North of the Bridge

Northbridge was officially declared a suburb and named in 1982, before then it was part of the Perth CBD and was known by the informal names of 'North of the Bridge' or 'North of the Line'.

Informally I've been told that Northbridge is equivalent to Sydney's Kings Cross, and on visiting it is just that but on a much smaller scale.

Northbridge has many eateries, night clubs, drinking and other establishments such as Pot Black for pool and snooker.  I had wrongly assumed that Perth Cultural Centre, which includes Perth Art Gallery, Museum and Library were in Northbridge but even though they are north of the bridge they remained in the Perth CBD.

In Northbridge you'll find Cinema Pardiso, which is currently showing the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival and other art house movies. Today I went to see 'Waiting for Superman', which is a must see documentary if you're interested in education.

My favorite shop in Perth can be found in Northbridge, you walk into this shop and the spices, coffees, herbs, olives, cheeses etc hit all your senses. Kakulas Bros is the most diverse fresh produce shop I have ever come across, as someone has said you can smell this place a mile off. Kakulas Bros have been at these premises in William Street since 1929 and the Kakulas family continues the tradition of providing spices, flours by the sack, olives, cherries and any fruit you can dry.

The Square within the Cultural Centre

A grassy area for the locals to watch movies on the large outdoor screen

Perth CBD skyline

A park in James Street Northbridge

Chung Wah Association built this hall between 1910 - 1912

Kakulas Bros

Kakulas Bros

Kakulas Bros

Margaret River Wine Region

Last weekend Tim and I headed down to the Margaret River Wine Region, staying in the township of Margaret River, where we wined and dined in some of the eateries of this region.

The township of Margaret River is in the south west of Western Australia, about three hours south of Perth and 9kms from the coast line.

If you're familiar with the east coast of Australia then the township of Margaret River will remind you of Byron Bay, without the beach, or maybe Kangaroo Valley but a larger version or Bright in Victoria.

The coastline out from Margaret River is magnificent, with beautiful sleepy villages such as Grarabup and Gracetown.

Grarabup is a small township that overlooks the surf break Grunters.

Gracetown is a township that has had more than their fair share of tragedy, which began in 1996.  On a wet afternoon two primary schools came together to compete for their annual surf challenge. Before the end of the finals a limestone overhang under which 11 people were sheltering gave way killing 9 people with 4 being students. In 2004 a surfer was attached and killed by a great white shark and again in 2010 a 31 year old was killed. It was very sobering to see the memorials for these people.

We also visited an organic boutique winery called Peace Tree as there's a Dee Why connection. We meet Jane Tucker who with her husband opened their cellar doors in 2002 and since then have won many awards. After purchasing some wine we headed up towards Yallingup and back to Perth.

Watershed Winery

Prevelly near Grarabup

Mouth of the Margaret River

Yallingup

.

Sculptures by the Sea

If your on the east coast of Australia you'll relate Sculptures by the Sea with Bondi and the eastern suburbs but here in the west the same event is held in March each year at Cottesloe Beach.

Last Sunday Tim & I decided to ride our push bikes down to view the sculptures and have a swim. While we were there we decided to have a coffee, but as most of the cafe's were overflowing we thought we'd get a take away at a place with a sign saying Coffee 2 Go. When I asked for two coffee's I was told 'we don't sell coffee as it got too busy so we removed the coffee machine', I assume by this that some of the locals enjoy a very relaxed life style.

Cottesloe Beach is about 11kms from Perth and is internationally famous for its beach and terraced lawns overlooking the Indian Ocean.

It's a popular place at any time for the locals and tourists to visit and enjoy the beach and eateries but by evening the grassy terraces are full of picnic goers waiting to watch the sun go down over the Indian Ocean. 

Currently the spot light is on Cottesloe Beach as the state government has approved to develop an eight storey building across from the beach. There's a petition with so far 5,000 signatures opposing the development as they believe it's not in keeping with the ambience or heritage of Cottelsoe Beach. The local council has also proposed that beach goers will be fined up to $500 for a range of offences including flying kites, using oversized umbrellas or digging holes - this has yet to be passed by the council.

Sculptures by the Sea at Cottesloe Beach March 2011

Home of Football

Subiaco the home of football - that is Aussie Rules not rugby union or rugby league.

The locals are very displeased!
There is much controversy as the West Australia Football Commission has arranged sponsorship with Patersons Security to change the name of the home of football from Subiaco Oval to Patersons Stadium.

Subiaco itself is our town, where we pick up the mail, do the shopping, buy fresh fruit and vegies from the markets, have a coffee, go to the gym etc.

Subiaco is an old suburb of Perth which was settled in 1851 by the Italian Benedictine monks who named the area after a town east of Rome in Italy where the founder of the Order of Saint Benedict, Benedict of Nursia begun his work.  The monks also named a town in the USA by the same name.

Over the last 20- 30 years Subiaco has been transformed from an older working class area to one of Perth's most trendy suburbs with beautiful old homes, lots of green space and a cafe strip in the centre of town.

Rokeby Road

Subiaco Hotel

Subiaco Markets

Regal Theatre for live entertainment