Friendships – Travels with Ali

~ Postcard from Perth – February 2024 ~

The week before last Laurence and Maddy flew over from Melbourne for one of their friend’s engagement. As we have known his friend Harry for the same length of time we were also invited to the party! I was very excited to be going, not so my dear husband. He said he would only stay a while, which was fine by me as I had both children there and their partners, so would be well looked after – or “babysat” as my daughter so kindly put it.

I had bought a new dress, red wine in colour. When I told Elena she sent me the invite again “black /white cocktail dress”. What to do? Wear it and hope no-one noticed or do as I was told and dress in black or white. I’m so glad I did as I was told, as the fiancee wore bright pink in a sea of black and white.

It was such a fun party and I was reluctant to leave but Elena and Damian were also going home and I didn’t want to hang onto the tails of Laurence and Maddy. I had also had a few too many!

Many of Laurence’s old friends were there and it was good to see them all again. All grown up into prosperous young men, which I may have doubted back in the day when I used to find bodies all over the house in the morning. Our house was a bit of a hub for gatherings and sleepovers, of which I was grateful for, on most occasions. Getting woken up at 3 am by the doorbell was a fright I had many a time. I would look out of the window first to see if there was a police car, breath a sigh of relief when there wasn’t and stomp down the stairs with great anger saying “how hard is it to take a key”.

Sunday dawned and I didn’t have much time for a lie in as I was also going to be out for most of the day. My friend Lisa had bought ten tickets to & Juliet. We were going to the matinee performance at Crown Theatre, Burswood and having brunch before.

I think it was unanimous that it was a day well spent. The musical was magical with marvellous performances from all the cast. I’m not that keen on musicals when I don’t know the songs, but we all knew the songs taken from a modern day playlist.

The story of this musical follows Romeo and Juliet if they didn’t die as Shakespeare wrote. Anne Hathaway decides she doesn’t like Shakespeare’s ending and wants to rewrite the story. At the end of the performance everyone was up and dancing by their seats, it was a great feel good musical.

The rest of the week has been extremely quiet and I’ve hardly left the house. On Monday I thought I would sweep the leaves at the front and pull up some stubborn weeds. By Tuesday I was in agony with a pulled back muscle. I’ve been to the physio and due to go back next week. I feel a slow recovery happening. Until then no dancing, zumba or aqua aerobics. Plenty of binging tv shows and reading. My family think I have a low pain threshold, but who knows someone else’s pain – what is low and high.

Posted as part of Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share

First Week in the UK – Catch Ups and Celebrations

I’ve been in the UK for a week now and it’s flown by. I’m staying with my parents in Essex after not seeing them for almost a year, not the best time of year but my mum turns 90 (yesterday actually) and there is a big celebration for her.

So far I’ve had a day in London with Sarah from Travel With Me, a night out with friends from way back and a 90th birthday party.

The day in London with Sarah started at the Barbican where I had suggested we meet. I have no idea why that place came to mind because there wasn’t too much there. Anyhow we made our way to a cafe for coffee and a “get to know you” conversation. We had so much to talk about, it’s great to meet up with a complete stranger and get on straight away. It was my first time to meet a fellow blogger, hopefully not my last. My Dad sent me off with warnings about how did I know this was a real person or even a woman, the worry for a child never goes.

A few of our photos below of our wonderful day together. If you follow Sarah and myself then you will have seen some of these photos already.

After coffee we walked to St. Paul’s and looked for a place for lunch. We found a very cosy pub in a little alleyway called Williamson’s Tavern, former residence of the Lord Mayors of London. A walk across the Millennium Bridge after to walk off lunch and a visit to the Tate Modern to look at some of the fabulous art on display. Back across the Blackfriars Bridge and then we said our goodbyes. It was good to put a face to a name and make another friend too.

“Each new friendship can make you a new person, because it opens up new doors inside of you.”

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The weekend was very busy with a family lunch on Saturday with two cousins, brother and family and my mum and dad. I had not seen my two cousins for over three years so we had lots to talk about.

Sunday was the big day and my mum’s 90th birthday. The party started at 2pm and finished around 6.30pm. My dad had hired a hall and my brother and sister-in-law had organised all the food. It was a wonderful celebration for my mum. She received so many cards, flowers, chocolates and all kinds of gifts.

“Age is simply the number of years the world has been enjoying you!”

I’ll be adding this post to Natalie the Explorer’s blog for weekend coffee share and public art challenge.

🐇 Kung Hei Fat Choi 🐇

🚗 Dunsborough Road Trip – Part Two – Eagle Bay and Cape Naturaliste 🚗

After a very good night’s sleep, for me anyway, we took ourselves off for breakfast in Dunsborough. The plan was to walk but the weather wasn’t looking great so we jumped in the car again.

With so many cafes to choose from but all looking busy everywhere we opted for the first one we saw and chanced our luck for an empty table. It was a good choice and I started the day with a cooked breakfast.

Just a tad more shopping and and a stop at the beach, then it was back to the house and a catch up on the books we were reading and then off out again for lunch.

I had seen these sculptures from the road and really wanted a photo, I’m the one who has the “bright” ideas for posing.

The colours of Geographe Bay are always stunning in various shades of blue and green.

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We were having lunch at Eagle Bay Brewery, which coincidentally is in Eagle Bay. It was a first for all of us and as soon as we were out of the car we saw the views were worth coming for.

**It would have been perfect to sit outside but a bit chilly for us!**

Even though it was a brewery we’re none of us beer drinkers so opted for a bottle of the local sauvingon blanc. It went down a treat with the delicious salads we all shared.

They had their own vegetable garden just outside so everything was fresh. Of course I took more photos.

