Jo's Monday Walk – 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.

~Postcard from Porto Covo, Portugal ~

Arriving in Porto Covo around 8 pm we decided to eat in the hotel itself. I had a perfect room overlooking the sea. The restaurant looked to be first class and we weren’t disappointed.

We were staying here for three nights, and would be exploring the villages and towns nearby.

The next morning we had a delicious buffet breakfast together. Before setting off for the day I went for a walk along the cliff top.

I took the above photos sitting on the veranda. A man doing Tai Chi and a family of joggers.

Photos below of my walk along the cliff top. It was a beautiful walk. It went around in a loop to the back of the village. Alternatively, you could keep walking further along the top. There was a warning about the stairs being unstable down to the beach, so gave that a miss.

Top: Having fun posing with the sign – Bottom: Porto Covo Spa Hotel

What a difference a day made! The weather was beautiful on one of the days.

Photos of Porto Covo Village

The village of Porto Covo is picturesque and postcard perfect. I could easily visit here again, preferably in the summer months. We did eat out one night at a fabulous Italian Pizza place. On our third night we opted for the hotel again as the heavens opened as we were about to walk out of the door!

Also linking to Jo’s Monday Walk

Until next time

~ Exploring Macau – A Visit to Taipa ~

After flying from Bangkok to Hong Kong, we immediately took the bus over the new HKZM Bridge. This is something Anthony has wanted to do for a while. Normally we would take the ferry, but after researching how to buy tickets, this was such an easy way to travel. There is no need to pick up your luggage as this is arranged for you. All we needed to do was follow the signs at the airport. Everything went smoothly and the bus ride was very comfortable. Our hotel was just a short taxi ride away.

HKZM Bridge (Hong Kong – Zuhai – Macau – Bridge) s a 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link in the world. The cost of construction was US$18 billion and is meant to last 120 years. Source: Wikipedia.

We were staying at Crowne Plaza, Macau. Possibly one of the few hotels without a casino! Our room was on the 21st floor and we had amazing views over the sea and looking towards China. Although there was massive construction going on below for more reclaimed land.

Macau is a special administrative region of China. It is the most densely populated region in the World with a total of 710,000 people. It consists of three regions, Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane. These three regions are connected by road bridges. There has been so much land reclamation over the last century that Macau has tripled its land size.

One of the places I wanted to revisit was the old Taipa houses. The last time we visited they were not open to the public. These houses were built in 1921 to house the wealthy Portuguese families.

Taipa

There is still a wonderful Mediterranean feel about Macau. With cobbled stone streets, louvered windows and street signs in Portuguese, you could imagine you were in Portugal. Being very near Christmas, there were hundreds of poinsettias lining the stairs and walls.

Old Taipa Houses

We only went into one house, all houses were free to enter. To have indoor plumbing on this tiny island would have been a blessing indeed!

When they were first built, there would have been a view over the sea. Since the land reclamation, there is now a wetland.

It was past lunchtime by now so we headed back to the main streets and found a cute Portuguese restaurant.

This was actually on the ceiling of the restaurant. I thought it must have been hard on the artist’s arms to paint this.

Our delicious lunch.

I hope you enjoyed visiting Taipa with me, next up I will be posting about Macau’s famous casinos.

I’m joining Jo on her Monday Walks also!

~ Amazing Albania – Butrint Archeological Park ~

During our stay in Sarande, one of the places we visited was Butrint.

The bus stop was only a five minute walk from the hotel and it arrived shortly after us. We found seats and then promptly sat there for 20 minutes while the bus filled up and up until the doors could hardly close. Amongst the throng was the bus conductor who was issuing tickets, I’m not sure how he checked who had tickets or not. The journey takes around 30 minutes and for 3 Euros each I thought it wasn’t bad. There is only one restaurant there and we ate lunch here after our walk.

Butrint has been inhabited since prehistoric times and also home to many different nations, including Romans, Byzantines and Venetians. The last person who live here was Ali Pasha, an Albanian Ottoman ruler who controlled Butrint and the area until its final abandonment.

Above is the Venetian Triangular Castle sitting on the banks of the Vivari Canal

Butrint is now home to a vast array of flora and fauna. The excellent preservation of the remaining structures bear witness to the amazing building skills of all the previous inhabitants, especially the Romans.

We enjoyed our two hour walk around the site marvelling in turn and discussing the history as we walked.

Sitting by the Venetian Tower and soaking up the atmosphere.

I didn’t realise how vast Butrint actually is, it covers 9,000 hectares and there are steep hills and tracks around and across it. Looking at the map I’m not sure we covered everything there was to see.

Possibly a Roman civic house from the 5th century and the views across Lake Butrint.

Most of the monuments were discovered by the Italian Archaeological Mission between the years 1928 – 1939. The team who worked here were guided by Luigi Maria Ugolini. Imagine the excitement on finding such historical structures.

6th Century Baptistery with mosaic floor

The mosaic has now been covered over again for preservation and apparently it is cleared every few years for viewing.

