Life in Perth – Travels with Ali

Who receives post in the mail these days? We never get anything exciting just bills and junk mail. I remember when I first moved to Hong Kong and I wrote to my mum and dad and friends once a week, and my return address was “Poste Restante”, Hong Kong. I used to go often with my passport to the General Post Office and wait with excitement to see who had written .. or who had not! Poste Restante is a general mail service worldwide where letters are sent to the General Post Office awaiting collection by the recipient. Has anybody ever used this service?

A Glimpse of My Week

Starting with our dinner date last Saturday, I had booked a table at a restaurant that was also a music venue. When we arrived we were seated right at the back but on a high table. This turned out to be a good thing as the music was so loud. The menu was fairly limited so I treated myself to a dessert, Lime Cheesecake with a Gin and Lime syrup. There was a gluten free option so I went for this. The keyword being “option”! How hard would it be to use gluten free biscuits. It was a wonderful venue though and the band were great.

Play at low volume!

Monday and Friday were also dinner dates, Monday a girls’ night and Friday with friends.

**A birthday celebration for Vivita!**
**Enjoying cocktails on the terrace of a newly renovated hotel in our local town of Claremont**

On Friday there was a special dining night at the golf club (I don’t play golf, just a social member!) a Latin American themed menu with tables on the terrace. We enjoyed the temperature and the wonderful evening sky.

Also on Friday I finally caught up with a very good friend for lunch, and when we checked our diaries couldn’t believe that it had been five months since our last lunch. Where does the time go? We had more than enough to talk about in the short time we had.

Every other Wednesday I play bridge socially at the golf club which is followed by a lunch with the ladies who are playing. I’ve just joined this group so I’m gradually finding out about all these new friends.

Well not much else to report, Anthony’s passport finally turned up three months later! I did return to my “dancing in a line” on a Wednesday evening – a year later… I hope the steps come back to me eventually! They have learnt an awful lot of new dances, it was hard to keep up.

**Have a fun filled weekend and thanks for reading!**

Posted as part of Weekend Coffee Share hosted by Natalie the Explorer and Terri’s Sunday Stills for Sweet – my no cake cheese cake!

September in this part of the world heralds the beginning of Spring and the hopes of warmer weather. Although there wasn’t much sun about in the first week of September, torrential rain as I recall. I’ve had a pretty busy month with days out at vineyards and aquariums, a concert, the cinema and of course Bridge.

I visited AQWA, a storied aquarium featuring a walk-through underwater tunnel & interactive touch pool, with my daughter and the munchkins for a lovely morning. So much excitement running from one tank to another. I remember taking Elena and Laurence when we first arrived in Australia at ages 9 and 12.

Lunch in the cafe after and then of course a visit to the shop!

The same weekend I bought tickets for Anthony and myself for a “Stevie Wonder” tribute band. I had the best evening singing and dancing away with half of the audience. We both got an absolute soaking walking back to the car after.

Superstition

We had a family day out at a winery one Sunday. Oakover on the Lake is a great one for kids as there is a playground and a small “beach” at the edge of the lake. I noticed one pedal boat on the lake and people queueing for it! Anyway Lachie and Rose were very patient waiting their turn and everyone was mindful not to take too long for their go.

Rosie turned two in September and we had a small celebration for her. What an amazing wonderful little girl she is. Having suffered through her first year with severe silent reflux and being tube fed, she is now thriving and the cheekiest cutest girl in the world.

I had an afternoon cinema date with friends and dinner after, always a treat. We saw Ticket to Paradise with Julia Roberts and George Clooney. A feel good fluffball of a movie, set in Bali. We all enjoyed it, how can you not with those two in it.

Delicious dishes from a Thai restaurant

Evening walks with Anthony and the two boys along the river, watching a glorious sunset.

And so to Bridge! I played with a new lady this month and we partnered in a competition which ran for two Tuesdays. We were both surprised to come fourth out of 24, so feeling quite pleased with myself. She then invited me to play at her golf club, Bridge that is, not golf! This was a treat indeed, as the club has the best views and is very exclusive! I had a marvellous afternoon chatting with all these fit and active 70 and 80 year old women, so inspiring.