Perth, Western Australia: Guildford Antique/Arts and Craft Store Strip, Guildford Hotel, The Margaret River Chocolate Company

Perth, Western Australia: Guildford Antique/Arts and Craft Store Strip, Guildford Hotel, The Margaret River Chocolate Company - Day 10

Today's plan was another family outing with Enigma and I along with my brother, sister, and Mum. My brother had suggested we all meet up in Guilford, a suburb (and historical town) of Perth, which was around 15 to 20 minutes up the road from our apartment.

In particular he suggested browsing the many antique, arts, and craft stores in the main part of the town. There was one in particular he wanted us to visit called Dr Russell's Imaginarium, which specializes in old movie memorabilia. Sadly the physical store closed at the end of 2023 (see link for more info).

Our meet up point was Alfred's Kitchen, a train car out door burger café that opens after 5pm that is the longest running roadside kitchen in Perth. My brother suggested it because he knew it would be closed and we could use the carpark which was virtually across the road from the antique store strip.

Enigma and I arrived just as my brother texted to say he, my sister, and Mum were just leaving, so that gave us some time to kill.

Behind Alfred's Kitchen, over the railway line was St. Mathew's Church, surrounded by a heritage park that looked like it had a few things to see and take photos of, so we headed over.

Most of the park was filled with World War One memorials, including a commemorative rose garden dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC soldiers who fought during that war.

War Memorial Statue dedicated to the Light Horsemen that fought in World War One.

While there were plenty of photogenic memorial statues there was also plenty of informational signage with historical photos, part of a heritage walk, giving you a history of the region. Certainly worth a walk around if history is your thing.

About a half hour later, the rest of my family arrived and we headed over to the antique shops. While it was certainly interesting picking through them, I didn't really take any photos. I do find these kinds of stores interesting to browse though.

Dinosaur and Lion statues outside the Museum of Natural History in Guildford.
We didn't go in here but I had to take a photo of the dinosaur.

Unfortunately when we got to Dr Russell's Imaginarium it was closed. As it turns out it's only open Friday to Sunday... Thursday, not so much! Which was a bit disappointing but (spoiler), Enigma and I will visit it two days later. More when I write about day 12.

Still, there were other shops to browse in the same area, and by that point we were ready for lunch. We headed back up the strip to the Guildford Hotel where we were greeted by a very enthusiastic young wait staff lady who overloaded us with too much info just trying to get a table.

Upstairs balcony at the Guildford Hotel.
At some point the hotel was gutted by
fire and features things like this spiral
staircase that now goes nowhere.

Somehow she sent my brother and sister on a browse upstairs to see if we wanted to sit up there but with no lift in sight and two flights of fairly steep stairs there was no way sitting upstairs was an option (due to Enigma still recovering from a knee replacement making stairs a challenge).

Finally we managed to get a table downstairs with a little more deliberation on the ideal table. Apparently the one near the windows would be too warm so we sat somewhere more central.

Our waiter lady proceeded to give us too much information about how to order, highlighting the QR code system or the option of ordering at the bar. Later I noticed there was a giant poster sign explaining everything the girl had covered in very clear and concise way. As much as our waiter was trying to be helpful and customer focused, I think she should, perhaps, end her spiel by directing people to the poster sign.

Anyway, I ended up ordering their Cheese burger with fries. Enigma had a chicken burger with chips, while everyone else went with the fish and chips (which was a huge plate of food in comparison to our burgers which were modestly sized for a hotel meal).

After lunch we spent quite a while working out where to go next with many options being closed, not really what we wanted, or too far away.

Enigma had been looking through a couple of tourist books of the area, we had picked up while browsing the second hand stores. She came across The Margaret River Chocolate Co. which turned out to be 6km up the road, in the Swan Valley, and had a café that was open until 5pm. So I suggested we head out there and stop for a tea or coffee in the café. Everyone seemed happy with the plan.

When we got there I was actually surprised at how big the shop and café were. I was expecting a more typical small store (something like a Haigh's Chocolate store) with a small café on the side.

This place was small supermarket huge with large indoor and outdoor (under a large veranda) space for the Café. Well worth the visit and you can actually sample chocolate for free.

The Margaret River Chocolate Co. Store.

Enigma bought a few things for the grand kids, chocolate covered jelly snakes for us, and then we both had a large hot chocolate in the café. I felt it was a great end to the day out as we all headed home.

Comments

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Guest Post: New Novel - Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 2 - The Outlaw's Return

A lmost a year ago I featured Go West Girl , Book 1 of author, Kit Mackenzie's Alias Jeannie Delaney series. Now, the next book in the series, Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 2 - The Outlaw's Return , is soon to be released in August, and is available for pre-order on Amazon. If you love a powerful female lead in a traditional western packed with action and adventure, this is the novel for you. The story centers on Cowgirl Jeannie Morgan who grew up in Coyote Creek, Wyoming, where she became persecuted for her lethal gun and a sexuality that swings both ways. Tomboy beautiful and tough as the nails in a miner's boots, she is on the run with a bunch of boys who would die for her. Her snake strike gun, soul-slicing gaze and dangerous magnetism leaves a trail of intense emotions, killings and would-be death threats in her wake. Heading south, she finds herself becoming a legend. She's in deep trouble, but her home town demands her return and they pin a badge on her. It'

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Four Years into a Post Pandemic World and Secondary COVID-19 Might be a Thing?

Social distancing 2020 style. A fter not being too far from COVID-19, potentially patient zero in Australia back in 2020. Four years later my partner finally tested positive for the virus. Then I inevitably caught it as well. You might think, so what, but I'm honestly surprised we've lasted this long. My partner works at an aged care facility that has fought off numerous outbreaks over the years, and continues to do so. Workers at her facility take RAT tests daily so you know pretty quick if you test positive. Workers then have to isolate at home for at least seven days until they're clear. COVID-19 symptoms can vary in intensity and you may not get the full range (at least to my knowledge and experience). My partner seemed to get it fairly bad with tiredness, aching joints, loss of taste and smell, along with cold and flu like symptoms (sore throat, congestion etc). While we did try to social distance, keeping our distance, hand washing, and not sleeping in the same room

The First US Presidential Debate 2024 - America You're Standing In It

M ost of the time I get my fill of American political news from clips of The Daily Show , which I know many people accuse of being more political left leaning than balanced with its humour. As such it was my first port of call when looking for commentary on the recent, first US Presidential debate for 2024. I say first because I don't know if they'll do another one. I'd strongly advise they don't. Getting your news from a comedy show isn't ideal, even one as arguably intelligent as The Daily Show, because they're focussed on what can be laughed at, more than serious analysis. As such their coverage very well could be making both candidates look more foolish than they may actually be. As such I decided to watch the full replay of the debate so I could get more of a sense of who both candidates are and how they come across in, what should be, their ideal platform - debating the opposition. Before Donald Trump became President I was a fan. I watched every season o

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog