diego works, but from my knowledge San Diego is warmer and probably a bit more geared to runners (lots of running clubs, groups, trails, and events there). I am pretty sure these are not factors used in determining sisters.

After our 10 kilometer run, we took off walking to explore Perth CBD. We stopped at the Dome to share a toastie, then headed to the shops. Most of our driving portion of our trip has been spent listening to Triple J. We have a list of songs to download, but decided to pick up the latest Daft Punk cd at JB HIFI.

We eventually walked back to Barrack Square to take a ferry to Fremantle. Unfortunately, there is no public ferry and the private ferries were done with their cruises for the day. So, we decided we would drive the 30 minute drive to have dinner in Fremantle.

Fremantle

Fremantle is a port city with many museums. I would have loved visiting the shipwreck museum (yes…I have always been fascinated with shipwreck stories), but it was late when we arrived so we'll have to save it for next time. :(. But, Fremantle is a fun town even after dark. We quickly settled on eating at the Mexican Kitchen. http://www.mexicankitchen.com.au/ Great choice! Good Mexican food is hard to find in Australia, and this restaurant was certainly better than any place in Sydney. So, we left satisfied and happy.

The restaurants of Fremantle are located around their cappuccino strip, and Hector needed his 'before bed cappuccino'. So we found a chocolate bar and toasted our warm beverages before heading back to Perth.

Drove 40 kilometers.

Ran 10 kilometers.

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