* Car and caravan put in for service, then cleaned at home from top to tail. They look brand new. Nothing that a day back on the road won't completely undo in a hurry...
* Biharys put in for service too - haircuts for all, long baths for the kids, the dentist for Budge. Again, nothing that a day back on the road...
* City explored - and voted our new favourite capital city in Oz. So much to love: the Swan River (and it's dolphins!), the views, the beaches, the humid weather, and the enormous, engaging Kings Park.
* Reunited with our neighbours from home (O'Loughlan St) who are house-sitting in Fremantle and let us camp in their driveway. The kids revel in having a house to play in again - a bath! morning TV! real couches!
* Shabbat dinner with cousins Yoni, Esther and Yara. Surrounding by family, warmth and a feast of food, it's just like being back home.
* A day at the footy... and victory for the mighty Saints.
* A tour of the Maritime Shipwreck Museum, where we see relics from the Batavia, whose gruesome history we have recently read about. (That infamous book that Sam devoured in 2 days... quite possibly the best read, ever!)
* A day of retail therapy, Bihary style, trawling the op shops of Fremantle. Importantly we top up our supply of audio storybooks, after noting how the kids can recite whole chapters from the few that we have on regular rotation. (Not exactly the sort of home schooling we had in mind. We're tempted to play CDs of times-tables from now on...)
* Many lovely meals shared with our hosts, including a (successful) spelt bread experiment. When we bring our contributions in from the caravan it gives new meaning to the concept of Meals On Wheels.
Having powered through our To-Do list, it's time to leave city comforts behind us once again. We're heading north into awesome country and we cannot wait.
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| Gazing upon the Swan River from Kings Park after doing our first reconisssance of Perth. Shortly after we tire the kids out with a series of "race to that tree... way, WAY, over there...we'll time how long it takes you..." sprints. |
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| Shabbat dinner with the beautiful Steingiesser family. |
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| All hands on deck to clean the car. |
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| Melbourne neighbours (and Fremantle super hosts) Carolyn, Lily and Cam, with the kids on the verandah ... our caravan parked in the driveway behind them. |
