Fremantle, Perth

On our second visit to Fremantle, the sun was shining and when the sun shines everything looks perfect. 

We managed to find the harbour we had heard about but didn't have time to visit last time and it was so pretty. 

The water was so clear that we could see lots of little fish. 

There is also loads of different places to eat food and grab a drink. So we have vowed next time we visit and once we have a job we will get some food here. 

Cicerello's - this place seems to be advertised everywhere around Perth and in Fremantle and are apparently world renowned for their fish and chips. However I thought Brighton in England held this title, so maybe we should try them. 

The Mussel Bar - we didn't manage to look at the menu, but this sounds like my type of place, because if you know me I LOVE mussels. 

Char Char Bull - this is a steak joint, specialising in prime Aussie steak. There is also a outdoor lounge area where you can sit and have a pre-dinner drink, but this may be out of our price range. 

Little Creatures - this has been recommended to us by Judi and Arthur and also by Griff (a friend mentioned in a previous post). It is basically a microbrewery which I think specialises in Ale, which isn't really my cup of tea. But it does have a great atmosphere and their selection of food looks pretty good and reasonably priced too, so we will definitely be heading here. 

Fremantle Markets are pretty impressive, not really like your standard European markets, or the ones I have been to at least that sell fake Burberry bags and fake Dior patterned caps. There were some really interesting stalls and it was indoors and air conditioned which was perfect for Nath as he gets too hot. 

They sold didgeryeedoos and lovely Aborigini art, which I'm keen to buy before Nath leaves so he can put it in his suitcase. 

They also sold a crazy variety of coffees, which I thought Mum and Dad may enjoy. 

As well as a great selection of food from around the world, including some very healthy looking Turkish wraps and they were all quite reasonably priced. Anyway well worth a visit. 

Finally, if you enjoy a brunch or breakfast on the weekend, Fremantle is the place to be. There are tons of quaint little coffee shops and cafés, down a street that they like to call 'Cappuccino Strip'. 

Nath and I cycled on the Sunday just gone (the beginning of this post was written earlier) from Karrinyup all the way along the beach front to Fremantle, it took us almost 2 hours and was around 16 miles but it was so worth it for the brunch we had at Theobrothers (we think this is the name) and our first splurge. I had pancakes, with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and Nath had a ham and cheese croissant and we shared museli with yoghurt. It was a huge over indulgence and we were ridiculously full. Safe to say we got the train home afterwards.

So I would very much recommend that anyone visiting goes to Fremantle!! 

Xoxo

Aussies 2014, Scarborough Beach

So when we first arrived in Australia, I googled 'Things to see/do in Western Australia' and one of the first things that came up was the 'Aussies2014', also known as Australia's Surf Life Saving Competition. We straight away tweeted using the hashtag #Aussies2014 asking whether they need any keen helpers and we pretty quickly got a response saying that they needed volunteers. 

We weren't too sure on the volunteer part, however we decided we should go along and see what it's all about as we probably wouldn't get the opportunity to help out at something like this again.

Our first shift was the Sunday before it all kicked off and we helped the admin team distribute all the information packs and rash vests to the Team Managers and also learnt a bit more about what the Aussies were all about. 

The Monday was where all the fun started. We arrived in our team 'Offical' gear, complete with a cap, long sleeved shirt and a rain coat. We were assigned to the position of 'beach recorders' which in my eyes seemed to be the best job where you got to see all the action.

Monday and Tuesday of the Aussies is for  the Masters with age categories 30-40, 40-50, 50-60 and 60+! I've never seen such ridiculously fit 70 year olds, running up and down the beach, swimming fast out far to cones and swimming back. To say it was impressive is an understatement.

The weather wasn't the best on the Monday as you can see from the above picture and it was quite cold and windy*. However from a first experience of surf life saving competition's perspective it was awesome. What I didn't realise is that, everyone that competes in the Aussies or any other related competition has to have completed their bronze medallion award and done a certain amount of hours life saving. Don't quote me on any of this information as I might be slightly wrong. But anyway to even get to participate in one of this competitions means a long of hard work, plus their fitness levels are pretty extreme.

