On Tuesday the 14th Eileen and Wally took us with them to visit Eileen’s family. We had, of course, been with these people all through the wedding events, but its was lovely to visit in their homes and have more leisure for conversation.
We started for lunch at the home of Eileen’s sister-in-law Sandra. She is the widow of Eileen oldest brother Bernard, who died suddenly when he was still quite young. We really enjoy Sandra, and it was fun to be with her in her home. She was also babysitting her 2½ year-old granddaughter Eden who was also a lot of fun. We had a great lunch of quiche and salad, and were entertained by Sandra as she took us through the paces of her Thermomix, a German do-everything kitchen machine that is very popular in Australia. We saw lots of birds and flowers in her lovely garden.
When we left Sandra’s we headed to Jean’s house in the other direction. We had a leisurely afternoon paddling around in her pool. Dinner was a terrific chicken cooked in a Tagine with olives from her own tree. The fresh vegetables and everything here are really amazing. It is, of course, the end of summer, and many things are in their prime. We are reaping the benefits! We were joined for dinner by Jean’s boarded Eleanor. She works for the Red Cross dealing with people who have been misplaced by fire. There is still a very high danger in Southwestern Australia for fire. When we went to Margaret River we drove through a large area that had been burned last year. The people with whom Eleanor works are still dealing with their terrific losses from that fire. One whole town has simply disappeared.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Australia 2016 - Downtown Perth, Food Trucks, and Heat
On Monday the 13th, Eileen’s sister Jean (who came to the Villa in Vassenello, Italy with us in 2011) took us into downtown Perth. We went to the Art Gallery, which is small but has a very interesting collection. I was particularly drawn to the work of English painter Stanley Spencer, and will enjoy learning more about his work.
We tried to go the historical museum, but it’s closed for renovation. We did, however, have a lovely lunch in the shaded garden of the museum - an opportunity for a good visit with Jean. The shade part is of particular importance on this day. In our measures it 104ยบ - REALLY HOT! It was like the hottest March day on record for the last six years. Ugh.
In the evening, Jean and Eileen and Wally came over to our flat and we walked down to the Swan River just below where we are and got dinner from three food trucks that show up only on Monday evenings. It was still rather hot, but the walk was nice. We did, however, bring our food back up to the air conditioned flat! We had Middle Easter, Brazilian, and Mexican food with a Korean twist!
We tried to go the historical museum, but it’s closed for renovation. We did, however, have a lovely lunch in the shaded garden of the museum - an opportunity for a good visit with Jean. The shade part is of particular importance on this day. In our measures it 104ยบ - REALLY HOT! It was like the hottest March day on record for the last six years. Ugh.
In the evening, Jean and Eileen and Wally came over to our flat and we walked down to the Swan River just below where we are and got dinner from three food trucks that show up only on Monday evenings. It was still rather hot, but the walk was nice. We did, however, bring our food back up to the air conditioned flat! We had Middle Easter, Brazilian, and Mexican food with a Korean twist!
Australia 2016 - Wedding Recovery
On Sunday, March 13, Claire and Jared hosted (yes, hosted) a recovery BBQ at their home. It was fun to have everyone together again, especially those who had been at the pre-wedding events. The younger folk who had partied the night away were a little worse for wear, but everyone was in good spirits. There was, as has been true throughout, a great spirit of community and celebration.
After the BBQ, Larry and I came back to the flat. We just had wine and cheese and crackers for dinner - there’s been plenty of food! And we enjoyed some “TV” via live stream on my laptop. It is still fairly amazing to me that we can record things on our TV at home and watch them halfway around the world! It’s too bad that we can’t do On Demand, or even streaming services like Netflix or, our favorite, Acorn Online. But... the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has a great streaming service and we’ve discovered Janet King - a great series! We could also see Dr. Blake, but it’s Series 4, and we’d like to see 2 and 3 first.
After the BBQ, Larry and I came back to the flat. We just had wine and cheese and crackers for dinner - there’s been plenty of food! And we enjoyed some “TV” via live stream on my laptop. It is still fairly amazing to me that we can record things on our TV at home and watch them halfway around the world! It’s too bad that we can’t do On Demand, or even streaming services like Netflix or, our favorite, Acorn Online. But... the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has a great streaming service and we’ve discovered Janet King - a great series! We could also see Dr. Blake, but it’s Series 4, and we’d like to see 2 and 3 first.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Australia 2016 - The Wedding!
