Dear all,

Well the last week in Perth was a mixture of relaxation, playing with Georgia and last minute sight-seeing.

On Saturday afternoon Marky, Juli, Georgia and I had a lovely time wandering through the shops and markets of Subiaco (the posh part of Perth). Mark and I ate some nice food in the markets and bought loads of fruit from the stalls. We stopped for a drink in the Subiaco Hotel (unfortunately my round!), which was very pleasant and rounded the afternoon off with a visit to The Carine, a bar nearer M&J's house. A lovely afternoon.

On Sunday I met up with Elaine and Scorcha (two gals from the Exmouth trip) and went to the 'Sunday Sesh' at The Cott, a really cool bar on Cottosloe Beach. We had a really nice afternoon spent drinking, listening to music and people watching. Girl's fashion in The Cott: short shorts, singlet (vest top to the Brits), massive beads, messy hair, big bug-eye glasses and a bag to match the colour of your shoes, preferably in silver or gold, al la Paris Hilton stylee! I won't be dressed in the same manner when I return home; I'm not sure I could pull off the short shorts!

During the week Juli and I made a few cultural trips out. We visited the Old Gaol in Perth, which is now a small museum. I liked this as they had some really good photographs of folk from the eighteen hundreds, women in massive dresses and hats playing tennis etc. We went to the WA Art Museum - without Georgia this time; she stayed at her Nana Oz's house - and this too was really good, especially as they had an aboriginal art exhibition on.

On Thursday I took Mark, Juli and Georgia out for dinner to say a thank you for having me, though this turned into a complete disaster, so if any of you get to Perth don't go to Sienna's! One of the starters didn't turn up though we asked for it twice; our main meal came about 3 minutes after our starters; Mark and I had a soggy based pizzas - they had no explanation for Mark's, but mine was because I had spinach on it apparently! - and the puddings, though delicious, were really not as they were meant to be - Mark could pick up his tiramisu! Still we did get loads of money of the bill $6.50, approximately 3 pound!

The last day came all too quickly. Juli, Georgia and I had a very relaxing last day and went for a nice walk around Lake Munger, which was beautiful. You can see black swans and pelicans there, among many other birds; there are fabulous views of the city; and you can gaze at all the really expensive property and plan which one to buy when you win the lottery!

In the evening after I had finished packing, Juli's family came over for drinks and nibbles so that I could say a fond farewell to them all and vice versa, which was a little bit sad. That night I had really bad butterflies in my tummy. I didn't go to bed until gone 2am, which isn't unusual for me I guess, but not preferable when you have to leave the house at 6.15am the next day.

Saturday morning was awful and very heart wrenching. I had to say goodbye to Marky at the house, as he had to work, which was sooo sad. I couldn't stop cuddling him. I rode to the airport in the back with Georgia and after checking in carried her and cuddled her right up to the gate. I showered the girls in kisses and cuddles, amidst many tears; it was just horrific and really hard to actually walk up to the plane. Georgia was completely oblivious to my distress though; she just looked around and yawned the whole time!

The flight attendants were very nice on the plane and offered me loads of tissues - what a girl! I finally sorted myself out and then I watched Pride and Prejudice (which isn't even that sad a film) and balled my eyes out all over again! Still I'll have to get used to these goodbyes, as they will happen quite a lot in my lifetime I think. By the time I reached Darwin my eyes were very red and puffy.

Loads of Love

Lynds x x