After our first day volunteering Nathan and I found ourselves super envious of their fitness, and we were both motivated to work harder!!

On Tuesday we were greeted with the same weather, however we were lucky as after midday passed it seemed to improve and the sun appeared.  We also found that, even though it was a competition the men in our area we all very friendly with each (having known each other for years) and shook everyone's hands after a race to congratulate them. It's this sort of sponsorship that ought to be acknowledged.

Finally day 3, Wednesday arrived. The hotly anticipated Opens. The people that participate in this are the kings and queens of surf life saving, the best in Australia. Some even having competed in similar events in the Olympics. And not only all this exciting information, they also have the cream of the crop bodies, not an inch of blubber to be seen. So obviously I made very sure that we were volunteering with the men! Need I say more.

Their competitiveness is a whole different ball game to the masters, each and every man/boy taking all the races very seriously. Some would even compete in 6  different races in a row. Now I thought I was fit, pah! 

And to top it all off the weather was beautiful! 

The Aussies continued for the rest of the week and onto the weekend.. However Nathan and I had to get ourselves a job and couldn't really afford to spend anymore days volunteering. Please note this happened before we started at our new job, I had just forgotten to finish writing it! I also got myself a souvenir of the event, a Scarborough Beach swimming costume (team Scarborough). Please also note that Scarborough Beach (where the Aussies took place) was named after the beach in the UK.

*Perth is meant to be the second windiest place in the world after Chicago.

Xoxo

Perth - first stop in Australia

We arrived in Perth around midnight and quickly caught a cab to Judi and Arthur's place in Karrinyup, which is North of the city. They were both away for the night so we used the spare key and went straight to bed. 

The next morning we woke up and headed to Karrinyup shopping centre for essentials. It was a longer walk that expected, 30 minutes. We did a bit of food shopping to get stuff for lunch in Woolworths (which is not at all like the British or the South African versions). It's different really, as there is no alcohol in the actual shop, you have to go to the liqueur store next door (we wanted to get Judi and Arthur a bottle of wine). 

We then head back and had sandwiches outside...

... before heading to the beach. Now this walk took us forever, maybe 45 minutes. My feet were killing me, remind me not to wear flip flops next time. But it was worth it when we eventually got there.

We didn't go swimming as by the time we eventually got there, it had started to cool down a bit, so Nath read his book and I people watched.

Schools must have then finished for the day as a surf lessons took place. 

That evening when we got back we sat outside and had a lovely BBQ outside with Judi and Arthur, followed by ice cream and fruit. Yum! 

The following day the weather was a bit pants, cloudy and no sun at all. So we decided to explore the city. We managed to find the backpacker area pretty quicky and it gave us some good ideas of things we could do whilst we are in Western Australia. We also managed to find a Juicing shop (very exciting as I miss my juicer), Java juice.

For lunch, we headed down to some gardens and ate our sandwiches.

After lunch we got the train to Fremantle (recommended to me by Griff, as his parents lived here for 2 years) and it was small but lovely and reminded me a bit of a Western film. Due to just a quick stop, we managed to miss the harbour that everyone recommends but we have plenty of time for that. We did find an awesome $10 shop (pretty much £5) and Nath bought a nice Levi shirt.

 

On our way back into the city we stopped by Cottesloe, which we read was a lovely beach area. And they weren't wrong, however we didn't see it in the best light as it was still overcast and very windy. First time, I had to put on my hoody.

Finally after a day of traipsing from place to place we got back to Perth and had a drink at the Skinned Grape in Northbridge, I had a lovely glass for Pinot Grigio from Margaret River (on our to do list) before heading back to Judi and Arthur's. 

Next day we retreated back to the beach, but unfortunately it was still overcast. This time we cycled.

