Week 2 (July 12 - July 18)
Week 2 in Perth is now over.
I have found that I am getting used to being here. There are still a few things that need to be sorted out, but I am feeling settled; my apartment is feeling more like home now.
Work this week was average. I was busy during the days, but I did not have to work late which was nice. I find that I am much more productive here. I dont know anyone, and when I get to work its already 5pm Vancouver time, so I dont have anyone to talk to on sametime. Also, the TV here is rubbish, so I get my internetting done in the evening.
I have been working 1/2 in the office this week, and 1/2 in a suburb called Subiaco. I will be out in Subiaco for the next few weeks, and it seems quite nice there so I would like to do a day trip out there on the weekend to check it out. Seems like a very trendy area. It is also where the footy stadium is located. We are going to go to a game, so maybe the day we do that we will spend some time there
So this weekend we went down to Margaret River (which is about a 3 hour drive south of Perth). We had all planned to have an early night on Friday because we were getting up very early on Saturday to leave, but 4 of us ended up having a pretty big night out. Those Friday drinks at the office are killer because even if you have the intention of just going for one or two to be social, there is so much wine and beer and everyone is having a good time that you end up having more then intended. We went to a couple of bars and had a really fun night.
We got in at about 12:30 and Emma and I stayed up dealing with the ants that suddenly have appeared in our apartment for no reason. At 1am we were vaccuuming trying to get rid of them all (when we got home today they were back.... we are going to have to call someone in tomorrow to fix it). So we were finally in bed by about 1:15am and were up again at 5:45am to leave. Luckily for us, Ashley volunteered to drive the van that we all rented, so the 4 of us who were not in the best shape were able to sleep for a few hours on the drive down.
We got to Margaret River just after 9am and were able to check into our hotel and "spruce" as Emma kept saying. The reason we went down so early is that we were doing a wine tour that was picking us up from the hotel at 10:30am. It was a day long event, and despite the hangover, was a really fun time. We did 4 wineries (each which offered about 6-8 wine tastings), a cheese shop, a chocolate shop and a brewery. The tour also included lunch at the second winery that we were at. It was a kind of picnic lunch on the patio at the winery; breads, cheeses, meats, pestos, olives, etc. I wasnt expecting much from the included lunch, but it was great. The pestos were especially good. Also included in lunch were a few unusual "Australian" items. There was smoked Kangaroo meat which turned out to be not bad. I wouldnt go ordering it, but a few of the others quite liked it. They also came by with witchetty grub which is a disgusting larva for us to sample. I had every intention of trying it, but then i made the mistake of smelling it and decided to wait for the other peoples reaction. Half of our group tried it, and the consensus was that it was awful. So Im glad I didnt try it.
They also had something called Dukka there.... which was a nut and seed dip. You dipped a cracker in olive oil and then the Dukka and it was quite delicious with the wine.
The cheese shop was not too impressive, but the chocolate place was nice. A large variety of bars and chocolate based products and free samples! By the end of the 4 wineries I was happy to hit the brewery.... all the wine had started to taste the same. Overall it was a really nice day; the first few sips of wine in the morning were a little hard to get down, but after lunch we all felt pretty good.
In the evening we just went out for a tasty dinner and all had an early night. I think I was passed out at 9:30.
I woke up this morning with back and arm pain. I think I must have slept funny and pinched a nerve or something because my back and both my arms feel like the muscles in them are pulled. It did put a bit of a damper on my day, but today was still enjoyable. After breakfast we went to "cave road" where there are more than 20 caves. We just chose one to go to; lake cave. After climbing down 300 steps into the cave, it was pretty cool. Hard to describe but very pretty; white stalagmites and some interesting formations. Overall a worth while excursion.
After that we wanted to hit the beach. It was too cold outside to swim but we went over to the coast and saw some beautiful beaches. The water was not that cold.... warmer than it is in Vancouver for sure. If it wasnt so windy out, it might have been possible to swim. It would have still been cold, but the water definately was not freezing.... it was the air temperature and wind outside that was more the problem. We had a good time wading in the water and all of us ended up getting quite wet.
On the way back to Perth we tried to stop at a Jetty that goes out a few miles into the Ocean, but it was closed so we could not walk on it. Too bad because it was quite long and would have been nice to walk along.
We just got back. Im tired and my back and arms are really bothering me. Im hoping its just fatigue and that I slept on something funny.
