Perth

It was a little cloudy when I woke up and the air was cooler than yesterday. I decided to go into the city, so after figuring out the bus and train I needed to take, I headed out. The bus driver was nice and told me I did a good job when I gave him the right coins for my ticket. I made it to Murdoch train station and found the one into Perth; it was definitely the most clean and spacious train I have ever been on and the view of the city out the window was perfect. I wandered around, up and down the streets surrounding the main square. The downtown square is lined with shops, cafes and arcades like mini malls or alleys full of stores. I went into the art museum and looked around for a while. The art was really interesting because it was totally different than American or European art, the colors are earthy, the shapes are warped, even faces have a different structure.I really likes the aboriginal art of the dreaming stories, they are patterns made from rows of little circles (Andy Worhol-ish) and I'm sure the symbols have meanings and tell the particular story represented. I bought take out sushi for lunch and sat on a bench in the middle of the square to eat and people watch. The fashion here is pretty laid back/beachy, not really a particular style stands out, hair is pretty much the same as the US except for the ducktail thing the guys do, dreads and colorful hair seems to be pretty popular, a lot of tattoos and piercings as well…overall, pretty casual, quirky style. I decided to walk over to Northbeach so I crossed the bridge and walked around there for a bit, passed a few cafes and shops but the streets seemed pretty empty so I caught the free CAT bus, mostly just for a break from walking and a nice little tour. It was a great day and I was ready to go back, Bernice's friend Sara was picking me up at 6 and I'll be staying at her house the rest of the week. I managed to take the right train line back to the bus stop, find the right bus and stop but I couldn't find the house for some reason so I took a walk around the lake, knowing I would run into it eventually. Sara arrived a little later and we drove to her house. She seemed really nice and I was so glad she was letting me stay with her and her three roommates in Fremantle for the rest of the week. I met her brother Tom then her other roommate Delroy came home from work and later I met her roommate Grant after her came home from band practice. I got to try their homebrewed beer which was pretty good, it was an Australian Bitter which I've never had. Apparently there are tons of craft breweries around here so I'm excited to try them. We went to a pub called Clancys for dinner and I had a delicious portabella mushroom stuffed with pistachios and parmesan (so good!) and I tried a pretty tasty mango beer. The food is expensive here! The cheapest thing on the menu was $20, in a pub, yikes. I'll have to get used to that for sure. Anyway, the pub was fun and I had a good time talking to everyone, the people I'm staying with are really nice so I'm sure I'll have a fun week.