TOURIST FOR A DAY: CLIFF JUMPING!

Recently me and my partner in crime decided to hit up a spot along the river that we had seen during a boat tour while my Dad was in town. We jumped in the car, grabbed some beers, and went to pick up our friend Will for some riverside R&R.  

Well, if you call jumping off 10 metre cliffs relaxing.

At Blackwater Reach, just north of Fremantle and a 25 minute drive South from us, the river reaches its deepest point.  Lining the riverside in this area are huge cliffs, so its no surprise the locals have made Blackwater their area of choice for cliff jumping on hot afternoons.  This afternoon, we came to join them!

 

I've jumped cliffs before (in Italy!), but I won't deny that, creeping up to peer over the edge, the first look down scared the bejesus out of me.  Still, after mustering some courage I took the plunge! And despite some water up my nose, I'm still here to tell the tale.

A bit wary before the jump

I only jumped once more, but the boys clearly took it to the next level and braved the 11 metre cliffs beside us. Sorry, but I'll pass.

Tom in the distance, taking the 11m plunge

The sunset was brilliant and we even saw some dolphins frolicking in the river as we packed up to head home! Seeing them in the wild, though relatively common here, will never cease to amaze me.

So yeah. While I do miss the snow, and the spring tulips, and the autumn leaves, and all that jazz... Perth living ain't too bad. It ain't too bad at all.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

...Better late than never, right folks?!

I need to get used to this whole routine of documenting things as they occur.  I mean, I'm that girl who instagrams pictures taken months before... and then gets publicly called out for it.

Prior to writing this, I wikipediaed (wow, never put that one into writing before) St. Patrick's Day and was totally prepared to rant about the commercial appropriation of an Irish religious holiday... until I realized how seriously boring and insignificant the holiday sounded, and began to understand why the Irish- and the rest of the world- would rather use the day as an excuse to get loose.

So that's exactly what I did too.  Tom and I kicked off our morning with a good ol' Irish themed breakfast: green eggs and ham!  

These weren't some disgustingly food-coloured concoction amongst the likes of green beer, but rather pesto eggs with a side of sauteed portobellos and Australian cut bacon!  Tom took care of all four bacon slices.

And since I used my own homemade pesto, they were obviously a bajillion times better than any made with pesto out of the jar [duh].

Washed down with some Irish coffee, it was definitely the right way to start the day!  Well... this particular day at least.

Recipe after the jump! 

TOURIST FOR A DAY: PERTH BY BIKE

Often when I move to a new a city, or when I stay in one place for an extended period, I quickly fall victim to what I like to call "Act-Like-A-Local syndrome".  Give me a week and I'm too proud to ask for directions, too stingy to pay admission for silly tourist attractions, and already trying discover that perfect hole-in-the-wall cafe where I can sip my chai and silently scoff at anyone who enters the nearby Starbucks/Tim Hortons/Dome/Insert-large-national-coffee-retailer-here.

Sometimes this happens unintentionally.  In Montreal, in the frenzy of my undergraduate lifestyle, I never took the time to visit Cathedral Notre-Dame, explore Basilique St. Jean-Baptiste, or even stop by Musee McCord right across the street from my university.  While I've regretted those oversights in some ways, I still have a whole host of fond Montreal memories that suit me just fine.

Perth, however, is another story.  Here I have a partner in crime, a true local, accent and all.  He makes it that much easier to feel at home and ease into the twenty-something scene in the city.  We go to concerts.  We watch old movies at outdoor cinemas. We go to chinatown for Friday night Thai takeaway.  Here I have a job contract, a yoga studio, even a liquor store cashier who knows me by name.  Cool and all, but this leads me to wonder... when it's all over and Australia is just a sunlit memory, will I remember Perth for PERTH, or will it be just another city I've lived in?

To make sure I celebrate my current hometown for all it has to offer, me and my partner in crime decided it was time to play tourists for day! We planned to take our bikes on a long loop around the city, from East Perth, across the bridge, along the South Bank of the Swan River, and back to our place in West Perth.  We tacked a fair bit more distance on to the final trip, but only because we were enjoying ourselves so much!  

And guess what?  I even brought my camera.

INTERNET ROUND-UP

Here's a round up of some links that have caught my attention over the past few weeks. I hope to start doing weekly internet round-ups, but as this is the first I had so many interesting articles back-logged! Go on, take a look and learn something!

Oxfam: New Behind the Brands Campaign

Joy the Baker: Spinach Kiwi Banana Smoothie (current obsession. try it. srsly.)

New York Times: The Feminization of Farming

Grist: Switching to LEDs Could Reduce Food Waste

Thought Catalogue: Stop Putting a Ring on It 

BBC: Sending Postcards for Aliens 

NYtimes Opinionator: Mark Bitmann on Cruelty-Free Cosmetics 

Grist: A Meat-Lover's Guide to Going Vegetarian 

The Guardian: Why Should Married Women Still Change Their Names? 

Grist: Eve Ensler Interview  (Happy International Women's Day!)

YEP, IT'S HAPPENING.

So I’ve decided to start a Blog.  I’m sure you’ve realised this, considering that you’re currently reading it, but it was a long time in the coming and a surprising decision for me, given the stubbornly anti-technological outlook I've assumed for the past few years.  Like with everything I say and do, expect to find generous smatterings of hypocrisy, self-contradiction, and idealism.  Also expect to find tweaked and tested recipes, ridiculously thrifty ways to make practically anything, and an assortment of thoughts inspired by the places I go and the people I meet there.

After all, like most, I'm just trying to figure life out as I go along.  If I manage to meet my own ambitious expectations of regularly maintaining this thing, then I'm sure my posts will reflect what's currently on my mind and happening in my life.  And right now, having finally unpacked my bags on the opposite side of the world, I've got a giant jumble of material in my brain to dissect and format into posts for your reading and my writing pleasure.  

Enjoy, my comrades!

~ The Nesting Nomad ~