Some mornings it is just so hard to move. The opportunity to stay put in one place for 3 weeks has started to render us well and truly in holiday mode with the rest of Australia. It was 12:15pm before we piled into the car and headed back to Fremantle deciding not to travel by public transport today as we did yesterday.
We had 2 things on our agenda today: To visit the Fremantle Prison and to wander the Fremantle Markets. Well, we achieved one of the two. By the time we got to “Freo”, lunch was the priority. We raced through the markets and searched for something to suit us all. We ended up with a mix of pizza and pad thai with tofu and washed those down with some locally made boiled sweets. We then retraced our steps and wandered at a more leisurely pace through the market. It is a rabbit warren of hidey-holes with talented craftspeople selling their wares. There were a lot of recycled vintage items, handmade jewellery, leather goods and amazing treasures from all over the globe. To match this we saw a lot of tie dye wearers and dread locks. It is such a cosmopolitan place and I would have been happy to sit and people watch for hours. I seriously love to plonk myself down and if we have time, to wile away hours, just watching the diverse range of people in the different parts of Australia that we travel to. Melbourne, our home city, is particularly good for this. The range of cultures and clothing that you can see in one city street is amazing. It is certainly inspiration for when you get up and get dressed in the morning to reflect on your recent people watching adventures. But, I digress…
We then took a wander along the cappuccino mile, stopping for a drink and the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere. Fremantle is a quaint place, its buildings are full of character and we saw almost no modern buildings. The footpaths and roads are all paved and tree lined. A town full of character and history.
We passed a “Timezone” (pinball arcade) and Caleb challenged Ray to a game of air hockey. Caleb won 7 to 3 and I was impressed with Ray’s ability to “throw” the game without detection! Hmmm…
We realised that it was close to 6:00pm and the Fremantle Doctor had arrived. The Fremantle Doctor is the refreshing trade wind that arrives each afternoon and cools things down considerably. I was freezing! We decided to come back on Sunday and tour the Fremantle Prison then. We have plans to pick up Tinie (Ray’s sister) and have a day out at the Swan Valley tomorrow. I’ve heard there is a chocolate factory, a nougat factory and a dozen wineries. Sounds absolutely perfect to me!