Fremantle and Perth

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Fremantle and Perth

We arrived in Fremantle, the port serving Perth. Fremantle won recognition in the 80’s when the America’s Cup was held here. It is a busy port with huge cargo ships loading and unloading goods. Perth is the capitol of Western Australia, and the fastest growing and most prosperous city in the country. There are huge iron ore and coal mines nearby producing lots of ore being shipped to the orient, especially. And then there are natural gas platforms off shore, too.

After coming ashore we took a short shuttle ride to the nearby train station in Fremantle for a 30 minute ride on a commuter train into the center of Perth. The train station is smack in the middle of Perth and connects to a series of pedestrian walkways leading to museums as well as shopping malls. We were on the middle tier of a shopping complex which led to two pedestrian street malls one and two blocks away. Going to street level when we heard someone playing piano, we sat at an outdoor café and had coffee and listened to the music. The day was warm and pleasant and the city very clean.

We headed to the Museum to connect with B and B as we had been invited to dinner in Perth. Our friend, Stuart, in Madison, met Ian and his wife Louise, who live in Perth, when Ian came to grad school at the UW, and they have kept in touch ever since. So, after many e-mails, the arrangements were made for the four of us to go to Ian and Louise’s home for dinner “on the Barbie” as they say. Luckily our ship wasn’t leaving until 11 PM so we had plenty of time. We caught a taxi from the museum, passing through a beautiful area of Perth to their home where we were greeted warmly and made to feel right at home. The conversation soon became quite relaxed and the excellent Shiraz wine flowed as we went to the patio and saw the beautiful flowers as well as got a peek at the lamb roast on the Barbie. The weather was perfect for eating outside. The dinner was delicious and the lamb was a special treat for us. Louise made a typical Aussie dessert for us and I know I won’t spell it correctly, so I will describe it: sponge cake pieces rolled in chocolate, then coconut, topped with whipped cream and then fresh fruit-- in this case, fresh strawberries and kiwi. Absolutely delicious!

The evening ended all too soon and we said good bye to Louise, and Ian drove us back to the ship where we boarded in plenty of time to wave goodbye to Perth and our new Aussie friends. .

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