**Hay Bales – or Bay Hales as I kept saying – too much wine!**

As it was still fairly early in the afternoon we drove to the headland of Cape Naturaliste which is the northernmost point of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge. After parking the car we saw there was a trail that led through the bush and wildflowers. There was a couple coming back along the trail and they said they had seen around ten pods of migrating whales! So we carried on to a lookout and saw another man with camera and tripod also documenting the pods. We stood for around 20 minutes and witnessed a fantastic display of whales jumping in out of the water. A bit far to get a good photo but the thrill of seeing so many whales was awesome.

The photos below are just the scenery from on top of the hill overlooking the sea.

Blink and you’ll miss it!

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By this time it was around 5 pm, so on the way back we stopped along the foreshore and waited for the pop-up curry van to arrive. We were having take away that night and a full evening of games!

We were off home the next day but so far we had all enjoyed this time away together, eating, drinking, gossiping, shopping and playing games. Although there was still time for one more winery on the way home.

Homeward Bound

Leaving on the dot of 10 am – check out time – we packed up our bags and headed off. Maybe coffee and lunch on the way, depending how we felt.

As it happens Lisa mentioned a winery that she thought we would all enjoy for lunch, called Green Door Wines. Situated in the beautiful Ferguson Valley with views for miles. We didn’t have a booking but fortunately there was a table.

Thanks for taking the time to come along on this trip with us. We had the best time and hope to be planning another one for next year.

Be a little boulder and travel more

~ Gallivanting with Girlfriends – Road Trip to Dunsborough, Western Australia ~

We finally set the dates and found accommodation to suit all our needs – basically a room each and at least two bathrooms. I had booked a fabulous house across from the beach with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. This trip was a celebration of Cheryl’s ??th birthday and we had been looking forward to it for a while. So with the boot jampacked with bags, cases, snacks and wine we set off around 9.30 am. The drive is approximately 3 hours, a bit more with a coffee and lunch stop along the way.

Our first stop was a farm shop with a cafe where we had coffee. I’m a bit wary of horses so I thought I was quite brave to go in for a stroke, but this horse was just too adorable not to.

**Happy Wives at The Happy Wife, Bunbury**

Second stop was a lunch break in Bunbury in a place called The Happy Wife with a view of the water.

We arrived at the house just before the check in time but luckily the keys were in the box already. After we had sorted out who was to sleep in what room, with Cheryl having the best of course we set off for Dunsborough to do a spot of shopping, as you would on a girls’ trip. We all love the shops here as they are very different from Perth and no big name brands. There are some great quirky shops to pop in and out of.

Back to the house and to make a start on the wine and snacks we had brought with us before heading out for dinner.

Here we all are having a gossip on our veranda

Time for dinner at Caves House which is around a ten minute drive away. We have all been to Caves House before either to stay or have dinner. It is set in beautiful grounds so we had a wander before heading in for dinner.

Returning to the house after for – yes you guessed another bottle – and a game or two of Monopoly Cards. I have to say the game took a bit of getting used to without a board!

🥂 Until tomorrow for day two 🥂

👯‍♀️ Dancing in Dunsborough – Days Three and Four 👯‍♀️

Day Three

What a fun day today was going to be, a mystery tour had been planned for a coachful of women! Reminiscent of a school outing with our names being ticked off by Vicki as we boarded. It was non-stop chatter from the moment we sat down and Laura our lovely instructor had to whistle very loudly to get our attention. We boarded at 10.30 am and would be back at 4pm, no-one had a clue about where we would be going.

Our first stop was a winery for a quick tour and of course the requisite wine tasting. The winery was Aravina Winery, a 180 acre property with a surfing museum attached in Yallingup. The owners were very accommodating and explained each wine as it was tasted.

After sampling many wines we were back on the bus and onto our next mystery destination. This time also stopping for lunch. With much guessing going on we finally arrived at Black Brewing Company. Two large tables had been reserved for us and the staff did an excellent job of serving so many ladies! I was one of the lucky ones who was served very quickly, some were not so fortunate and waited for a while.

A few of the ladies that were still sitting by the time I got around to taking a photo

This place had the most amazing grounds, so after lunch I had a walk around to snap a few more shots. There was intermittent rain so it was a case of dodging it while walking.

A small island sat on the opposite side of the bridge with a stunning gazebo.

Each of the glass windows had a story of winemaking written on them with wonderful artwork. The photos didn’t quite come out the way I wanted.

Back on the bus and our next two stops were more about shopping. The first one was Vasse Virgin Olive Oil. All products were natural, made with olive oil, plant extracts and essential oils. We had a great time here sampling all the products and getting hand scrubs.

What finishes off a day nicely, a trip to a chocolate factory goes down very well with anyone, and that’s where our last stop was, The Margaret River Chocolate Factory.

I bought a few gifts to take home and all the ladies were given a bar by the lovely Laura.

So this was a no dancing day as everyone was pretty tired after a hard day’s touring. A very quiet pizza party was planned for the evening with cupcake decorating for dessert.

Day Four

More eating today with morning tea at Cape Lavender Teahouse. Devonshire Cream teas with lavender scones, cream and jam, just the best start to the day.

I was so happy that they did gluten free also, enjoyed every bite. There was also a gift shop, so did the obligatory shop and came away with even more gifts.

Yallingup Maze was next and then lunch at another brewery. Lisa and I opted instead for more shopping and a walk along the beach before a zumba class at 4.15.

Our last night’s party had a Bollywood theme with everyone invited to dress up and bring a curry. The outfits were amazing and everyone made such a great effort and the food was gourmet standard.

And so ends a fantastic five nights of dancing, eating, drinking, making new friends and catching up with old ones. A magnificent achievement by our zumba instructors – maybe next year back to Bali!