Australia – Travels with Ali

~ Sculptures by the Sea – Cottesloe 2026 ~

Sculptures by the sea is back for another year with more weird and wonderful sculptures. We went last week for a walk along the sand to see what was on offer. It also happened to be the windiest day and we were whipped and scoured by the sand. The sea was churning and the waves were slapping against the Groyne, soaking us when they came over the top. Anyway we managed a good 45 minutes walking in the softest sand. All of our eyes were watering and sore, I’m not sure how I managed to take any photos.

This is an annual event at Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia and is also held at Bondi Beach, NSW. It is a sponsored event and free to the public. The artists get a chance to exhibit their latest creations and prizes are awarded. Cottesloe Council often purchases one of the sculptures and these can be seen on the seafront.

SOMA – Drew McDonald

Taking a rest

Love U – Jason Hirst

Homage to the Cube – Andrew Farmer

I like the way the above photos turned out with the iconic “Indiana Tearooms” reflected in the mirrored cube.

Ode to the Ancestors – Dr Jason Christopher

Artificial Real Time – Erica Zaino

Click on the photo to read the caption

Time to go yet? It wasn’t quite accurate but close enough.

Heaven – Vaughn Bisschops

My favourite sculpture this year is the silver pelican sitting on a shiny suitcase. It looks like postcards have been attached to the suitcase.

Joining Jo for a Walk.

~ Shadows in the Playground ~

Squares is back for November! This challenge is hosted by Becky from The Life of B and should be tagged NovemberSquares. Read the link to find out more.

For the first day I’ve gone with shadows. Photos I took when I took my grandchildren to the park a few weeks ago. For a better effect I changed the filter to black and white.

A photo of 7 year old Lachie on a net swing

5 year old Rosie on a swing

I also took this the same day at a mini golf course. The dappled shadows of the trees caught my eye. Look closely at the bottom left and you can see me as well!

“That girl whom I never saw save dappled with the shadows of their leaves, was to me herself a plant of local growth, only taller than the rest, and one whose structure would enable me to approach more closely than in them to the intimate savour of the land from which she had sprung.”

Marcel Proust

⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ️

~ Fun and Fantastic Free attractions for Melbourne visitors ~

Walking through the Royal Botanic Gardens is an escape from city life. It’s peaceful and quiet with the trees masking the noise from the roads. It was founded in 1846 and covers 38 hectares. As we only had a few hours to explore we followed the path back towards the city. My gallery below shows just a few of the scenes on offer.

I liked these quotes so typed them out to be able read them clearly.

This plant caught my eye, at first from a distance I thought it was a light of some kind.

The photo above is of Guilfoyle’s Volcano. It is a restored reservoir built in 1876 built to look like a volcano. From here you can see panoramic scenes of the city.

Top left, Anthony in the Tacoma Pavilion ; Top right, “Looking out”
Bottom, Shrine of Remembrance.

Looking through the trees towards the City skyline

There is a cafe here for lunches and coffees and also many places to sit and have a picnic. The Yarra River is only a short walk away where there are many cafes and restaurants.

This is one of my favourite places for lunch, especially on a sunny day.

Another interesting place to explore, particularly when it’s raining is The National Gallery of Victoria. It is normally free entrance, if there is a special exhibition an entrance fee might be required. There are four floors to explore with over 76,000 works of art to see.

I have collated a gallery of my own below. I framed my favourites.

Image gallery image — “Venus”
Jeff Koons

Paintings by Nipa Doshi

Tea and coffee salon, Sabo, 1939
Saeki Shunko

Parrots Live Forever
Audrey Flack

I took the above to show my 7 year old grandson as I think some of his artwork is better!

Photograph titled Irises
Robert Mapplethorpe

This last one appealed to me because of the shadow and light thrown across the flowers. Tea and Coffee Salon is my favourite and think it would look excellent hanging in my living room.

If you’re looking for quirky places to eat in Melbourne off the beaten track, we found an excellent French restaurant. Midnight in Paris is situated in Prahran High Street and is also an art gallery. They have live music on Fridays and Saturdays. The service and food are excellent.

Our tasty mains

A sample of the artwork on display

Cozy garden at the back

I was tempted to get up and have a little boogie and danced like no-one was watching! But everyone would have been watching it was so small.