Siobhan
I have found that I am getting used to being here. There are still a few things that need to be sorted out, but I am feeling settled; my apartment is feeling more like home now.
Work this week was average. I was busy during the days, but I did not have to work late which was nice. I find that I am much more productive here. I dont know anyone, and when I get to work its already 5pm Vancouver time, so I dont have anyone to talk to on sametime. Also, the TV here is rubbish, so I get my internetting done in the evening.
I have been working 1/2 in the office this week, and 1/2 in a suburb called Subiaco. I will be out in Subiaco for the next few weeks, and it seems quite nice there so I would like to do a day trip out there on the weekend to check it out. Seems like a very trendy area. It is also where the footy stadium is located. We are going to go to a game, so maybe the day we do that we will spend some time there
So this weekend we went down to Margaret River (which is about a 3 hour drive south of Perth). We had all planned to have an early night on Friday because we were getting up very early on Saturday to leave, but 4 of us ended up having a pretty big night out. Those Friday drinks at the office are killer because even if you have the intention of just going for one or two to be social, there is so much wine and beer and everyone is having a good time that you end up having more then intended. We went to a couple of bars and had a really fun night.
We got in at about 12:30 and Emma and I stayed up dealing with the ants that suddenly have appeared in our apartment for no reason. At 1am we were vaccuuming trying to get rid of them all (when we got home today they were back.... we are going to have to call someone in tomorrow to fix it). So we were finally in bed by about 1:15am and were up again at 5:45am to leave. Luckily for us, Ashley volunteered to drive the van that we all rented, so the 4 of us who were not in the best shape were able to sleep for a few hours on the drive down.
We got to Margaret River just after 9am and were able to check into our hotel and "spruce" as Emma kept saying. The reason we went down so early is that we were doing a wine tour that was picking us up from the hotel at 10:30am. It was a day long event, and despite the hangover, was a really fun time. We did 4 wineries (each which offered about 6-8 wine tastings), a cheese shop, a chocolate shop and a brewery. The tour also included lunch at the second winery that we were at. It was a kind of picnic lunch on the patio at the winery; breads, cheeses, meats, pestos, olives, etc. I wasnt expecting much from the included lunch, but it was great. The pestos were especially good. Also included in lunch were a few unusual "Australian" items. There was smoked Kangaroo meat which turned out to be not bad. I wouldnt go ordering it, but a few of the others quite liked it. They also came by with witchetty grub which is a disgusting larva for us to sample. I had every intention of trying it, but then i made the mistake of smelling it and decided to wait for the other peoples reaction. Half of our group tried it, and the consensus was that it was awful. So Im glad I didnt try it.
They also had something called Dukka there.... which was a nut and seed dip. You dipped a cracker in olive oil and then the Dukka and it was quite delicious with the wine.
The cheese shop was not too impressive, but the chocolate place was nice. A large variety of bars and chocolate based products and free samples! By the end of the 4 wineries I was happy to hit the brewery.... all the wine had started to taste the same. Overall it was a really nice day; the first few sips of wine in the morning were a little hard to get down, but after lunch we all felt pretty good.
In the evening we just went out for a tasty dinner and all had an early night. I think I was passed out at 9:30.
I woke up this morning with back and arm pain. I think I must have slept funny and pinched a nerve or something because my back and both my arms feel like the muscles in them are pulled. It did put a bit of a damper on my day, but today was still enjoyable. After breakfast we went to "cave road" where there are more than 20 caves. We just chose one to go to; lake cave. After climbing down 300 steps into the cave, it was pretty cool. Hard to describe but very pretty; white stalagmites and some interesting formations. Overall a worth while excursion.
After that we wanted to hit the beach. It was too cold outside to swim but we went over to the coast and saw some beautiful beaches. The water was not that cold.... warmer than it is in Vancouver for sure. If it wasnt so windy out, it might have been possible to swim. It would have still been cold, but the water definately was not freezing.... it was the air temperature and wind outside that was more the problem. We had a good time wading in the water and all of us ended up getting quite wet.
On the way back to Perth we tried to stop at a Jetty that goes out a few miles into the Ocean, but it was closed so we could not walk on it. Too bad because it was quite long and would have been nice to walk along.
We just got back. Im tired and my back and arms are really bothering me. Im hoping its just fatigue and that I slept on something funny.
Siobhan
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