I'm still here.

Last weekend (or is it?) at Floreat Beach

Well, I was supposed to leave Perth this past Monday. But I'll be darned if the aggravations from my first flight didn't follow me right to the end! Alas.
When I headed to the airport to check in my luggage, I was told that while my name was on the fly list, my return flight to Toronto had been cancelled. Why? Because I had missed my connecting flight with Etihad from Dublin--the plane that was 9 hours behind schedule. Apparently it's policy to cancel returning flights if the first one was missed for some reason... But nobody cared to mention that to me back in July. 

So, because of someone else's error in not reissuing my returning ticket after switching around my flights, I've been left without a flight back home. Now, it's been three days of back and forth calls between Etihad and Aer Lingus, and I'm still waiting on whether I will be granted a flight back by one of them. The option given was that we pay for another flight and maybe get reimbursed. Um, no?? Not if the flights to and from Australia were already paid for, and that the first missed flight wasn't even my fault. 

While it certainly is frustrating to not be able to fly out when I was supposed to and deal with all this garbage, it's not terrible having to stay a few more days either (if not longer, ho-hum). In fact, it has given me the opportunity to properly wrap things up on this blog: it's been a whirl wind trip of giggles, tears and numerous nappy changes. Before this visit, I hadn't had much experience in looking after kids age four and lower; I wasn't sure how I would be with H, and whether I'd be any good at the whole parenting gig. But since I've been staying with him, I've grown much more at ease in my role as "Auntie," and of course, much fonder of him. 

At the same time, I've also had the chance to familiarize myself with a city/country that I had never visited before. Perth, otherwise known as the most isolated city in Australia, is a neat place. Perhaps it's not as grandiose as Sydney or Melbourne, but it still has a certain... Je ne sais quoi. It's got the beaches, the ocean, the wineries, the kangaroos... And it wants you to come visit. Desperately. 

It's so very lonely.

It's also no secret that I've grown considerably addicted to the coffee culture around here. It is amaaaaaaaazing. Not only that, but it has forever raised my standards of iced coffee; if it doesn't have either ice cream and/or whipped cream, then sadly it's a deal breaker. (The other two things I became addicted to was the yogurt, the cheese and the Connoisseur Ice cream.)

The other deal breaker would be to stay in a place with no dance classes. But thankfully, Perth has the amazing Western Australian Ballet! (see: Cinderella.) It only was for a few months, but I enjoyed taking a weekly intermediate ballet class with a delightfully witty instructor.

Viewing my first-ever live cricket match with Australia facing New Zealand

My time in Australia also coincided with some big events: 

-The big election where everyone welcomed Malcolm Turnbull, and said farewell to Tony Abbott by leaving onions on their doorsteps 

-The Grand Final of the AFL (Hawthorne triumphed)

-The Melbourne Cup (Prince of Penzance!)

-The Australia vs New Zealand cricket tournament (ongoing as we speak)

-Prince Charles' visit to Perth with Camilla. (See the exclusive footage of his drive-by below.)

We also visited the Perth Zoo a few weekends ago; it was nice, but it was later in the day, when the animals were settling down for the evening, and the park was getting ready to close.

There you have it. I didn't end up meeting a Hemsworth brother (sadly), but I didn't come across any dangerous insects (outside of the zoo), so that's a plus. If I'm still here next week (I might be), I'll be sure to update. But as of late, I've been delving into the depths of my imagination with this thing called NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month), in an attempt to achieve the impossible: writing a novel of 50,000 words by the end of the month. I'm not at the halfway point yet, although I probably would be if I had been on a plane with nothing to distract me. Whether I will succeed is a matter of time, determination and chutzpah.

Thanks for a thrilling time, Australia! I know you want me to stay, but never the less, wish me luck in getting back to Canada (and getting this novel done by the end of the month).

Day at Rottnest Island

Hello November, my old friend. For some of us, that means the impending descent into winter madness, while elsewhere in the world (like here in Australia), November means both summer. Oh, and Christmas. Still can't get my head around that one. I mean, it's warm! In November! And they're already preparing for Christmas here! Oy.

Anyhow.

This post is a few weeks overdue. I mean, zeesh. The four of us finally ventured out to the famed Rottnest Island the previous weekend, and spent the day roaming about. It was a good day to visit--not too cool and not too warm. It was a bit overcast in the morning, but it brightened up nicely by the afternoon.

We got an early start; we took the 8:45 am ferry down the Swan River through Perth--a journey that took an hour--all the way over to Fremantle. From there, we carried on across the bay to Rottnest, which made for a nice bumpy ride on the waves. Harrison, meanwhile, did his toddler duty of providing the entertainment on the ride--he wandered around with his bouncy ball, and made friends with other passengers, both young and old. (No matter where he goes, he always attracts attention.)

I didn't know what to expect when we arrived, but I was pleasantly surprised by how pretty a place it was--lots of scenic views, turquoise water, and craggy cliffs. It was even warm enough to go snorkelling, although we didn't do that. Instead, we took a bus and had a brief tour of the island. You could also bike around the island if you wanted to.

There was whale watching available, but with Harrison being too young to go on the boat, we had to settle for watching them from land. Not that we minded it, because it made for some spectacular scenery. Plus, we could see them spouting off in the far off distance. (If I had been able to get a great shot of a whale breaching, I would have definitely come up with a caption like this.) 

We saw a ton of seals swimming around in one bay, but I sadly could not get a close enough focus on them with my camera. Lucky enough, there was a binocular stand to get a closer look at them.

In the afternoon we stopped off at the restaurant to have lunch before heading back. There was a peacock around, just struttin' her/his stuff, so naturally I had to get a picture of it.

Someone was clearly enjoying themselves.

The island was overrun by quokkas, known for being one of the happiest creatures on earth. Not to mention probably the cutest. We saw plenty along the side of the road (alive, I should note) and people petting them, because they are quite tame. I wanted to get up close with them, and I did, but only before we had to leave.  

Overall, a really nice day! It was great to get out and visit Rottnest and experience the coastal beauty.