Do You Blog From A Land Down Under?

After our final lunch in Myanmar (yes, the blog is out of order, but so be it), we flew from Yangon late afternoon to Yangon on Silk Air, which is a Singapore airline.  A quick overnight in Singapore (no, we didn’t leave the airport/hotel, so I don’t really count it as a trip to Singapore), and we flew to Perth.

I hadn’t been to Perth since working there for six weeks in 1989, and Carol had never been.  We were staying with our friends Kim and Susie Beazley, and we could not have had a better visit.  Kim is the former Australian Labor Party leader, and served as the country’s Ambassador to the US until January, reporting first to a Labor Party government, and then to a Liberal Party government.  Kim and Susie are delightful people and they could not have been kinder to us.

When I asked Kim and Susie what they miss most about the States, they immediately noted how much they miss having interesting conversations about politics, history, and life.  While we are on the opposite benches politically, Kim is much more interested in learning and having a discussion than he is in winning an argument.  He is truly a man in full.

Anyhow, I’m trying to keep this blog post on Australia relatively short for covering seven days and six nights in one of our favorite country, filled with great people, in the world.  Saturday, upon our arrival, we stayed at Kim and Susie house, catching up on life, family, and politics as old friends do, although we’ve known them maybe three years or so.  We’ve bonded over multiple dinners and one great weekend trip to Wintergreen.  We did copious amounts of laundry as well, and by “we” I mean Carol, since I normally screw it up. 

Kim and Susie kindly cooked for us each night, assuming (correctly) that we were restauranted-out and need some home-grilled meals.    (If I wasn’t keeping this post “short,” I would have written about each dinner, but suffice it to say there was plenty of great food, great wine, and great conversation at each.)  Two nights, Kim was quite kind and broke out Cuban cigars for us to smoke (Carol and Susie passed, for some unknown reason) and to be fair to Kim, I passed on cigars on Sunday night.  We sat under Australia night sky on their veranda, smoking cigars, drinking wine, and trying to solve the world’s problems.  We nailed the first two, and made good progress on the last one.

On Sunday, they took us on a drive around Perth, including to the famed King’s Park – high on the hill above Perth.  Then we had breakfast overhanging the Indian Ocean at the stunningly beautiful Cottesloe Beach just north of Freemantle.  Then, we drove through the Perth suburbs, up river to the pretty Swan Valley, where we went to a winery and then a brewery.

The valley was packed, but it was a very relaxed vibe.  The most amazing part was the flooding from the heavy rains.  Even though I had never been up there, it was clear to us just how much the water had risen far above the banks of the river.  Some vineyards were under water.  Like the rest of greater Perth, it is a beautiful, relaxing area.  Perth is the most isolated city of its size in the world, and yet it is also one of the most beautiful areas.  It’s like SoCal without the masses of people.

Monday, we took a ferry cross the Mersey (well, technically, across the Swan River, but we’ll see who, besides my brother Rick, catches the reference) to Perth, where we caught the larger ferry to Freemantle, which lies at the end of the Swan, hard by the Indian Ocean.

When I went to Freo (Aussies shorten every word they can) back in 1989, it was just on the upswing thanks to hosting the America’s Cup in 1986 after their shocking comeback victory in 1983 (all years approximately right).  It was an unusually hot and humid day, reminding us of Washington in the summer.  Fortunately, we went to the very interesting Maritime Museum and the equally interesting shipwreck museum, as well as dining on the waterfront.

(Bonus Glen trivia!  Freemantle was the first place I ever ate calamari.  I’ve added many locations since). 

Our final “activity” before dinner was to head to the Perth Fed Ex office (at the airport).  Kim was kind enough to drive me – the replacement laptop was not delivered to the house, because it needed a signature.  I must admit, it marks the first time I’ve been driven on a personal errand by a former ambassador and national party leader – I appreciated his patience, especially after a hot and tiring trip to Freo.

Anyhow, thanks again to Kim and Susie for a great visit to Perth.  We have a great deal of affection for the two of them, and we look forward to seeing our friends again whenever life allows.