Monthly Wrap-up - December & Signs

Joining Tom's Signs. Check this link for other signs from around the world.

Monday 1st - First day of Summer and Perth sweltered with 39C, the highest start to Summer since 1979!!

ABC news image

Friday 5th -  an early start to the day with an 8,45 appointment with my GP, then early lunch with my Italian friend/neighbour Maria.

In the evening we went to the last Codfish night at the Portuguese Club.

Sunday 7th - Christmas neighbourhood picnic at the park across my house. Always nice to meet new people and chat to others you already know.

Thursday 11th - Jose went out to dinner with 2 friends and I joined Wendy, the wife of one of them for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Subiaco.  I took the opportunity to photograph a couple of murals that I hadn't photographed fully painted (since Nov 2024!) and also to check the Christmas lights in the area.

Subiaco Christmas lights

Sunday 14th - Coffee with all my now ex-work colleagues at Coffee Club at Bull Creek shopping centre. Perth had a storm in the afternoon!

Thursday 18th - Karina and Thomas arrived from Qatar before lunch.

What a nice sign :)

Even the airport has selfie Christmas spots

Friday 19th - Karina and Thomas went out to lunch to celebrate their 7th wedding anniversary. I gifted them a Wedding photo album (Karina had never done one), and had one printed for us as well as one for Thomas's parents.

 In the early evening we all went to the city to see the Christmas lights. 

St George's Church

Various installtions in the city

Boonji - the 7mt tall Spaceman sculpture in Stirling Gardens in front of Council House, was installed in May last year and will remain on loan from US artist Brendan Murphy for 1 year.

On the drive home through the suburb of Victoria Park I spotted some Christmas lights and Jose stopped for me to take photos. 

Christmas lights in Victoria Park

As I got back into the car I saw a car that was all lit up parked across the street. Not sure it it's legal, but I'm sure it attracts lots of attention :)

Saturday 20th - After a quiet day at home I had the idea of a picnic at sunset in Kings Park Botanic Gardens. Didn't get to see the sun go down, but we saw the buildings lights go on, and of course the view over the city and Swan River is just magical.  Lots of families were doing the same enjoying a balmy evening outdoors.

Just after 9pm when we were starting to pack up we were surprised with fireworks coming from the end of town. It was a lovely end to a pleasant evening.

Sunday 21st - our 10 year old double door fridge/freezer decided to die on us just when it was full of Christmas goodies. The freezer was still working but the fridge wasn't. Due to the repair cost and age of fridge we thought best to buy a replacement which was delivered the following day. So we had to fill up 2 cooler boxes with ice and also used our camping fridge to store our food till delivery of new fridge.

After our purchase we drove to Fremantle, to visit the Fremantle Markets are Karina wanted to buy some souvenirs, then had a late lunch at Gage Roads Brewery. 

Beer tins Christmas tree at Gage Roads

I ate the usual Fish & Chips, my favourite meal in a pub, and we shared a Tuna Ceviche entree. 

As we sat waiting for our food in the outdoor terrace, we saw the yachts from the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race leaving the harbour and lots of people cheering for them.

Thomas, Karina and Jose in front of the Gage Roads mural - Where the sand meets the sea, from 2022 by Kristin Garland, Ash-Lee Clarke and Gail Vandenbok

Wednesday 24th - We held our usual Christmas Eve dinner at our house - this year there were 11 adults and 3 kids. The kids got their gifts after dinner and kept busy playing with them. We managed to eat outdoors as luckily it gets cooler in the evenings.

Friends brought desserts and salads, I made Creamed Codfish and Jose made a Prawn Curry and rice.

Thursday 25th - With a predicted temperature of 40C on Christmas day, we had to change our plans for lunch in the patio. An extra table was brought inside to sit the 11 adults and 4 kids. It was an animated lunch to which everyone contributed with some salads, lasagna and various desserts. I had another tray of creamed codfish.

When the guests left, Jose thought it would be a good idea to drive to Point Walter, (20 min), to watch the sunset and have a bit of a walk to digest lunch.

Christmas lights in my neighbourhood:

Friday 26th - the 4 of us went to Boorla Bardip Museum (Perth Museum) to see the Terracotta Warriors - Legacy of the First Emperor. A journey through the life, legacy and afterlife of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuang – from ancient daily life to the monumental tomb built to secure his rule in eternity.

We all loved it, it was well set out and very informative too. The exhibition runs until the 22nd February 2026.

Perth Museum (the old Museum on the right to which the new modern wing was added in 2020

                                       

Chinese warriors statues in front of the Swan Bells to attract attention to the exhibition at the Museum

The great Qin dynasty only lasted for 15 years, as Qin Shihuang died suddenly in 210BCE while on tour of his empire at the age of 49 years. His rightful successor, his eldest son was poisoned and his 18th son was put on the throne, but he was weak and a corrupt puppet who had his brothers as well as his ministers killed. After just 3 years on the throne in 207 BCE, Hu Hai, aged 22 was forced to commit suicide, marking the collapse of the Qin dynasty.

