We spent a lovely week in Perth last week, exploring the city, visiting more amazing beaches, and, most of all, enjoying time with some dear friends that moved there over four years ago from California. It was wonderful to see them again! And really nice to have locals giving us tips and taking us to the best spots in the area. It made our week there extra special.

a glimpse of some beauty from our rental house

For our first day in Perth, we went on a day trip to Rottnest Island to see the Quokkas, also known as the “happiest animal on earth” because they look like they are smiling, and to enjoy more spectacular Australian beaches. We took the 30 minute ferry ride over and were greeted by our friends who went all out and brought everything you need for a day at the beach, including making reservations at a great spot for lunch. We really were spoiled!! It was so nice. And at the end of the day, we all agreed it was our favorite beach in Australia! And these little guys were pretty cute.

The next day we went on a unique field trip–we took a tour of Fremantle Prison. The prison is important because it was built by convicts between 1852 and 1859 and in continual use until 1991. They offer a few different tours and we opted for the “Behind Bars” tour where we learned about the prison’s history as a maximum security prison from 1887 to 1991, walking through the kitchen, yards and cell blocks. It was very interesting, though at times a bit gruesome for Luisa. Maybe that’s a good sign.

Unfortunately, by the end of the tour Hannah felt quite sick. So she and Steffen headed back to the rental house, and the girls and I continued exploring Fremantle, “the world’s best-preserved 19th-century port streetscape, featuring the state’s largest collection of heritage-listed buildings.” It was a major British penal colony, hence the prison we just toured. We enjoyed lunch at Gage Roads Brewery, checked out the WA Shipwrecks Museum and strolled through the town, browsing stores and picking up a few treats. I loved all the independent shops we stopped by including a record store, a book store and a few thrift stores. A really nice afternoon!

The next day we took things a bit easy and tried to catch up on some schoolwork. I snuck in a beautiful run along the river and then the five of us (Hannah was still feeling under the weather) went to visit our friends’ workplace where we learned a lot about space and the girls got to ask all their questions. It was fascinating! Then the adults went out to dinner and had one of my favorite meals ever. It was sooo delicious! And so nice to have some adult time with friends.

The next day was another field trip–this time in to downtown Perth. The first thing we did was a visit to The Bell Tower where we got to do something special–ring the bells! First we learned a bit about the bells and the tower. Then the first group went and had a turn. We watched them pull on the bell rope, using the Sally (the fluffy, wool-covered section of the rope designed for grip), and then could see the bells ringing on the monitor since they were a floor above us. Afterwards, the girls and I had a chance. It was pretty cool! From there we walked up to the rooftop area for some wonderful views. And then we stuck around to watch/listen to the ANZAC bell ring at noon, the largest swinging bell in Australia and a lasting memorial to Australian and New Zealand servicemen and women involved in wars. It was very impressive.

Afterwards we walked around downtown Perth, enjoying a delicious lunch, checking out some of the beautiful architecture and doing a bit of shopping (Luisa has been begging for Uggs since November) on our way to our next stop, The Perth Mint.

The Perth Mint was very interesting, though was not what I was expecting. I was expecting to see the coin and paper money production, but it was actually about Western Australia’s gold rush history. We learned so much on the tour, and they had a great activity for the kids to keep them engaged.

From there we walked around a bit more before heading back to the rental home for dinner and bed. Another great day in Perth!

The next day we did one of my favorite things–we went to an evening festival on the beach with food trucks, live music and art vendors. We have been to a few during our time in Australia and have loved every single one of them! They always have such a good vibe. We have found that events in Australia are lively but not chaotic or crowded, which is a wonderful balance. Scarborough Sunset Markets did not disappoint.

On Friday after school, Hannah, Olivia and I went on a lovely walk through Kings Park where we went to the top of the DNA Tower, saw the Gija Jumulu (aka Giant Boab tree), and took in the views. It is a huge, diverse park right in the city, which is really nice.

That evening we had a really lovely dinner at our friends’ house and then wandered around their neighborhood, finding some delicious desserts and taking in the vibrant atmosphere. Unfortunately, I only got these two photos, but that must be a sign that I was living in the moment.

The next day was our last full day in Perth, and we went to another amazing beach with our friends. We had wanted to check out Cottesloe Beach anyways, and it turned out that they were having their annual Sculpture by the Sea, a free public gallery with over 70 sculptures on the beach and grassy area. It was so interesting! And the beach itself was perfect for swimming and relaxing. The only damper in an otherwise perfect day was when a kookaburra decided he absolutely had to have some of Hannah’s lunch and swopped down to our table a few times. It scared the crap out of her! But she recovered well, and we enjoyed the rest of the day.

We really enjoyed Perth, and are so glad we made the drive all the way from Melbourne. We returned our rental car after 41 days and had driven 6000km! What a privilege to have seen so much of this beautiful country.

We also packed up two more boxes of stuff to ship back to Germany (I have no idea where all this stuff is coming from because it does not feel like we shop often) and then flew from Perth to Sydney for the last leg of our Australian adventure.