When you're travelling for an extended period of time, there are some days when you feel like you're doing something incredibly different from the normal, exotic even. And there are other days where the everyday routines of life take over and it feels just like being at home. We've had a real mix over the last few days...
On Sunday, we travelled from Canning River to Guildford in the Swan Valley... the buses and trains ran on time, albeit infrequently and we were able to check into our new accommodation a little bit early. The big selling point of the Guildford Landing Spa Suite is obviously the spa - we don't have one of these at home!
On Saturday, our day was pretty much like most other Saturdays. We started the day with parkrun, lingered in the cafe long after the run was finished, had bacon butties for lunch, did two loads of laundry, read books (The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie), watched some cricket on TV and went to the chip shop for our tea. The only significant differences to home were the location of the parkrun (Canning River instead of Hanley) and the temperature... peaking at about 37C and feeling far too hot to do much of anything. Our accommodation made it feel even more like home; although it was a B&B, we basically had the house to ourselves. Even the TV programmes being trailed are reminders of home... I'm a Celebrity, Dragon's Den (called Shark Tank over here) and Gogglebox are all launching in Australia this summer.
Guildford itself is a strange mix... Lots of lovely old style wooden frame houses from its early settler days of the 1820s and 1830s but with the railway line and a busy road dividing the old town in half. It was pretty quiet when we arrived on Sunday but even quieter on Monday, which didn't matter too much as we were still in lazy days mode - drinking iced coffees and reading have been our main occupations (two more books completed). We did find a really lovely Italian restaurant for dinner though, earning our pasta with a sunset run among the vineyards.
On Tuesday, we went by train and bus to visit Kalamunda, up in the Perth Hills. There were great views back over to the centre of Perth and put towards the sea from the bus and as we walked along a shady trail on the old railway line, after visiting the Kalamunda Historic Village... think Beamish but on a much smaller scale. The oldest buildings date back about 150 years and many had been transferred as whole buildings from other parts of the town. The school house was set out in 1930s style... but the old inkwell desks looked exactly like the ones from my primary school days. There were a couple of wartime exhibits that kept Jon's attention too.
On Wednesday, we headed up into the Swan Valley to explore the vineyards. Most of the vines grow on very flat sandy soil on the banks of the River Swan.
We popped into a couple of the smaller wineries and did some tasting before cooling down with a sweet treat... Ice cream from Mondo's.
It's now Thursday and we're back in Perth... another change of accommodation as we've checked into the YHA. We feel slightly old in comparison to the regular clientele... But we're definitely not the oldest guests and don't look too out of place. Most of my previous big trips have involved staying in backpacker accommodation, so there is a sense of the familiar... the communal kitchen, the book swap shelf, the launderette. This place seems a bit fancier than I remember though... the pool and gym were a bit of a surprise to me and Jon was definitely pleasantly surprised by the on-site pub! Shame we missed out on Happy Wednesdays!
We've also had another chance to explore a bit more of Perth, with an afternoon spent in the cultural quarter. We started at the Western Australia Museum before wandering around the Art Gallery of Western Australia, with Jon delighted to spot Wedgwood, Clarice Cliff, Doulton and Moorcroft pottery pieces amongst the displays. I spotted a Lowry for my northern routes! We also had a lovely lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant in Northbridge - another of Perth's "cafe culture" centres.
And now, we've joined a tour up the coast from Perth to Exmouth, stopping off at exotic sounding locations such as Nature's Window, Monkey Mia, Ningaloo Reef and Coral Bay. We're looking forward to wildlife encounters, dramatic scenery and a little bit of adventure. We might even find somewhere to go for a run!
Happy travels
Liz
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