The wedding on March 12 went off very well. The service itself was at The Round House, the oldest building in Fremantle. It’s in the historic downtown right on the edge of the harbor. Whalers used to bring their catch to it and the whales were taken into the tunnel underneath. This was also the place - at the old jetty next door at Bathers Beach - where criminals and convicts were first disembarked from their English boats before being marched in kilometer to the Fremantle Prison.
I spent part of the morning finishing my own writing for the service and Larry and I went to an office store to get it printed. I also needed to find some way to hold it. We settled on a small presentation folder with slip covers in it. The pages fit perfectly, and I was glad to have it done that way as during the service it was very windy!
People started gathering around 4:45 p.m. and the service itself started at 5 p.m. Wally and Claire arrived in Jared’s 1960's era navy blue Holden ute. Very classy! The service went very well, if I do say so myself, and everyone seemed most appreciative. As noted above, the partnership of Australian Cclebrant Doug South was excellent indeed.
After the service there was champagne and oysters right there at the Round House. At around 6 p.m. everyone began to walk from there to the Fremantle Prison for the reception. Larry and I drove because it was easier earlier, but it was fun to see everyone walking down the street in their wedding finery! One of Jared’s friends carried the “J&C” banner in front. Very festive!
Larry and I arrived at the prison a little before 6:30, and we were all asked to wait until 6:30 to go through the big iron gates. When we were let into the yard, the golden limestone walls were rather beautiful in the setting sun. We walked around behind the cell blocks to the grass outside the old machine shop, the location of the reception. There we were served drinks (Negronis, champagn) and beautiful hors d’oeuvres. Claire and Jared arrived a few minutes later in the Holden ute with a lovely “Just Married” sign on its back! Then we all went in for the reception.
Claire had done an amazing job making this old prison space festive and beautiful. Because the Fremantle prison is a World Heritage Site, they could not attach anything to the walls or anywhere. So great imagination and igenuity came into play, and it was a wonderful site. We were all seated at six long tables in the room so it had a great community feel. Jared’s cousin Paul was the MC, and did a great job. Very funny. Jared’s mother, Wendy, is a trained singer, and so the proceedings started, much to our surprise, with her singing the Star Spangled Banner! We Americans sang along! The food was wonderful, the speehes great, the dancing fun and funky - all in all, a wonderful party. Adults went home at a reasonable hour (that would be midnight) and the young folk went out and partied until the wee hours. Claire and Jared’s life together got off to a great start!
I spent part of the morning finishing my own writing for the service and Larry and I went to an office store to get it printed. I also needed to find some way to hold it. We settled on a small presentation folder with slip covers in it. The pages fit perfectly, and I was glad to have it done that way as during the service it was very windy!
People started gathering around 4:45 p.m. and the service itself started at 5 p.m. Wally and Claire arrived in Jared’s 1960's era navy blue Holden ute. Very classy! The service went very well, if I do say so myself, and everyone seemed most appreciative. As noted above, the partnership of Australian Cclebrant Doug South was excellent indeed.
After the service there was champagne and oysters right there at the Round House. At around 6 p.m. everyone began to walk from there to the Fremantle Prison for the reception. Larry and I drove because it was easier earlier, but it was fun to see everyone walking down the street in their wedding finery! One of Jared’s friends carried the “J&C” banner in front. Very festive!
Larry and I arrived at the prison a little before 6:30, and we were all asked to wait until 6:30 to go through the big iron gates. When we were let into the yard, the golden limestone walls were rather beautiful in the setting sun. We walked around behind the cell blocks to the grass outside the old machine shop, the location of the reception. There we were served drinks (Negronis, champagn) and beautiful hors d’oeuvres. Claire and Jared arrived a few minutes later in the Holden ute with a lovely “Just Married” sign on its back! Then we all went in for the reception.
Claire had done an amazing job making this old prison space festive and beautiful. Because the Fremantle prison is a World Heritage Site, they could not attach anything to the walls or anywhere. So great imagination and igenuity came into play, and it was a wonderful site. We were all seated at six long tables in the room so it had a great community feel. Jared’s cousin Paul was the MC, and did a great job. Very funny. Jared’s mother, Wendy, is a trained singer, and so the proceedings started, much to our surprise, with her singing the Star Spangled Banner! We Americans sang along! The food was wonderful, the speehes great, the dancing fun and funky - all in all, a wonderful party. Adults went home at a reasonable hour (that would be midnight) and the young folk went out and partied until the wee hours. Claire and Jared’s life together got off to a great start!
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Australia 2016 - Catching Up
Dear readers - I hope to be up to date with everything by the end of the March 18. Stay tuned!
