Hotel: Nightcap at Belgian Beer Cafe
Hotel Review: We liked this hotel - but it's not for everyone. The front desk is not staffed 24 hours - so we had to enter a code to get into the hotel, then enter another code to access our room keys. They were very responsive to our emails and were very helpful. Our room was nice - but unusual - almost like an apartment. It had 2 bedrooms - 1 with a queen bed and 1 with a twin. I happily took the cozy room with the twin. The bathroom was modern and spacious. There was a large walk-in closet too.  The hotel included a welcome drink which was any draft beer - and the one we picked would be pretty expensive in the U.S. We really liked the Belgian Beer Cafe and think this beer cafe/hotel concept was pretty neat! AND it was in an awesome location - close to everything! Book it if you don't care about 24/hour reception (they do have a phone number to call if you need anything). It costs about $115/night.
Sights Visited: Fremantle Market, Rio Tinto Christmas Light Trail, Art Gallery of Western Australia,  Perth Institue of Contemporary Art (under major construction - skip it if you're going anytime soon), Little Creatures Brewery, Cottesloe Beach, Heirisson Island, Botanic Gardens at Kings Park, Old Shanghai, Gage Roads Freo Brewery
Restaurants we liked: Spice Market, Vegan World, Lord of the Fries
Our thoughts on Perth: I heard great things about Perth about 20 years ago, so my expectations were a bit high. I thought it was a cool city - but I also thought Hobart, Melbourne, and Brisbane were pretty cool too. Certain parts of Perth (e.g., Northbridge) reminded me of Austin - a little young, hip, and edgy. We also really liked the Fremantle area. This historic area was filled with great architecture, delicious eateries, breweries, and shops. I could have spent more time roaming around there.

Spice Market not only had tasty food - but also had a robot waiter - check out the video below!

Old Shanghai was a cool food court filled with Asian eateries - that were very well priced and tasty. It was one of the few places open on Christmas - thanks Old Shanghai!

We enjoyed spotting kangaroo on Heirisson Island - Ian found them lounging in some grass near the water. They let us get rather close to get a picture.

I also got to touch the Indian Ocean for the first time! The water here is beautiful! I could have gone for a swim - but what's going to beat the Great Barrier Reef and mailing a postcard underwater?

We really lucked out - the weather here was wonderful, but I think it typically is. It was quite dry - especially after the comparably swampy conditions in Cairns! 80, dry, and sunny is my kind of weather!

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And now we just got to Adelaide...where we are somehow 2.5 hours ahead? Stay tuned...

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Again, we'll have to settle for a link for the pictures...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ahn3x6qywWZsNK4S7

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