Yesterday ended with a bit of an unexpected bonus; a Skype call from my husband who advised that his flight had not been so bad after all, and that he had managed to find his way to the Sussex country village where his sister lives without a navigation device. He was altogether upbeat; a great relief after his negative expectations.
This
morning I popped over to see the camp manager and paid up for a further two
weeks, which we will surely need if we are to visit all the attractions on my
list which is growing every day. Back at the caravan I decided I should be able
to catch that same bus, the 299, I had caught two days ago. By the time I
reached the bus stop, the bus had gone and I waited in the hope another might
come before the next scheduled 299. Alas no, so I sat there in the sunshine, watching
the golfers doing their rounds on the course across the road, searching for the
birds in the gum trees opposite and breathing in the exhaust fumes from the city
bound vehicles. Eventually I was joined by an elderly woman who was familiar
with all the routes and timetables, and her visiting Scottish daughter. The 299
duly arrived and we all headed into town.
I
alighted where Adelaide Terrace morphs into St Georges Terrace, and wandered
past Government House and the Supreme Court Gardens, then shouted myself a cup
of coffee at the Scottish restaurant. I checked out Hay Street looking for the
QII Plaza in the mistaken belief that it was a shopping centre, and instead
found where many of the smart city hotels are situated, then walked to
Northbridge, wandering up and down James Street which is home to backpackers
and ethnic restaurants and feels altogether different from the malls and places
on the southern side of the railway.
I sat in
the Northbridge Piazza, eating my cut lunch, enjoying a concert put on by the
WA Police Pipe Band, winners of the 2012 Grade 1 Australian Pipe Band Championships,
who have performed in New York, Edinburgh, Moscow and Ballarat, according to
the big screen promo that was playing above the stage performance. Policemen
(and one woman) do look rather odd wearing their police caps, police shirts and
Napier tartan kilts. Thank goodness they had left off their gun holsters! I did
wonder whether their time would be better spent catching criminals, but then
perhaps this performing is all done in their own time?
I found
the Cinema Paradiso in James Street
and purchased my ticket before checking out the location of the nearest Blue
Cat bus stop. It turned out that I was the only person in Perth discerning
enough to watch Claude Miller’s last film Therese
Desqueyroux today. I am a great fan of Audrey Tautou, as were those who
wrote the encouraging reviews I read over the past month. I enjoyed the film
immensely, however it is probably just as well I went alone.
Returning
home before dark was a simple process; the free bus to the Esplanade bus terminal
and straight onto the 299 for home.
An
excellent day made even better by encouraging Skype calls. This morning I
learned that little Aurelia is now walking, her big sister Bella is enjoying
kindy and their father is off to a boatshow on the Gold Coast tomorrow, just a
few hundred kilometres across the continent. This evening I learned that Charlie
is at last settled at school and that he and his brother are delighted with
their two new kittens. Their mother will be on her way to Perth in the morning;
I hope we can catch up with her during her holiday. All is well in my world; I
will sleep well tonight.
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