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Sunday 2 March, Perth, and homeward

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This morning we had breakfast with Ken, then farewelled him as he headed back home to Duncraig. It was so great to have met and spent time with Ken - he made 94 look like a walk in the park. We then had a bit over 12 hours to spend with Todd and Lesley before the leg of our return trip.  Todd suggested heading out on a cruise up the Swan River, into Perth City and then returning to Fremantle. The cruise left at 12.45 and the return trip took about 3 hours. We went down to the wharf early and had lunch at a(nother) funky brewery called Gage Roads (and met a cute cavoodle pup named Shadow). The cruise itself was a really good way to see the local sights without worrying about traffic, or crowds, or finding our way around. On the journey towards Perth, we hopped around taking umpteen photos of every other thing, but the return trip was much more sedate as we were just able to watch it go by, knowing we had it captured already. There were some massive buildings along the waterfront as ...
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Saturday 1 March, HMAS Perth (I) Memorial Opening

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We still haven't got the hang of Perth time yet, and are both waking up early, but managed to get through to about 6am eventually. Taxi pickup was 8.30am, so we had plenty of time. Ken had arranged replica medals for Mum to wear, and she wanted to put them on early in case it was tricky to get them right with the 6 inch pin on the back. It turned out to be quite simple, so she was able to impress everyone in the dining room at breakfast. Several others in the hotel were attending the memorial opening, and we ended up chatting with them. We met a lovely chap whose father had also been lost on the Perth, and he and his 'party' travelled with us in the taxi van to the Memorial. Guests had been invited to be seated by around 9am for a 10am start, so that we could all appreciate the (tightly scheduled) arrivals of the dignitaries. Rows of seats were all set up by the time we got there, and a small brass band was warming up under the tree on the other side of the road. Coloured s...
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Friday 28th Feb, Fremantle town, and cousins!

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This morning, Nana and I set off into Fremantle to try to find breakfast for less than $34 a head. We wandered out via the hotel pool complex (though not in togs so we weren't able to enjoy the full experience!) The town around the hotel is quite funky and fun, with lots of interesting shops, and a large park opposite. We found the Ghetto Blaster cafe not far away, and ordered coffee, a granola bar and the largest Anzac biscuit the world has ever seen (breakfast for Mum for the whole weekend I think). It was a little hole-in-the-wall place with outside dining only, but lovely coffee and appealing food. And only $16.50 for both of us, so a good discount! There was another group there with a lovely guide dog named Sophie who came over to check if we were willing to share. After breakfast we continued to wander, marvelling at the interesting shops - hardly any major chain retailers, at least where we were. There seemed to be bookshops at every turn, a New Edition bookshop, a second ha...
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