Friday, March 11, 2016
Australia 2016 - Sunset Drinks and Dinner
Friday was a quiet day to work on this blog, for example, and also do some wedding prep. It's pretty hot around here, so going out in the daytime is not always the best option. Our flat has air conditioning, which is very nice indeed.
Around 4:30 we picked up the Schneiers and headed off for the beautiful suburb of Cottesloe.(Fremantle is all suburbs, like St. Louis) Lots of gorgeous homes here, and the Civic Centre is in one of the oldest and largest. There is a beautiful lawn that looks west over the ocean, up above Cottesloe beach where Eileen and her sister Jean always went when they were young. (They lived a ways away in Mosman Park.) Everyone brought beverages, and the Australian men had a pickup cricket game! It was a beautiful evening and a lovely, lovely spot.
After the sunset, about 10 of the adults went to a local Italian restaurant for dinner - Il Lido, appropriately. It was very good, but very loud, and we spent the evening hollering at each other. But, as they say, a good time was had by all!
We delivered the Schneiers back to their hotel and headed back to the flat. Tomorrow is the wedding!
Around 4:30 we picked up the Schneiers and headed off for the beautiful suburb of Cottesloe.(Fremantle is all suburbs, like St. Louis) Lots of gorgeous homes here, and the Civic Centre is in one of the oldest and largest. There is a beautiful lawn that looks west over the ocean, up above Cottesloe beach where Eileen and her sister Jean always went when they were young. (They lived a ways away in Mosman Park.) Everyone brought beverages, and the Australian men had a pickup cricket game! It was a beautiful evening and a lovely, lovely spot.
After the sunset, about 10 of the adults went to a local Italian restaurant for dinner - Il Lido, appropriately. It was very good, but very loud, and we spent the evening hollering at each other. But, as they say, a good time was had by all!
We delivered the Schneiers back to their hotel and headed back to the flat. Tomorrow is the wedding!
Australia 2016 - Rottnest Island
Thursday was a day of adventure! We all took a catamaran ride to
Rottnest Island off the Fremantle Harbor. It’s a 1 hour and 45 minute
trip, and the sailing is not always smooth. Most of the folk prone to
seasickness (like Larry) prepared themselves ahead of time with some
Dramamine or similar remedy. It seemed to go ok for Larry, but he and
the others were very brave to come along at all!
We first sailed into a small lagoon by rocks on the west side of the island. We swam, snorkeled, kayaked, and paddle-boarded off the catamaran. It was a great time! The little island near the lagoon was a refuge for the Australian Sea Lion The Australian sea lion, one of the rarest species of sea lion in the world and only found in Western Australia and South Australia. They are a threatened species, and are much more friendly and cute than the voracious California variety we know in the Pacific Northwest!
After our play-in-the-water break, we headed for Rottnest Island itself. The name of the island is Dutch for Rat’s Nest, because the original Dutch settlers thought the cute little local marsupials were rats! They are actually Quokkas, and are only found on Rottnest Island. We managed to see a few before we had to board our boat again and head back to Fremantle. On the return trip we had a nice trip of real sailing in great wind - yippee!
In the evening we joined the Powelsons and Jason and Betsy Schneier, friends of theirs from Seattle here for the wedding. We ate at Barque, just up the street from our flat. Really good pan-Asian food. We shared a giant fried Gold Band Snapper, presented to us sitting up on a platter! It was delicious.
More sun, more ocean, more great food - just another day in Fremantle!
We first sailed into a small lagoon by rocks on the west side of the island. We swam, snorkeled, kayaked, and paddle-boarded off the catamaran. It was a great time! The little island near the lagoon was a refuge for the Australian Sea Lion The Australian sea lion, one of the rarest species of sea lion in the world and only found in Western Australia and South Australia. They are a threatened species, and are much more friendly and cute than the voracious California variety we know in the Pacific Northwest!
After our play-in-the-water break, we headed for Rottnest Island itself. The name of the island is Dutch for Rat’s Nest, because the original Dutch settlers thought the cute little local marsupials were rats! They are actually Quokkas, and are only found on Rottnest Island. We managed to see a few before we had to board our boat again and head back to Fremantle. On the return trip we had a nice trip of real sailing in great wind - yippee!
In the evening we joined the Powelsons and Jason and Betsy Schneier, friends of theirs from Seattle here for the wedding. We ate at Barque, just up the street from our flat. Really good pan-Asian food. We shared a giant fried Gold Band Snapper, presented to us sitting up on a platter! It was delicious.
More sun, more ocean, more great food - just another day in Fremantle!
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