Leederville

A chilled Sunday romp around the city was the agenda of the day today. I took the little ferry across the river this morning, hopping on just as it was leaving; the driver instructed me to shimmy along the bumper to the door and "try not to fall in". After a little nose around the beautiful Supreme Court Gardens, I used the rest of the time I had to kill before meeting Jess discovering a huge Surf Store I've bookmarked for future shopping trips. Because Roxy is made here, it's heaps cheaper than the UK; get ready for some presents when I return Mum!

Spring has sprung!

Jess rocked up at 11 and we headed through the station to Northbridge, the main clubbing suburb, but it was of course a whole different scene what with it being daytime and a Sunday. We popped into a little coffee shop and drank lattés on the curb amongst loads of trendy little shops and galleries. From there we walked down through the shopping district, passing a load of great buskers on the way to the riverbank. One rather cute guy was playing a mix of Jack Johnson and Passenger: my perfect man?! The Bell Tower, which is near the ferry port, is surrounded by slabs that each school in Western Australia had all the kids write their name on when it was built back in 2001. We managed to find the concrete that Jess and Candice signed twelve years ago; adorable!

The Australians really have got things sussed. I bought a SmartRider, a card that lets you ride all forms of public transport: Bus, Train, even the Ferry. When it runs out, you top it up, giving you access to everything. Why is it impossible for something like this to exist in England?! Far too simple a system for us I guess...

We took the train (a little like the tube but with working air-con and fewer tramps) north-west up to Leederville, another suburb of Perth. It's pretty small, with just one main street running through the middle. I'd skipped breakfast on the promise of a great Fro-yo place, and miss McKiernan did not disappoint. We went to Tutti Frutti, this awesome self-service place with countless yoghurt flavours and toppings. I had mango and peanut butter yog topped with an eclectic mix of mango, mixed berries, shaved nuts and M&Ms. Phwoarrrrr!

After ingesting my daily allowance of calories, we took a stroll out of town to Lake Monger for a bit of exercise. Surrounded by a track (good for running?) and occupied by all sorts of wildlife, it was the perfect place to sit and soak up the sun. Pretty sure I have my first Australian sunburn, which had to happen sooner or later.

Before I forget, I'M GOING TO SEE MICHAEL BUBLÉ! He's playing in Perth in April (: I also bought a swim with dolphins experience on a bit of a Ticketmaster splurge, but I did say I want to do as much as possible while I'm here. With week two of work looming, roll on the next weekend of exploring!