This was a fabulous place to spend an afternoon if you are interested in history. Because of the many factions living here it was all the more interesting trying to piece together the timeline. It was such a peaceful afternoon, we were lucky that we had managed to avoid the tour buses.

Linking to Jo’s Monday Walk

~ Sculptures by the Sea – 2024 ~

It’s that time of year again for all those innovative sculptors to exhibit their wonderful creations upon the shores of Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia. I went with a friend yesterday to walk along the beach and upper grassy areas to view the fantastic pieces on offer. Many of the photos also work well with John’s Lens Artist Challenge this week too, which is all about light, shape, texture and form.

We started along the top grassy area and then walked to the end of the groyne. We both had swim suits on under our dresses and the water looked so good, we had a swim before proceeding to see the rest.

The focus on the photos above are circular shapes and different textures. The name of each piece did not seem to correlate with the sculpture and seemed to be random words selected from a hat! Everytime I tried the last photo a small boy kept looking through and saying hello!

A view through the sculptures

Tall and skinny ones and mirrored images

All the pieces looked completely different depending on which angle you shot from, making them all the more interesting.

My favourite out of the four above would be Florb, the texture was amazing to touch. Some of the sculptures allowed for touching. There were hoards of school children swarming around, some too young to read, so therefore lots of touching going on!

“The Top of the Balance” edited by me!

The above are also two of my favourites. How cute is the “Moon” and look at the intricate detail. I also love “Dave” standing loud and proud.

Textures, shadows and shapes

I made up the above titles!

I hope you enjoyed this walk along the sands with me to view these wonderful sculptures. This is one of my favourite events of the year.

Also joining Restless Jo for Monday Walk – although my walk was Wednesday!

🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊

~ Enjoying Essex – Hullbridge and Fambridge ~

Hullbridge

A change of place for me this time in the UK, staying Hullbridge, Essex with my nephew who very kindly agreed to host me. My childhood home is now on the market as my dad passed away earlier this year and my mum is in a care home.

There is a country lane behind my nephew’s house which leads down to the River Crouch, a walk I took a few times.

As I walked past the first house I came upon this cute display opposite. Not technically their property but apparently if no-one contests this after nine years they can claim it, good to know but not sure if I would want the hassle!

The lane is surrounded by fields on either side and is used for horse riders, so I made sure to step aside when I heard the canter of hooves.

I came upon this black cat every time I walked down this lane, he seemed to be lying in wait for me and stretched himself out for a stroke.

I thought I might see a few cows in the fields but imagine my surprise when I came across alpacas!

It’s not a long walk, around 25 minutes to the river, but the flies, bees and wasps are a nuisance so I was happy to get to the end of the lane.

River Crouch

The owner might be waiting a while to sail this boat.

I met an old friend for dinner one night at a pub called The Anchor, situated on the edge of the River Crouch. Small pods had been erected during covid and made very cosy dining options.

Pods at The Anchor, Hullbridge

I did enjoy the late summer evenings in England, something we don’t have here in Perth. Daylight saving was introduced a few years ago but after a referendum was cancelled. Some of the reasons given, too much sun fades the curtains, the cows didn’t like it and people would rather wake up earlier and not stay up late. Different strokes for different folks!

Fambridge

There are two areas of Fambridge, North and South, divided by the River Crouch. We had dinner one evening at The Ferryboat Inn.

The Ferry Boat Inn dates back to 1591 and its timbers are steeped in history. The inn has seen many a colourful landlord with tales of treachery and horse snatching. There used to be a ferry boat operating between North and South Fambridge.

One thing England does well and that is a country pub. Even better if the pub is not part of a chain and has its own menu with locally sourced produce. Too many pubs have become part of a chain and have the same generic menu.

Linked to:

Jo’s Monday Walk
Water, Water, Everywhere

Sunset Heritage Precinct, Dalkeith, Western Australia

The Sunset Heritage Precinct is situated just a five minute drive away from where I live. The buildings and area surrounding this precinct have stood empty and derelict for many years. First opened as a Men’s Hospital in 1906, it finally closed its doors in 1995. Even now the old buildings are still closed off with wire fences. However the grounds have now been beautifully restored. The location is just perfect, sitting above the Swan River and surrounded by enormous mansions. I took a walk there the other day to see how it was progressing.

**At the start of my walk heading into the precinct**

From the above photos you can see how derelict and delapidated the buildings are and all closed off with barbed wire fences.

This whole area has been a bone of contention between the residents and the council for many years. Whether to knock it down or save it. I’m not sure why it is taking so long to finish, if they don’t start soon the buildings will just demolish themselves!

However the grounds are beautiful and it’s a lovely place to take a picnic or just have a wander.

A couple of the photos that have been produced to decorate the wire fences. I’m not sure if the photo on the right is of a wedding or a funeral!

As it was such a glorious day I headed off down to the beach, there is another staircase on the beach back up to the carpark.

Walking down to the beach I spotted this sign!

The beach edges the river and looks gloriously clear, although I wouldn’t take my chances on a swim here. The jelly fish are everywhere small, large and huge.