I’m linking to Jo’s Monday Walk and Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share and PPAC

~ Wordless Wednesday – 16/4/2025 ~

~ Morning Coffee and a Rainbow ~

I sat outside yesterday morning with my coffee, enjoying the early morning cool weather. I looked up at the sky and wondered if the rain was coming or going. All of a sudden through the haze a rainbow appeared. As I sat in silent wonder, it seemed to become brighter. A lovely treat for a Saturday morning I thought.

🌈Have a great week🌈

~ Taking it Easy – Perth, February 2025 ~

The Summer school holidays finally came to an end here in Perth. Master Lachie would be starting year 2 and Miss Rosie would be entering kindergarten. Time for new shoes. I took both munchkins to our local shopping centre to have their feet measured up for new shoes. Everything is so sophisticated these days, and feet are measured electronically. Back in the day your foot was put into a wooden contraption with a slide bar.

Rosie was going two and three days a week, so I can still have my days with her.

Out shopping for her favourite toys.

We had some extensive tree cutting and bush pruning performed by professionals. Although my dear hubby said he would do it all – eventually – it’s the removal of all the debris that is a problem. Now I have an empty flower bed to replant, which I’ll be getting advice about.

I’m looking forward to discussing ideas with a lady I found locally.

The weather is turning slightly cooler in the mornings and evenings which is a relief. I’ve been able to sit out in the mornings with my coffee. This little guy has been visiting every morning and having a morning feed. Luckily Zac and Rufus didn’t notice.

Hubby and I had a lovely lunch in Fremantle last week. We tried a place that was new to us but I’d heard good reviews. It was such a beautiful day, we managed to get a table outside.

A couple of sculptures caught my eye. The dog is so cute.

Say hello to Dwert (noongar for dingo). Created by sculptor – Martin Jaine.

The above is a life size sculpture of a memorial to the migrant children. Between 1947 and 1953 over 3,000 children (many unaccompanied) from UK and Malta migrated to Western Australia. They went to voluntary and religious organisations. Many of these children we now know were little more than unpaid workers. They suffered untold abuse which has only come to light in the last ten years or so. The children were told they were orphans. Some of them were. Others had mothers who, due to extreme hardship, had no choice but to let them go.

We stopped at a local delicatessen to pick up some goodies and this exotic lady was posing in the middle of the shop.

Please don’t touch. I am very fragile. My name is Caffe’tina. I was made in 12 days. Arrived 8th January 2023. Multicycling in Brazil.
Coffee beans used on me __ kilo ___ grams.

I thought this was so clever and must have taken ages to put together. I wonder what the answers were?

Well that’s February done and dusted already. Have a lovely March everyone.

I’m joining in with a few challenges.
The Changing Season hosted by Brian and Ju-Lyn
and also Dan’s CFFC – Blue and…
PPAC by Natalie

~ Exploring Swan Valley: Riverbank Estate ~

Off for our usual Sunday jaunt to a winery in the Swan Valley. We haven’t been to the Swan Valley for a while, preferring to go into the Perth Hills for the views. More wineries are located in the Swan Valley, along with restaurants, cafes and farm shops. We had lunch at Riverbank Estate overlooking the green vineyards. There’s a mediterranean ambience here, maybe due to the terracotta and limestone brick architecture.

The service and food were excellent. As it was a super hot day there were hanging water spouts squirting a cool mist over us.

On the way out I stopped to take a few photos of the decorative window frames.

Something for Monday Window!

~ January Adventures – Family Fun in Busselton, Western Australia ~

The first half of January has been busy in the extreme! My son Laurence and his lovely fiancee Maddy tied the knot on January 3rd. Our house was full to the rafters with overseas family staying and various guests popping around to see us. It was the happiest two weeks I could imagine.

Our visitors wanted to visit South West WA for a few days. I managed to book an 8 bedroom house in Busselton. We were so happy that Laurence and Maddy decided to join us as well. I booked a few places to eat and drink as there were 17 of us in all. I couldn’t imagine turning up en masse without a booking. I was teased constantly that everywhere had better be good, otherwise there would be complaints to travelswithali!

