Freo

don't let the exposed piping fool you, this place is pretty bangin

Ah dear friends, I'm back!  A great weekend filled with fun on the west coast.  Well, to start out, I met up with a buddy of mine and headed straight to the crib in Fremantle (spoiler: I had an awesome time and had to make separate post to emphasize that it is distinctly different).  Just south of the city of Perth, this suburb by the sea seems to be the place to relax and chill.  The first thing I noticed, was the casual atmosphere EVERYWHERE>  We took a bus and I was supposed to get a standard ticket for $4, but the driver looked at me with my bags and was like... watev  $2.75 plz.  cool.   Anyways, that's the kinda relaxed, easy-going vibe around Freo (Fremantle).  There's a bit of shopping streets with cafes and shops (shopppes?) but the staple of Fremantle's tourism must be the brewery.  The Little Creatures brew a couple of nice beverages though the surprising thing about this place, was that it was really family friendly.  I mean they have a sand pit for children to play in, while the grownups get properly intoxicated.  Although a bit expensive, it's definitely a place to spend an afternoon with good company.  They also offer free tours at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm,... and somehow I missed ALL OF THEM (complicated story), but we did get a free tasting out of it so I wasn't too disappointed.  As Australia is known for sunny hot climate, it makes sense for the drinks to be complimentary.  Lagers, pilsners,  ales, ciders..  all drinks of the refreshing sort.  quite tasty I might add.

Sunset over the Indian Ocean

 Anywho, as you may recall, I went back to the states during the 'winter' break.  The one thing I had forgotten to do was see the sunset of the ocean, and I'd be damned if I missed it in Australia.  So viola!  The weird thing that struck me was that this wasn't the Pacific Ocean (obviously); I just never thought that I would ever see the Indian Ocean.. word.   The water is quite a bit warmer and just nice. (In my quiver of vocabulary,.. I think 'nice' is a pretty good description.)  So me and said buddy watched the sunset with the warm glow of light and heat emitting from the ground.  serene, peaceful, relaxed...  then we got hungry.

tourist information for a restaurant: sell out or just that good?

Hallelujah Hollaback 

 Luckily, everything worth seeing in Freo is right next to the beach.. including 3 or 4 fish and chips restaurants.  Well after going to the wrong restaurant (another long story), I finally ended up at the mythical establishment known as Kailis.  Recommended by my housemate as the 'best place' for fish and chips, there was a lotta hype.  And having many fish and chips (fishes n chips?) in my time, I think I've got a fine pallet for such tastes.  So after a long trip (also a long story), I finally made it to the holy land. Hot weather, shaded table, ever so slight breeze... yep.  perfect conditions for fish and chips.  I looked at the menu and was faced with a dilemma.. fish n chips..  or full on seafood platter.  Well in any situation like this.. gotta pull the trigger. BAM.  mussels, calamari, shrimp, scallops, and, of course, fishnchips.  (why there's salad, I haven't a clue).  Then to complete the meal.. a nice lemon bitters drink.  Yep,.. to say I was content would be an understatement (note, I did share the platter.. I think it'd be too much for just one person to indulge).  Verdict: it was a damn fine meal. on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 'delicious'.  I didnt know how much fresh fish made a difference, but it was all flaky with minimally light batter. (non of that crumbly cakey stuff).  The mussels came in a red tomato sauce.  The mussels were alright, but the sauce has a consistency closer to soup.  Also good.. just a bit messy.  The other fried food was great.  especially the scallops: lightly crispy and held together well for maximum dipping potential.  All-in-all: Awesome meal.  awesome time in Freo.  That being said, I did get to see a bit of Perth during the weekend, but I'll cover that next week. until then- keep it real.

Floriade

flower city

hipster flower was red before it was cool.

Floriade (pronounced:  floor e' a_de)  the pride of Canberra.  This flower show is the biggest in all of Australia and attracts people from all over.  Flowers on flowers.  Well this was just a pit stop on our way outta the capitol city.  We strolled around for a bit and took in the aromas and fragrances of tulips, gardenias  (is this a real flowers) and other flowery things.  I've never been to a flower show before but it was more than I expected.   I mean this is THE event for Canberra.  Everyone comes out for this event. So there's carnival stuff, stands for food, arts and crafts... stuff like that.  So the flower patches (gardens?) were in designed to make some image, .. but from the viewing angle and disproportionate growing patterns (courtesy of weather)... the designs didn't turn out so hot.  In any case we had a good time wandering around... til we saw this.

gnomes... everywhere

 So, along with any garden belongs a mischievousness gnome.  Thus.  gnome decorating contests!  They were classified into different groups, based on age.  (note: 0-6 years of age, motor skills have not been developed).  It was good to see different groups collaborate and produce a theme... though so got kinda weird .

note:  death metal gnome

So next week, i'm going to perth.  check it on the maps.. yep all the way across the continent.  (is the west coast the best coast?)  i'll find out soon enough.  with that said, imma skip out on the post next week and write when i get back.  til then, keep it real

Canberra: Parliment

It's like a crane game.... from space

Ahh,  Canberra.  located to the west in its own state, the ACT (Australian Capital Terriroty).  If look on the map, this city is an island of sorts in the state of New South Wales.  This also marks my first venture outside of the state.  Anyways, (little background) Canberra was built as a capital city.  I mean, there was no historic reason or monumental significance prior to being a governmental city.  Other than having nice paved roads, this city is well known for having no night life... which was fine, i only went for a day trip anyways to help a friend move.  Anywho, this (to the left) is the parliment building.  Government stuff goes on there.  Also the city has a cool infrastructure.  Similar to Washington D.C., there are straight lines from the 'mound' to other important government buildings and landmarks.  Similar to spokes on a wagon, the parliment building was the nexus of the city.  Well, i'm not one to dilly dally in political issues, but I like to known where government does governmental things.

red room

blue room

 There's a different governmental structure in Australia than the US, both of which I am unfamiliar with.  I have my own opinions about governments, but that might be a discussion filled with frustration and cynicism.

So there I am... just in aw of australian government stuff.  Even though I don't like politics... the interior of the bulding was all marble and steel.  It was kinda weird.  It seemed like a 30's artdeco future building.  word.   Anyways, we wandered around for a bit, but we heard rumors of some pretty cool views at the top (of the mound).  So we got in an elevator (which was a weird one at that) and got to the roof.  The first thing we noticed.. is the grass

It's like memory foam... but for your feet

Oh lord-ie lord-ie LORD.. that grass is lush like no other.  'Organic carpet' as it were to be described.  I think we spent more time admiring the grass, more than the view.  We also heard people used to roll down the hill (side of the parliment has some pretty sweet rolling grass).  But of course we wouldn't do that.  Nah, we were mature adults, besides we had stuff in our pockets.  No way we were gonna do that.... psych.   pretty good roll down.

After a nice afternoon of laying in the grass, it was time to head home and we headed through the exit/ gift shop (btw: the parliment gift shop sells boomerangs and ugg.... just something to think about).  Our relaxed and whimsical journey was at an end... or was it?  Next week, I'll capture the magic, nay the 8th wonder of the world.... Floriade (pronouced: floor e ade')

ye olde gift shoppe