I was quite chilly and my book wasn't occupying me so I collected lots of shells and formed a pattern on Nath's chest.

Even though it was ridiculously overcast and I was even chilly, we later discovered how burnt Nath has gotten, which we both found quite funny as I was lying there covered in towels as I was cold.

Finally we woke up the next day and the sun was shining. Obviously we headed straight for my favourite destination, the beach. 

With the sun shining, could this be more perfect? 

We were more aware today so Nath coated himself in factor 30 and wore a tshirt and a hat most of the time. This was finally the day where we also went swimming. It was cold to start with, but as soon as we got in, it was beautiful. We didn't really want to get out, until I swallowed a mouthful of water.

We felt altogether quite tropical, as we had bough watermelon along with our picnic. 

Once the wind picked up a bit, we headed to a sheltered, shaded area where we got our first treat, an ice cream (you've got to remember we are on a budget). 

Anyway, when we later got home we discovered Nathan had burnt again and I

Had not, despite me wearing half his factor. 

I realise this is an extremely long blog post. I will keep my future ones a bit shorter. 

Xoxo

Singapore (day 2,3&4) - Marina Bay, Zoo, Raffles Place & Sentosa Island

Day 2 started with us missing our alarm and over sleeping meaning our plan to visit the zoo was not possible anymore. We didn't let this phase us though as Saturday was another day.

Instead we got the local bus into town and then caught the MRT to Marina Bay. Yet again there is a huge (very posh) shopping centre here, complete with an indoor river where you can get a boat ride. But the outdoor area is amazing. You've got the huge skyscrapers, including the Marina Bay hotel (which is incredible in itself), the reservoir, the double helix bridge and the gardens. And at night it's even better. 

It was a super hot day and we soon found ourselves in need of water and food so we headed to the food court. Where Nath had chicken cutlets and rice and I had a sandwich. Once fully refueled we headed towards the other side of the Marina Bay hotel to the gardens, which were recommended to me by Lauren. They were pretty incredible to be honest, we only wish we had more time to spend there.

After a long hot day exploring, we were ready for a swim. So we headed back, ended up playing a very sweaty game of tennis before a long swim. That evening we were so tired, we decided to eat in and we had an amazing curry with roti and spinach with Nick and Vicki before watching Crazy Stupid Love (a film) where I instantly fell asleep.

After a good 10 hours sleep for me, we woke up early and went straight to the Singapore Zoo (the world's best apparently) and it certainly lived up to this. We saw soo many animals: rhinos, elephants, giraffes, many different monkeys (lemurs, orangutans, baboons, chimps and some very strange-faced ones), lots of snakes, meerkats, tapirs, lions, white tiger and lots of others. We also got to see an elephant show which was excellent. 

The zoo is huge and after managing to see everything, our feet were tired. I'm not sure I'm quite as fit as I thought. 

That evening Nick and Vicki took us to The Raffles Place, where we went right to the top to the tallest Al Fresco bar in the world, Altitude. Nath had a Mojito and I had a Lychee Martini. The view over the whole city was incredible and we were in complete awe.

Marina Bay and the hotel.

After being completely wowed by this, Nick and Vicki took us to Mozza, a pizza place in the Marina Bay shopping centre and we had the most odd yet most delicious pizzas. All in all a fantastic day.

The following day, was sadly our last day in Singapore. We went for brunch with Nick, Vicki and Bea and Tilly (the two most adorable little girls, aged 2 and 3) to Sentosa Island Beach Club.

Nath had Eggs Benedict and I had Blueberry Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. Delicious! 

It was great to watch the girls so comfortable in the water. It's funny how they have so much energy and everything is so interesting!! 

Later we headed back to the condo, where Nath and I did some drawing with Tilly whilst Bea slept and then we had a quick swim before wishing everyone our farewells and heading to the airport. We were sad to say goodbye having had a fantastic time in Singapore and been truly  spoilt by Nick and Vicki.

Xoxo