Wales revisited ... as an armchair traveller

It's okay I'm very much in Perth but I discovered iMovie on my computer today and thought I'd pretty up one of the panoramas from our travels last year.

Behold Portmeirion!

Happy memories.

Sculptures and sunshine

Another milestone this morning - my first breakfast out since the end of last year.  Even so it was a pretty laborious process gingerly chewing my way through teaspoon-sized portions of bircher muesli.  Very nice but perhaps the copious shredded coconut and sultanas were a bit ambitious for a first go.  Anyhow I munched my way through it.  Meanwhile Ross had already hoovered up his cooked breakfast and patiently sipped his way through two coffees.  Oh well.

Then it was time for another Perth institution.  After breakfast we made our annual pilgrimage to Cottesloe Beach for Sculpture by the Sea. 

Cottesloe Beach Sculptures - yes that's a giant wine cask in the background

Autumn put on a show to rival the sculptures with an impossibly blue sky, morning air with a touch of chill and a deliciously warm sun.  The beach was buzzing with swimmers and other visitors like us slowly wending our way past the artworks.

Cottesloe colours

Colours and lines

One of my favourites this year as it looks like pure joie de vivre on a podium:

Cottesloe Sculpture by the Sea 2014

The tease

"Australia experienced another angry summer...we had substantial heat records, heatwaves and other extreme weather events"

 (Professor Tim Flannery commenting on the "2013-14 Angry Summer" Report by the Climate Council)

So it wasn't surprising really that our 'chance of a storm' evaporated and after 100+ days without significant earth-quenching rain, all we got this morning was thick cloud, oppressive humidity and a few little rain drops.  At least that's what I think was falling from the sky, it's been so long since I've seen anything remotely resembling precipitation I've forgotten what it looks like.  

Can you SEE the raindrops?!

It was just a rain teaser - a minuscule 0.2mm recorded in the weather bureau's official gauge.  The poor trees would only have had the chance to taste the moisture in the air as the clouds passed over, only the odd lonely rain drop managing to squeeze itself from the cloud's fierce grasp to fall to earth. 

The lonely raindrop

Another day without rain.  Another day spent waiting for this awful hot weather to break.

Deja vu

I'm getting the oddest feeling that I've been here before...

Day 001

Oh wait, that's right.... see 1 July 2013.

*Sigh*

Today

Today in Perth it was Day 95 without rain.

Today the sun fuelled 12 more hours of fiery monotony (36oC) in one of our hottest summers on record.  

Today was also the last day of my six-month work contract.  My colleagues put on a 'farewell' morning tea although I must admit I felt a bit cheeky getting another 'farewell' when I already left 2 years ago.  Everyone was very kind though and I really appreciated the sentiments.  

It was a good six months and it happened at the right time but I also know it's time for a new challenge and you can't keep looking back.  I don't think it took me long to figure this out when I first returned to my old workplace last September but it's only now I can put it into words courtesy of the perfect quote I stumbled across yesterday:

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."

Nelson Mandela (A Long Walk to Freedom)

Long Walk to Freedom indeed.  I am now free.

But now what do I do?

Breakfast on the Terrace

Public holiday Monday called for a short stroll down the hill to St Georges Terrace.  The glass towers stood empty today and the pavements were free from the grey march of human misery that so typifies the usual weekday morning at 9am.

Unfortunately not a lot of places open for breakfast either as Ross soon discovered when we reached Brookfield Place.

Ross searches fruitlessly for an open cafe

Saved by The Terrace Hotel!  We found a shady spot under one of the big umbrellas and watched the (rather quiet) world pass by along the Terrace.

Watching the world pass by (or not) along St Georges Terrace

Sadly still no breakfast for me as my diet is still pretty limited but it didn't stop me from vicariously enjoying Ross' Spanish breakfast.  Mmmm, harissa toast with poached eggs, chorizo and beans.  Mmmm.

Spanish breakfast

From 6 to 6

Sunday morning started pretty much the same as last weekend.  At 6am Ross and I walked to Fourth Pagoda - the Marlee Pavilion near Roe Gardens.  The river's surface was like glass again.  Everything was still and anticipating the hot day ahead.

Marlee Pavilion as the sun rises over the Swan River

The retic had just been on so unfortunately the benches were still wet but we stopped nonetheless at one of the little alcoves within the aptly named Place of Reflection and just spent some time savouring the morning.

Alcoves within the Place of Reflection

******

At the other end of the day, we cruised along to South Cottesloe Beach and got there just before 6pm in time to see the sun sinking into the Indian Ocean.

Sunset over the Indian Ocean

South Cottesloe Beach

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday really.