Saturday 4th - after lunch I met with the Committee ladies from the Portuguese/Australian Women's Association in the city to discuss our next event in October.
In this photo we are holding a handmake Portuguese guitar (12 string instrument used to play Fado) an award which the Association won in August during the WA Portuguese Citizen of the year awards in the Community category.
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| Committee ladies from the WA Portuguese Women Association |
At 6pm Jose and I joined our son Michael and family at the Riverton Pub to celebrate his birthday.
Sunday 5th - it was Jose's birthday, but because I organized a celebration dinner for him for the 18th (due to Father's day on 5th, and a Father's Day Dinner/Dance at the Portuguese club, which we were attending), we had lunch at home, a slice of walnut cake, and then drove to Scarborough Beach for a walk in the sun and an ice-cream. At 6pm we joined 2 friends to watch a French movie (Eiffel) at the Windsor in Nedlands.
Friday 10th - We had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant - Elie's Tent, in Victoria Park, and Jose even got invited by the belly dancer to show his not so good Arabic dance skills. It was good fun, the food was delicious too.
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| The belly dancer that entertained us half way through dinner |
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| A baklava type dessert |
Saturday 11th - we attended the Father's Day Dinner/Dance at the Portuguese Club, when male members don't pay for dinner. The food was tasty, but far too much as usual, the music was good and we had fun dancing until midnight.
I took a walnut cake which I sliced into small squares to add to the dessert table.
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| Dinner - chicken leg, roast meat, potato, rice, green beans - Dessert table |
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| The hall was full. The young lady sang 3 songs and the rest of the evening was highlighted by the young man. |
Sunday 12th - a nice sunny day, and we spent it outdoors doing some gardening, lots of weeding and preparing the patio for Jose's birthday dinner.
I discovered a wagtail had made a nest under our old rotary clothes line that we now use as a cover over our veggie patch. It has been a few years since they had nested there. Can you see how they weave such beautiful nests?
Saturday 18th - We had about 20 people for early dinner to celebrate Jose's birthday.
Jose made Chicken Curry and I made Codfish with Cream sauce. I set out a plate of cheese, dips and crackers for starters, and decided not to make any desserts as most of the guests offered to bring desserts or cakes.
We were hoping for a nice sunny day, but it drizzled and was actually a bit cold, so even though Jose had put the outdoor gas heater on the covered patio, most people, specially the older generation preferred to eat indoors.
The last guests left at about 10pm and we managed to get 2 loads in the dishwasher and put everything away and kitchen cleaned by midnight!
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| Desserts for Jose's bday brought by the guests - I forgot to take a photo of the main dishes |
Sunday 19th - I had had an invitation to go to Darwin and managed to get a very reasonably priced flight (accommodation/tours had been paid for), so I departed on the 11am flight and landed in Darwin at 4pm (they are 1 1/2 hours ahead of Perth).
I checked in at the Oaks Elan Darwin Hotel, and from the 20th floor managed to spot a few murals in the city centre.
My friends and I walked to Darwin's Waterfront precinct and as nobody was actually too hungry we just ordered a few tapas to share for dinner at Wharf One.
Sadly Jose couldn't go with me as he had just started a new job in June :(
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| View from the 20th floor of the hotel room in Darwin |
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| Sunset over the bay seen from the hotel room in Darwin |
Monday 20th - Our tour bus picked 7 guests at the hotel at 8am for a day tour to Litchfield National Park and we returned to the hotel at 7pm after travelling about 400km and a few stops for a swim along the way.
From the 21st to 24th - our tour guide Paul picked the same 7 guests at the hotel and this time we drove to Kakadu National Park and Katherine Gorge. We drove and average of 400km a day from early morning till evening, with lots of stops, walks and climbs.
I'll write about my Darwin trip in separate posts as there is lots to say and plenty of photos too. I promise I won't post all of them 😉 as I took just over 2000 photos in 6 days!!
Needless to say I had an amazing time and was pleasantly surprised with the small city of Darwin and with all the natural beauty of the National Parks!
Saturday 25th - after checking out of the hotel, I had time for some last minute visits in Darwin and caught my flight home at 4,30pm and arrived at 6,30pm and my favourite driver picked me up.
Monday 27th - a public holiday in Perth, celebrating the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II (which is actually in April), and Jose and I went to Kings Park Botanic Gardens to see the wildflowers during the Spring Festival. The day had started cloudy but in the end it turned out to be a nice sunny day.
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| Kangaroo paws ( Anigozanthos spp.) one of Australia's most iconic native plant |
Kings Park is always a favourite spot for a walk with beautiful old trees, monuments to the heroes of the various wars and fabulous views over the city and South Perth.
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| The Pioneer Woman's Memorial and lots of ducks and ducklings around the lake |
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| Panoramic view of the city and South Perth taken from Kings Park |
After the visit to the Park we drove to Fremantle and stopped at Little Creatures Brewery for a drink with a view of the harbour.
When we drove home the sky had turned dark and I spotted a rainbow.
And so ended a very busy month of September! Hope you had a great month too.
