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So we've been in Perth for over 2 months, sorry it has taken me this long to update you all!
We arrived late evening on 6th November and were shocked that we had to put jumpers on because it was much cooler than we had been used to! We settled in to Perth life really quickly, within days of being here we'd sorted out bank accounts, tax numbers, a room to rent in a shared house and jobs! We found a room to rent in a shared house in Northbridge which is a short walk into the city. We stayed for a week in a hostel but the room in the house in cost a little more and we at least had a room to ourself and more space. I started work within a few days as a recruitment officer for the disability services commission, which is a government agency. It all happened very quick and it was hard being back at work, but I soon got back in to the routine. Wayne started work at an outside catering company, doing lots of functions over Xmas. He really enjoyed it and got some great ideas.
We both got in to the work routine pretty quickly but we did manage to see a few sights! On our first weekend the heat reached 40 degrees, we made our way down to Fremantle on the train only a 30 minute trip, but it was lovely lots of older buildings and the port marina. We made quite a few trips back to Freo we had a great Sunday brunch at Gino's a cafe on what is known as the cappuccino strip. There are also some great shops and a market, where we used to get some great fresh vegetables. We were also taken to a brewery on the quayside called little creatures, where they do great beer and good frittes, a big hangover followed a long Sunday session sat in the outside area looking out to sea.
We've also been to the massive Kings park which sits atop the city and has great views of the city and the Swan River. This is a lovely area with a walkway through the trees and some lovely scenic ponds and streams. All of the parks in the City are well maintained, just by the office I was working in were 2 small parks one had 2 ponds and a small waterfall with ducks swimming around, it was lovely to sit out there and eat my lunch in the sunshine.
We have also met my Mums family while we have been over here. My Mums Aunt and 2 cousins with their families live in the Perth suburbs. We were invited over on a cool day for a lovely BBQ and a great afternoon, we also met up with my 3rd cousin Laura a couple of times for a game of lawn bowls popular over here) and on Xmas Eve for festive drinks.
We had use of a car, the Kiwi guy we were renting from had a car but did not have an Ozzy licence so he said that we could use the car for free whenever we wanted it. So we did, we used it to have a drive around the surrounding areas, the first day we used it we drove up the coast road to a place called Lancelin about an hour and half drive we got there had a look at the beach a quick drink in the pub before we left. It was a small place and the drive back on the highway was pretty long, we realised then and there that this was a big country! We also used the car to go South to a place called Rockingham and further on to Mandurah. Rockingham is a lovely seaside town with a great beach and some islands of the coast called Seal and Penguin Islands, we did not have time to take the boat over to them but have agreed we will make the time on our onward journey. Mandurah has money, we took a drive around the expensive marina and then drove to a point called Halls Head a great beach where we swore we could see the curvature of the Earth! On our way back we stopped to look at the Mansion which were situated on the canals of the Marina, we've never seen places so big, with the big yacht out the front moored up and the sun shining down, what a place to live.
We had a fairly quiet Xmas, it was very strange being away from home, but we made the most of it, the morning started with bucks fizz and eggs bendict. We then piled in to the car with our two house mates, Gavin and Justin and headed to Scarborough beach. the beach was heaving with families but we could only manage a couple of hours as it was a 42 degree day so the clear cold sea was great. We came home and Wayne cooked a traditional Xmas dinner for us all with more drinks and in the evening Justin made a great prawn and steak noodle salad an eat fest! On Boxing day it reached 46 degrees and we visited my Mums cousin in one of the Perth suburbs it was great to be in an air conditioned house.
At New Year we met up with some friends from home, who were over on their honeymoon we met with them the day before New Years eve and had a couple of drinks but we then headed off to see a Vanilla Ice concert (Wayne's Choice). Nick and Kelly then came over for a few drinks at ours before we headed in to Northbridge at about 11pm on New Years eve. The evening ended in us all being in very drunken states in an Irish bar! The next day all feling very delicate we headed to Perth racecourse for one of the biggest yearly races there the Perth cup. We had a winner in each race between ius but Kelly and I spent most of the day under the shade of a tree nursing our hangovers. This was not the first time Wayne and I had been to the races we went on a saturday a few weeks after we arrived, we had a great day. We found a tent serving free beer, we had to use tokens but people just kept on handing them to us. We had a couple of winners and watched a band at the end of the meeting called Thirsty Merc. We later found out that they were really well known.
We had some good food, it is all so fresh and appetising but I think Wayne's favourite is a kebab, with flat lebanese bread, chucnks of marinated lamb and fresh salad, nothing like a greasy kebab at home! We've also had good fish and chips, an Indian and a big Vietnamese meal!
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