May 8-15, 2019
Wow. Australia. So good to be back. So good to be in a cooler place and a place where I can cook my own meals. So good to be able to drink the water out of the tap. So good to eat salads and grilled cheese sandwiches, yogurt, coffee from a bodum, start my day off with a hot water and freshly squeeze lemon. So many things I missed since leaving Switzerland. 4 months is a long time. And I realized I sort of forgot how to cook as well. While a did a bit of cooking in Switzerlerand, it feels like it’s been 10 months since I cooked something on a stove.
Firsts that really put such a smile on my face:
- cool temps. Walking outside of the airport and happily putting on my sweater.
- The smell of grass. I haven’t smelt fresh cut grass in probably 10 months. It is an incredible smell.
- The 2 or 3 ply toilet paper. What a treat.
- Our first buffalo chicken Subway sandwich with blue cheese dressing. Absolute perfect thing to eat for a massage of the taste buds.
- Shopping for white wine that tastes great and is only $10 a bottle.
- Shopping in a grocery store. 4 months since we’ve done this. So many things to look at and now to take into consideration all the plastic consumption. So we’re buying glass jars as much as possible and avoiding brands that are in plastic. #newmarketingniche
- Driving. OMG driving myself. While it was a bit nerve-wracking to drive again on the left hand side (it’s been a week and I still throw on the windshield wipers when I want to turn a corner), I’m enjoying the freedom of just hopping in the car and going to get what we need.
I’m so thrilled to be back in Australia after 20 years. The smell of the Eucalyptus trees is incredible. The birds! Green parrots flying wild everywhere. The funny sounds some of them make. I must confess that I spend a lot of time wondering now if sticks are snakes after seeing one on the road at Rottnest.
Interestingly, I don’t remember a lot of the places that I went before when I was here. I wonder if maybe the memories will come back as we move up the coast toward Darwin. I had to ask my cousin where we lived for 3 months… couldn’t remember. We’re going to swing by there in a couple of days when we leave Perth area. I also don’t remember Rottnest Island at all when I visited that with my cousin, Linda. I guess that’s good in a way that I get to make my own memories again with Luc and Vivi.
Our first week here has been really wonderful.
Helpx
We signed up for Helpx to find a place to live for free for a week and have a home base to explore Perth and Freemantle. Helpx is a website that puts people who need help around their house with people who need a place to stay. We found Jenny and her two dogs Nora and Charlie and her huge property just outside of Fremantle for a week. Jenny needed some help with gardening, pool cleaning, website updates, and some general maintenance for 1.5 hours a day. In return we got a room and access to her kitchen to cool wonderful meals. We also could use the pool but it’s cool here now! Vivi got the use of a blow up mattress and sleeping bag and her own room too!
There was also another couple living there who were building their van to travel around Australia. A French couple – wouldn’t you know! So Luc and Vivi were loving speaking in French. They also spent 5 months in South East Asia so we had a good time comparing stories.
We all shared meals together for a couple of nights and we went out and watched Jenny play a gig at a restaurant called Gypsy Tapas in Fremantle. She’s a wonderful singer. Check out her music.
King’s Park
Our first outing was to Kings Park overlooking Perth. We gawked at the perfectly manicured lawn that was like carpet and good enough to eat on. The views were stunning.
We walked through the Botanical Gardens and looked at all the beautiful flowers and trees. Luc took many photos to send back to his mom in Switzerland.
Then we walked over to the natural playground in the park. This playground is huge! Vivi had a great time cruising through all the structures and playing on the rocks.
Mother’s Day and Rottnest
While we were here we celebrated Mother’s day! Luc and Vivi made me a cake and we went down to South Beach and Bather’s Beach near Freo. We also visited a brewery and had some delicious dark IPA’s. I’ve been missing those dark dreamy beers. Fremantle reminded me of New Orleans with the architecture. It’s also so beautiful and really feels artsy and chilled out.
The following day we got up EARLY to catch a ferry to Rottnest and do some exploring. Rottnest Island is a must see. It’s really expensive to get there and rent bikes (it cost us $192 with parking) but I’d say it was worth it. We biked all over the island. It wasn’t too hot, just perfect. The beaches there are white sand and turquoise blue water. We found a really long beach where we were all alone (again) and I suggested we skinny-dip in broad daylight! Luc said “I don’t think we can do that here” I said “and so…?” and so we did. I was first in and last out. It was breathtaking. The water was cool and it was so refreshing to not have to strip out of a wet bathing suit. We really should do that more often. Hey now there’s an idea….
We saw a ton of wildlife on Rottnest. Birds with orange beaks, a pelican, the infamous Quokka that is so incredibly cute and tame (don’t feed, don’t touch!), a snake on the road, probably 20 or more lizards.
We had a mishap where Vivi fell off her bike near the (not so) Pink Lake but she dusted herself off and got back up again no tears.
If you go to Rottnest, pack a lunch and snacks. Food over there is EXPENSIVE!
Next stop Margaret River area!
Reflections:
- My mood has significantly lifted. I attribute this so much to the weather and being able to cook my own meals. It wasn’t that I was in a shitty mood before but the heat and eating in restaurants 3 times a day was just kind of oppressive in a way.
- The wildlife here is stunning.
- Good coffee and white wine. My two staples needed to make me feel at home and comforted.
- We’ve gone vegetarian 6 days out of 7 to cleanse our bodies and get lots of whole grains, legumes, and raw veggies into our bodies. Hummus….. yummmmmm!
- It’s dry here so it’s a bit of a shock to go from tropical rain forest to bushland but the drop in humidity has me feeling a lot lighter and wanting to walk and explore a lot more.
- I’m so freaking excited about getting in our van and driving up to Darwin! 7 more sleeps!