Your month looks delightful! You seem to be dodging the lock-downs that many Australian bloggers are writing, and complaining, about. We aren't having big dinners here yet: way too many infections, still. It's fun to see someone in normal times.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
We have been lucky with no covid cases in the community, so we lead normal lives unlike the states of New South Wales and Victoria, but our State has been locked down so to speak with the rest of the world and with other States. So right now we can only travel within our State of to Tasmania or Northern Territory, as they are the only ones with no covid cases either. And of course you must be fully vaccinated too, and complete online forms to upload your certificates, get a type of visa to enter the other State...
Delete...Sami, you sure pack a lot into a month!
ReplyDeleteYou had a busy month.
ReplyDeleteQuite busy. Thanks William 😊
DeleteDearest Sami,
ReplyDeleteYou started off with a nice and quiet Birthday for José.
Several fun events you attended.
You took just over 2000 photos in 6 days!!
Does it take THAT MUCH for convincing José to go back there with you?! 😉
Kings Park Botanic Gardens was fabulous from judging your photos taken there.
Yes, our month of September as a very busy and hectic one. Glad we're almost through...
Hugs,
Mariette
From the photos he saw Jose is very keen to visit Darwin and the national parks too. I took far too many photos as usual 😁. Enjoy the rest of the week Mariette.
Delete🤗
DeleteIt was indeed busy with socialising we can only dream about, although some here have been with serious consequences.
ReplyDeleteI never think of wildflowers and Kings Park. There are some great blooms.
I always enjoy going through and sorting out the holiday photos, even though it is quite time consuming. The photos reinforce the memories as you look at them, and probably again when you are ready to post them here.
I'm sorry things are going too well in Victoria Andrew. Some people just don't think, like the two men who flew in to Perth to watch the AFL game from Victoria via Darwin with false papers, who had they been infected could have unleashed a serious problem here. September is the wildflower festival in Kings Park and in some country areas, although I have yet to visit those areas.
DeleteSorting out the photos is quite time consuming but fun to remember good times. Thanks Andrew, keep safe, have a nice weekend.
A very busy and fun month. As usual. : )
ReplyDeleteThanks Catarina :)
DeleteI was nearly blown away by the fact no one was wearing a mask. It was so normal looking. Here in my city, we have returned to wearing masks, although some still refuse to wear them or accept the 6 ft social distance guidelines. I bet they haven't been vaccinated, either.
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing all the celebrations Jose had during his birthday month. How nice he danced with the belly dancer. I am always hungry when I leave your monthly wrap up blog post. You eat so well.
Thanks for sharing your month with us, dear.
We have been lucky and only had 2 lockdowns (2 weeks of wearing masks in each lockdown), otherwise we haven't had cases so we lead normal lives, no mask wearing. Since the start of the pandemic we had a total of just under 1100 cases and only 9 deaths in our State (2,6 million people), but of course we are "closed" to all other States that have covid cases, and overseas too, hence we can only travel within our State and to Tasmania and Northern Territory where there are no cases either. As for vaccinations we are lagging behind the other States because people get complacent as we don't have cases, but forget we can't open up to the world until we reach 80% and we've only reached 47% double vaccinated! Thanks Elizabeth :)
DeleteWow, some foody celebrations. The belly-dancer is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteFun idea males don´t pay for Father´s Day dinner! Great!
Wow. To imagine without fingers to make a nest like that (well, OK, I couldn´t even with fingers...)
Happy belated Birthday, btw!
Oh, WOW. You made some kilometers on the run!
Oh, nonono... please... post all the pics! Last time we were in Darwin was 1999!
I can take 2000 pics (imagine what I had if back then... we still had real film-cameras).
Your favorite driver, cute saying.
Awww, and you took QANTAS! We could only do that from London, they don´t fly Frankfurt anymore.
Beautiful flowers.
Awww, Little Creatures. You really do make me "homesick"!
And a rainbow, what a fantastic way to end a post.
November 30th 2013 we got a rainbow in Joondalup, too. We were told it brings luck to a marriage :-)
The wagtail's nest is so perfect. I have seen them gather cat's hair for their nest, I wonder if they make their nest here because I have cats, lol. I hadn't been to Little Creatures since Dec 2019 when Karina and her French family visited for Christmas!
DeleteYou lead a busy life, filled with rounds of social activity, Sami. I must say that I much prefer small groups, two or three couples together at the table. I tend to get a tad claustrophobic in these very large gatherings, and I find the noise level really distracting. Now as for that belly dancer.....sign me up!
ReplyDeleteI agree David, the noise level is deafening!!
DeleteUm abraço e bom mês de Outubro.
ReplyDeleteAndarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
Livros-Autografados
Obrigada Francisco, bom mes para si tambem.
DeleteLoved the post. Great series of pics.
ReplyDeleteGreetings
Thanks Rupam 😊
DeleteWhat a busy month you had. My friends have been to Darwin. I believe they also visited the national parks and did some hiking there. It was a few years ago. I love your view over the city. And, all those flowers are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharon. It was a lovely city and I love the national parks.
DeleteWhat a great September you enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteYour photographs and mosaics were lovely to see, I especially liked the view over the city and the sunset in Darwin ...
Have a great October.
All the best Jan
Thank you Jan. Sadly I didn't get a chance to go to the beach to see the sunset and only got to see it from the hotel room.
DeleteI'd sum up your month with "food, flowers, friends!" The Portuguese Club sounds great and I love all the delicious sights and flavors you shared!
ReplyDelete