I found a new hobby - nail art! Decided to draw music notes on my fingernails (against a light pink shimmery base) the other day, as I wanted to de-stress. Wore these for a few days before they started chipping - and now I have plain fingernails with clear nail polish. No more short, stubby nails for me, since I don't play piano as often - I'm growing my fingernails a tad longer these days.
Whoa - time sure flies! I just celebrated my third-month "anniversary" with my PhD thesis. Yes, it's been 3 months since I commenced my candidature, and man, so many things have happened! Lots of writing, reading and all - I reckon I've read at least 80 journal papers already!
Anyway - I managed to take one of the weekends off to gallivant around Perth. I haven't been exploring the Perth CBD for quite some time! I reckon it's been at least 6 months since I explored Perth CBD properly. So this time - instead of going to Fremantle (where I usually hang out), I decided to take a de-tour to Perth CBD...
Stopped by at Theobroma Chocolate Lounge at St George's Terrace for a bite - and since I was craving for hot chocolate, I decided to go for the mug. It was BIG. I'm so glad I'm getting my appetite back now - at the start of the month, I just couldn't eat a single thing...but now, I'm slowly going back to becoming a big eater, like I've always been.
Theobroma Chocolate Lounge was situated in this beautiful heritage building which also housed the Linton and Kay Art Gallery (for some of the older pics of this place - I did a post on this art gallery last year). Speaking of which - the artwork along the main entrance had been updated!
I know I've got plenty of pics of these stained glass windows - but this time I did some changes to the camera settings (including setting my white balance to "Cloudy"), to get a warmer tone to the pics. Last year, I had these pics with a cooler tone...this time I wanted to bring out the warm colours - like the browns, reds and yellows.
The facade of the old Perth Technical School (where Linton and Kay Art Galleries was situated). The old signboard at the door has been replaced by a simple, chic sign on the side of the building.
Not too far away - the Heritage Restaurant and Bar - I kinda "borrowed" this pics from a previous post, simply because this place is awesome and deserves more attention :) Well - let's just say that there's now an option for al fresco dining at this place...and the doors are kept open more often nowadays...I'd definitely go back in for a look someday.
This was my first time (in months) to the newly refurbished Brookfield Place - a hub for restaurants, bars and all. So I decided to have a quick walk through...
Took a walk up St George's Terrace, and spotted this vintage looking entrance. Building was closed for the weekend. But when I looked through the glass on the doors - I saw a really stylish and expensive looking lobby! And that pic was added to my collection of course!
Plaques along St George's Terrace - commemorating eminent Western Australians. I chose Eileen Joyce for a very obvious reason - she's a PIANIST! And I'm a pianist too! :)
The Cloisters - a heritage building not too far away. It's actually a convict-built colonial building - which was constructed as a secondary school for boys in 1858. The building currently houses a cafe, as well as other offices. In front of the original entrance - there's a statue of Bishop Matthew Blagden Hale - the founder of Hale School (prominent boy's school in Perth). Currently, the Cloisters is heritage-listed.
In the early 1900s, before the skyscrapers were built, the Cloisters was a standalone building right in the heart of the city. Now it's been dwarfed by several skyscrapers behind it.
Spotted this beautiful horse sculpture right on top of yet another office building, along St George's Terrace.
Headed down Milligan Street - a place which I rarely go to, and guess what? I spotted this awesome bar here! The Melbourne Bar! Housed in a heritage building - double likes!! Although I've fallen in love with Perth, I still miss Melbourne...and seeing this really made my day...somehow.
Some more heritage buildings in the precinct...
And the famous His Majesty's Theatre along Hay Street! His Majesty's Theatre was built between 1902 and 1904, and is one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in Perth. The building was designed by William G. Wolfe in Edwardian Baroque style. I've actually been inside the theatre for a performance of Swan Lake (last August)...and the inside is absolutely gorgeous!
Well - I should also say - the outside is equally gorgeous. Check out the beautiful ornamentation, balconies and all! And the intricate details!
I should also admit - this is my first time taking pics of His Majesty's Theatre, so all hell broke loose...
I reckon it's rainy season now - so there were puddles on the ground. And one of the bigger puddles had the reflection of His Majesty's Theatre in it! So I experimented with a couple of pics...
Along the way - while walking to the train station - I spotted murals outside some restaurants. So I stopped by to take some pics.
Took the train to Fremantle -and arrived just in time for sunset! Or rather - I arrived slightly earlier and was engrossed in looking at vinyl records in a record store along High Street in Fremantle :) Either way, I managed to make it in time to Bather's Beach!
There were heavy clouds that day - and I knew that I'd probably not get a full view of the sunset. It didn't really matter anyway - I decided to go with cloudscapes instead! Well - the heavy clouds ended up looking pretty dramatic in the end!
What I like about rainy season - high tide. I had a really nice time taking long-exposure pics of the tide. I should really do this more often, before the tide dies down again!
Made a surprising discovery too - when I was taking pics of the tide, this cute little bunny appeared out of nowhere and came to say hi! He was pretty docile, and was looking around curiously. A couple pointed him out - and I immediately took out my telephoto lens and took a couple of pics of him! He just stood there, posing happily...until the next wave came in and I had to focus on the waves instead!
Ended off the day by having Japanese katsu curry at Gohan's Japanese Cafe, along the Cappuccino Strip. Yet another Japanese eatery to add to my list - this place serves really awesome curry!
I shall end off with a collage of the vinyl records I found in the record store! One day - I'm going to get a vinyl record player and collect vinyl records! 33-1/3 inch long-play (LP) vinyls are THE BEST!
Signing off for now - with more pics coming your way for sure!