Perth -- Trigg Island

Perth is the capital of Western Australia. We arrived in the city after a four hour plane flight from Sydney. Like the two coasts in the States, the time change was three hours. Toward the end of our flight as the skies cleared and the plane began it's approach, I looked down on the driest land I've ever seen. There were few trees and what there were appeared to be brown rather than green. Riverbeds were a white color--perhaps salt deposits left behind?

As we neared Perth however the landscape changed from flat dry red dirt to a hilly terrain and more and more trees were evident and growing greener as we got closer to the ocean. Residential areas dotted the scene increasingly and soon the city itself came into view. I let out a sigh of relief as we landed. For a short time, I'd wondered if we'd be spending the next six days in a dry dusty spot in the middle of nowhere.

We picked up our rental car and drove north of the city to Trigg and located our B&B--home for the next week. This is only the second time we've stayed in a B&B. Our first experience turned us off to the idea. We were careful to research and be sure that it had ensuite bathrooms. (The B&B we booked in England had a shared bathroom--not a pretty sight in the morning.)

The Trigg Retreat turned out to be a beautiful house in a residential area a couple of blocks from the beach. Our hostess, Susan, welcomed us and showed us around, then left us to settle in. The room came with a little refrigerator in the closet (wonder if it would work at home) and supplies for making tea.

The bathroom was large and spotlessly clean. This was a place I could feel at home in. Our breakfast consisted of wonderful fresh fruit, juices, cereals, yogurt, toast, cinammon bread, croissants, and delicious pressed coffee. A hot breakfast menu for $10 was available as well. Each morning we ate in the small garden patio area and enjoyed the cool fresh morning air.

After unsuccessfully trying to find a church with an evening service to attend, we ended up at a pizza place in the little town of Scarborough just south of Trigg. The pizza was a little different--not your usual mozarella and their pepperoni was called hot sausage but it was excellent.

Hunger satisfied, the evening waning, we returned to our room and programmed our Never Lost GPS for the next day's trip to Fremantle. The GPS reminds you to mind your speed. It should also remind you to stay on the left side of the road. It takes a while to adjust. 'Nuf said.