Had some time off from studying the other day, so I did this :)
Before we start today's post, I'm gonna digress a little...and talk about the surreal experience of...
THE JULIE ANDREWS EXPERIENCE!!
The event was held at the Riverside Theatre (Perth Exhibition and Convention Centre) - right smack in the middle of the city. I had been waiting for Dame Julie Andrews to come to Australia for AGES...and last night - there she was, standing right on stage - right in front of us. Up close! :) Well - I bought my tickets a couple of months before the event - so I had an awesome seat and I got to see and hear her awesome stories! Believe me, she has such a wonderful sense of humour...and her stories were thoroughly entertaining! A totally magical experience, indeed. The snippets of the films she did were equally hilarious...especially the bloopers. Oh - and she closed the show with "Edelweiss" - and made us all sing along. I should say - she just has that cantabile quality to her voice. Even when speaking. She doesn't have to sing to bring out that cantabile quality. To sum it all up - I am totally starstruck...and the memory is still fresh in my mind. It'll always be. Oh - and I can say that I have sung with her! Because we all sung "Edelweiss" while she 'conducted' (we became a giant choir, 'conducted' by Dame Julie herself)! She is practically perfect - in every way. I hope that she comes back to Australia sometime soon.
Here we go - some snippets of the event itself. There were LOTS of people. And I swear, I was one of the youngest. I even bumped into one of my students (from tutoring) and we both agreed that Dame Julie was totally amazing :) It's a fact...
I actually took these pictures just as I was walking towards the Government House. They were having an open house on that day. If I'm not wrong they organise open houses twice a year. This was my second time going - the first time I went was in November last year.
The first landmark I passed - the New Esplanade Hotel. I think I might have stayed here before...honestly I cannot really remember.
Also passed this really gorgeous old building. It's now an office building. I wonder what it was used for previously. Good photo-taking opportunity here!
After walking around for a bit, I finally reached the Supreme Court Gardens! Weather was really, really good that day - as you can see. Clear blue skies!
One of the Supreme Court buildings in the gardens. A really beautiful landmark indeed.
The gardens are always so well-maintained...the flowers look fresh each time I come...and they don't seem to grow beyond their boundaries. Plus - the place is so quiet. Even though it's right in the middle of the city.
Since I was back on St George's Terrace after exploring the Supreme Court Gardens and the Government House, I decided to go to Theobroma Chocolate Lounge. Guess what? It was closed! I didn't realise it closed early on Sundays! Anyway - I had to get rid of the hot choc deprivation fast...so just as I was walking back, I passed this office building here. It still retained the old-fashioned panels on its doors. And the font used reminds me of the movie "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (1967). Not much of it was mentioned when Dame Julie spoke to us last night, but some snippets were shown! Dame Julie was really good in that movie. I've seen the movie so many times...and I think I might be able to memorise some of the lines :)
Another landmark in the same area is the Perth Concert Hall. The Western Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) performs regularly here. I haven't seen the WASO perform yet...maybe I'll drop by and see it sometime.
Now how did I satisfy my chocolate cravings? I went to Miss Maud's Swedish Hotel/Cafe and had a hedgehog slice AND a hot chocolate. I can't get enough of chocolate. Honestly.
Of course - apart from hot chocolate, I enjoy Korean food. The other day, we went to Took Bae Kee Korean restaurant (also in the city), and enjoyed a massive meal. Good for celebrating my flatmate's birthday!
OK that's it for the city. Let's see...here're some of the remnant food photos in my folder - that I haven't published. I've got a really wonderful buddy who goes on eating sprees with me :) And we eat almost everything...ranging from Hokkien Mee (different from what I'd have in Singapore but better than nothing), to Japanese food...almost everything!
And here's one of our favourites - Hawker's Cuisine. Sells really good Malaysian food. We go there pretty often.
OK that's it for this post! In the next post, I'll be putting up pictures from the Government House. Meanwhile, I'm gonna go back to those books and attempt to study :)
Signing off for now!