To find a house this large and in high season was a feat in itself. There were enough bedrooms to accommodate all of us, so no-one had to sleep on the floor.

Our first lunch was spent at Shelter Brewing Company, right on the promenade overlooking the beach. The food came quickly and the beer was served in paddles, four at a time. Great for beer lovers who got the chance to sample a few.

After checking in and everyone choosing a room, we unpacked and headed to the beach.

Busselton Jetty is the longest pier in the Southern Hemisphere at 1,841 metres long. At the end of the pier there is an underwater jetty and sculpture park. To see the sculptures there are scuba diving tours.

There is a train that goes to the end and back for a fee. Otherwise a walk will take around 30 minutes each way. The beach is beautiful and great for small kids and adults who don’t like too many waves (me). With many restaurants, cafes and bars here it’s not difficult to find somewhere for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

On our second day, a few of the boys played a round of golf and the rest of us drove to Dunsborough. I’ve written about Dunsborough previoulsy. It’s a small town full of quirky shops and small boutiques. We did all manage to buy a few items.

Wild Hop Brewery was booked for 4pm. A fantastic place in Yallingup. By the time we arrived many of the items had disappeared off the menu. Also some of the staff were quite rude. Anyway after a few drinks we still enjoyed it.

On the morning of our last full day, we had a trip to Meelup Beach in the morning. I had booked a winery for the afternoon. Meelup Beach is also a child friendly beach with soft sand and beautiful clear water.

Next we were off to Lentedal Winery in Marybrooke, Margaret River. What a wonderful find this was. We had a table outside but under a shade cloth. Before ordering any food we did some wine tasting. After a scrumptious lunch we walked around the estate to look at the animals.

We had an absolutely perfect time away together. There’s nothing like a family holiday. I’m not sure when we will all be together again like this, living so far apart from each other. People have busy lives and jobs to do. Flights are expensive and holidays are short. We made so many memories to treasure and look back on. I made a Whatsapp group and can look back and read all the hilarious messages that were posted daily.

I did manage a walk to the end of Busselton Pier with Anthony, quite an accomplishment!

My Dilemma with a Spider: Live and Let Live?

A belated Happy New Year to everyone. My first post of the year is linked to Becky’s Geometric January. I have been tracking this little guy’s progress since Christmas Eve. Now, I’m in a dilemma about what to do.

Day One

I had visitors due from the UK and thought it would be interesting for them to see. These spiders are not venomous and are reluctant to bite. I was searching for geometric photos for Becky and loved the shape of the web designs.

“The next time you see a spider web, please, pause and look a little closer. You’ll be seeing one of the most high-performance materials known to man.“
Cheryl Hayashi

He was doing a pretty good job of catching all the other insects too.

Everyday the web grew larger and he caught more insects.

A spider is slow, but its web catches the fastest flies.
~ Matshona Dhliwayo

Day 18

Christmas has been and gone and we’re now preparing for Halloween.

My dear hubby is of the voice of Live and Let Live, whereas I am “enough is enough”. So that is my dilemma. The spider has provided much entertainment and has certainly earned his keep. Any suggestions?

🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷️

~ The Changing Seasons – November 2024 ~

It’s been a fairly quiet month here in Perth for me. Many outings with Rosie of course, including one to the zoo. A few dinner dates, a concert in the park and a trip to the cinema. The weather has been very changeable, with a few hot days, extremely windy ones and too many cold ones!

On the day we went to the zoo it was slightly overcast and a few rain clouds about. Ideal for walking. I thought I had arrived early enough to find a carpark near the entrance, but not early enough as it was full. We drove around up and down the side streets and eventually found one, around ten minutes walk. Rosie seemed happy to walk. We hired a stroller once inside, but I ended up pushing it mostly empty! We had a lovely few hours checking out all the animals.

From here it all went downhill pretty fast. We walked back the allotted ten minutes and I said to Rosie, “hmm, I don’t remember walking past this building”. Well, after dragging Rosie up and down for almost 40 minutes, I called my daughter. I said, “Sorry, but you will have to come and pick us up. I’ve lost the car.” This was supposed to be her day to herself. We had to wait another 20 minutes but I was glad of the rest. Anyway, of course we found the car pretty quickly, I had missed a turning. Needless to say, the zoo is off the list for a while.