Nevertheless Emperor Qin's legacy was significant and long lasting -a network of superhighways, canals, bridges, walls, palaces and cities connecting all parts of the empire.

After unifying China, where each kingdom had their own written language, he mandated the use of the Qin script with over 3000 standardised characters. He also created standard weights measures and coins to facilitate trade.

Protectors of the after life

Relics unearthed in the ancient tombs of Shaanxi Province, including an army of terracotta warriors, tell the story of an ancient and enduring culture. The Terracotta Army was created to protect the emperor in the afterlife, reflecting he power of the real Qin military. The army was found in 3 great pits 1,5 km east of Qin Shihuang's tomb, strategically positioned east to defend against the lands Qin had conquered. 

This archeological discovery (discovered by farmers in 1974) remains one of the most significant in history, and was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Discoveries at the Qin Mausoleum have been called the 8th wonder of the world - from 1974 to 2012,  circa 7000 life-sized terracotta soldiers, horses, carriages and weapons, two half-size bronze carriages, 80 suits of armour, 46 bronze birds and a colossal imperial palace with 18 courtyard style houses have been uncovered.

Replicas of a Qin Dinasty chariot and horses unearthed in 1980. The originals are made of baked clay, dating back to the late third century BCE.

This intricate suit of armour is made up of 600 stone pieces held together by bronze wire threaded through holes drilled in the corners - Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE*)

*(before Christian era)

Lit up replicas of the Chinese warriors around the Museum

Sunday 28th - We went to Coogee Beach before lunch, but it was so windy, we only stayed long enough for the 3 of them to have a quick swim. (I hate cold water!)

In the early evening we drove to Subiaco for a Bbq at our friend's Wendy & Lido's new abode. On the way there I spotted a mural being painted and asked Jose to stop the car and had a quick chat to the artist. I asked his name and he said Jordan Paolillo - the one that had painted the "Mountain Climber" mural I posted about here. I took a photo of him in front of the still incomplete mural. Will have to go back to see the completed mural, which he said would be ready 3 or 4 days later.

Jordan Paolillo painting a mural in Hay street, Subiaco

After dinner, the 6 of us walked around Subiaco and took some fun photos :)

It turned into a windy night too, hence the jackets and scarf for me!

Lido, Wendy, me and Jose

Karina, Thomas, Jose and I

I also spotted some funny signs:

Sign at a Perth cafe

Monday 29th - Thomas and Karina invited us to dinner at Petition, a restaurant inside the renovated State Buildings in the heart of Perth. Fantastic food and faultless service!

State buildings

The 4 of us before going to Petition restaurant

Stirling Gardens, across from the State Buildings: Gumnut Baby statues and Boonji the Spaceman. 

Tuesday 30th - a visit to the Titanic - The human story exhibition.

A very well laid out and informative exhibition, concentrating on the stories of some of the people that sailed on the Titanic. Also displays of furniture and dinner sets from the various classes (1st to 3rd).

Cost of ticket on Titanic in today's prices

Ships corredor, first class dining and bedroom suite

When Titanic hit the iceberg on the 14 April 1912 at 11,40pm , the SS Carpathia who was nearby was one of the boats that came to the rescue.

Total number of passengers in each class and number that survived and perished

Names and photos of passengers

Tickets had a timed entrance, and were probably restricted to a certain number of people, but I still thought the first 2 rooms were a bit crowded and people had to wait to get closer to read all the boards on the walls.

Wednesday 31st - We took the train into the city and then a bus to Kings Park so we could get a great view of the Swan river from where we could watch the 8,30 Family fireworks, that lasted 15 minutes. 

Dressed for the New Year's Eve

After the fireworks show we walked to Aurora Rooftop Bar, on the 6th level of The Melbourne Hotel for our New Year's Eve party - just nibbles and drinks and great music - the DJ was really great, playing a mix of new hits and old songs from Abba, Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, Elton John, Olivia Newtown John .... The place wasn't crowded and there was a 50/50 mix of young people and people in their 50's and 6o's.

Just before midnight we decided to leave the venue as it didn't have a view of the fireworks, and returned to Kings Park to see the midnight show. Even though the area appeared to be more crowded, we managed to get a spot in almost the same place as before, which was lucky - I think I stood next to the same palm tree as I had some leaves appearing to the left of all my photos :). 

The midnight fireworks - this time there were fireworks also coming from Elizabeth Quay as well as from the Swan River

At the stroke of midnight when the fireworks started we heard a lot of people screaming behind us, but in a excited kind of way. We looked back and saw that the sprinklers had set off and people were getting wet, hence all the screaming while they were trying to move further back. 

A bit of an oversight from the gardeners who forgot to turn off the timed sprinklers on a day when people would be in Kings Park at that time!

We all had fun, and when it all ended everybody walked off in a good mood, wishing people a good year. We walked to a main road from where we could get an Uber home and got home just after 1am! After a quick call to my parents in Portugal we went to sleep.

Showy honey-myrtle (Melaleuca nesophila)

A Pink and Gray Galah and a magpie having a bit of a fight on an electrical wire above our driveway. One of the cheeky galahs :)

Happy New Year!