Australia 🇦🇺 Day

When we planned our trip the idea of being in Australia for Australia Day was not part of the plan but amazingly things worked out that we are in Perth to celebrate this day which is a bonus and we were planning to go watch the fireworks and all but at the same time we had plans to go spend the evening with Lara Irons and her husband Matt and also meet up with my old high school hockey team mate Will Carey-Hill who I haven’t seen in about 25 years . So the plan originally was to go to the Aviary or some pub with a rooftop and watch the fireworks with beers in hand and that was ruined when we found out that bar was reserving tables at disgusting prices .... that’s a hard no from me . Then the idea of lining up with mobs of people to watch fireworks went south also as none of wanted to deal with all the bogans that would be there also so the whole idea of watching fireworks was squashed and instead we opted to go enjoy some live acts at the 

Fringe Festival

.... we picked this comedy act and a circus type act called Fuego Carnal. Should be fun . 

So to start the day we decided to go to the Red Dot which is kinda like a dollar store so we could buy some cheesy Australia hats and stickers and fun stuff for the day .... as you do as a tourist on these big celebratory days . Then with our hats on we went down to the wharf where we accidentally found the boat cruise that Lara had suggested a few days ago . We were approached by Dave from Wild West Charters and he started to give us the spiel when I mentioned Lara he said he would give us a discount so we jumped on the boat and did a quick 20 minute cruise with Dave driving like a wild man and we had fun on our impromptu little cruise , unfortunately the harbour was filled with boats docked for the fireworks show so we didn’t get to see any dolphins or anything and when the ride was over we were hungry and thirsty and low and behold there was an oyster bar right in the harbour . Who would’ve guessed ? What’s the chances that you can find oysters near water eh ? Oyster Bar Elizabeth Quay overlooks the harbour and had some yummy oysters on their menu which I scarfed down with a nicely poured gin and tonic that was garnished with strawberries . The more of these fruity garnishes I’m getting , the less intrigued by limes and lemons I’m becoming . Pomegranates and strawberries mixed with gin and tonics are the shit yo ! We couldn’t stay there all day as they had a private function starting soon and that was only $15 per person which is way way cheaper then what The Aviary wanted . I think they mentioned something like $500 per table or some crazy shit . 

After a good meal and a bit too much sun I had to find myself time to squeeze a nap in so we went back to our room to wait for the clock to hit roughly 4 pm when we had to leave to go meet the gang over at The Pleasure Dome which is an open area with no entrance fee for vendors to sell funky food while people doing shows were there promoting their acts that they were performing during the festival . It was really cool as we met Lara and Matt and grabbed a beer while having performers running around on stilts and people selling candies as if they were old school cigarette girls from speak easy’s. The beer was good and the weather was really nice out .... I prefer snow but this was more fitting for a night out on a patio with friends . We waited for Will to arrive before we grabbed some food and when he arrived we all dispersed and grabbed our own eats , I grabbed a chicken taco 🌮 which was pretty good but definitely not your traditional styled taco . All the food here is kinda like food truck style with their own twists and recipes which makes their food stand out amongst the rest . Immediately got to talking with Will about the old days and our old coach Mr.Christie and Chris Lanis and how things were and did a bit of gossiping amongst ourselves and it felt like I’d seen him the other day rather then having that 25 year separation . Will’s in good shape now and isn’t that skinny kid I remember from back in the day and he’s really doing well over here in Perth . It’s always good to see old friends doing well and if you ask me he is definitely happy over here and probably never moving back to Toronto but he’s still a Toronto boy at heart . I just gotta convince him to get back on the ice and I feel as though I failed in my quest to do so as the weeks leading up to my visit I continually pestered him to join us but hopefully I can keep on him and get him to rekindle that love for the game which he swears he still has . The first show we were going to watch is a Scottish comedian named Leo Kearse who by chance is performing at a pub called The Aberdeen . On our way there we stopped in for a pint at another bar and got to the venue a bit early and that’s where we spotted the elusive Fringe Festival event poster we wanted and Lara swore to nick one off the window on our way out . Leo Kearse was funny and we all left laughing at his stories and if you’ve ever seen him perform you would want a pig in your toilet too 😜I gotta look him up online to see if he has any of his acts on the internet floating around ! 

After the comedy show we had to almost sprint to the next venue to watch Fuego Carnal which absolutely blew me away and as I said if there was one word to describe this show I would say sexy . It is basically a troupe of performers doing crazy shit like juggling fire and swallowing swords and even throwing knives with blindfolds on all mc’d by the lovely ladies of the act . It was like a burlesque type of circus act and that’s why I say sexy ... not trying to be a perv or anything as the acts were not all women ok 👌 if you ever have the chance to watch this show don’t think twice ! When we left we were all smiling and amazed about the feats they performed and nothing looked phony at all . As they continually said ... don’t try this at home 🤗 after the show we all got pictures with the performers who were all really friendly and appreciative of their fans . They are a very humble group of people that do some amazing shit . Don’t hesitate to look them up seriously . 

After the show we headed back to the pleasure garden for some more food and beer and I had a Greek styled poutine which I really liked and everyone decided to grab some ice cream after as I opted for one more beer before heading home to our hotel room . Will gave us this great idea to go see kangaroos at Caversham Farms and Lara and Matt said they would help us out by driving us there in the morning so plans were made and it was time to fight our way through the crowds of drunk bogans to our hotel to call it a night . I know you are wondering what a bogan is ... look it up 🤪🤔✌️