Mandurah, Western Australia, 27 & 28 March 2011

Did I already mention how perfect the weather was in Mandurah? Perhaps this will give you an indication, if I have not already made it clear...

 - This is where we spent the vast majority of the holiday-

 - Trying to take photos out of the car window is not advised-

 - Aforementioned hirecar, I wouldn't buy one of these-

 - A beautiful boardwalk out over the edge of a lake-

 

-The edge of the lake, looking pretty-

 

- The Thrombolites! Apparently they are alive and are millions of years old-

 

- The lake, looking like the sea-

 

- These Thrombolites get 2 thumbs up for oddity-

 

- After our Thrombolite adventures I was in need of some retail therapy, so we headed off to Fremantle, this photo is in Mandurah on our way to breakfast, my dress is conveniently hiding an enormously fat person-

 

- It was extremely hot in Fremantle and there wasn't any shade, but it was very beautiful. This is the shoreline where a lot of smuggling happened-

 

- We saw this cannon get fired!-

 

- Me with evidence of retail therapy, in a whale hauling tunnel-

 

- Dim being annoyed about yet more photos-

 

- Awesome graffiti in Perth city near where we ate dinner. (Delicious Indian food)-

Mandurah, Western Australia, 25 & 26 March 2011

 - Poached eggs on toast with avocado, my favourite breakfast-

It seems that while in Mandurah I mostly took photos of food, so here are some food pictures for you to enjoy, along with the photos of the other things I remembered to photograph.

 

- In our awesome kitchen we made falafel -

 

- In the supermarket carpark we found this Jarrah tree which is 445 years old according to the sign-

 

-Me without makeup *gasp* out for dinner at Dolphin Quay after going to the beach-

 

Even though it was extreemly hot on the 26th we decided it would be a good idea to visit the local attraction- a miniature railway and village! We nearly died in the heat but the tiny houses were so lovely and the garden was beautiful, so of course I took a thousand pictures. Here is the highly edited 'best of' selection.

 

- All of the models are built by hand, to scale, and are exact replicas of real, famous buildings from England-

 

-Dim hiding from the heat in the hedge maze-

 

-The maze from above-

Riding My Bike- or- 100 Temples & Shrines in a Day

23 Feb:
Yet another random breakfast, 'Hotto Keeki' (Hot Cakes) filled with butter and mayple syrup, and an onigiri (rice ball). I promise to stop writing about breakfast as soon as I eat something normal.

Anyway! Today I rented a bicycle. Something I havn't done in Tokyo before and was more than a little apprehensive about, since the traffic in Tokyo is crazy. But it only cost 200Yen (about $3) so why not give it a try! All bicycles in Japan seem to have baskets and look like something my grandmother would have ridden in the 1940's. Mine was red. I loved it.

--- My Bike at a temple ---

--- My Bike after it got impounded because I parked it in the wrong spot ---

--- A Random Building with a Man on it ---

I had a vague notion to ride from Asakusa to Ueno, and then ride around the park looking for interesting things. On the way to Ueno I found quite a few interesting things, including a very cute dog, a lovely old temple (unfortunately it seems I took more photos of the temple CAT than the actual temple, so just use your imagination)

Ueno Park is huge and so beautiful. I will definitely come back here when Dim arrives and some of the cherry blossom trees are flowering. There were a lot of interesting things in Ueno Park, including, but not limited to: A man walking his cat, a man with a pet rabbit in a special house on the back of a scooter, a man doing interpretive dance to music while juggling, oh and there were a LOT of amazing temples and other things.

--- The Dove has a flame inside it which is from the Hiroshima atomic bomb ---

--- Asking someone to take my picture was scary! ---

--- This statue is more than 400 years old ---

While in Ueno Park I also went to a Tokyo culture and history museum. I was given a free guided tour by a lovely old man. I managed to take his picture.

--- These buildings are INSIDE the museum, and you are allowed inside them ---

Another place I visited which was recommended by the tourist information office was this wall:

--- A Wall ---

Now, I know that I often like things simple because they are old, this wall was not one of those things. It's a wall. Sure it is very old, but... it's a wall. There isn't even anything awesome behind it, just someone's house. The guys who were building a house opposite the wall looked at me like i was crazy because I was taking photos of it (or it may have been because I am a crazy gajin girl in a cape, on a bike)

The only other thing of note today was this important message for all you mothers out there:

This sign was in the bathroom. It was 'Caution, drop!' that really made me laugh. Of course you shouldn't drop your baby, but does it really need 4 illustrations (there was another sign next to it as well)??

Anyway, last photo for today is of a Final Fantasy be-decked shop. I didn't go in because I was worried my bike would get impounded again and then I wouldn't be able to find it.