overdue

The title says it all. I went to King's Park on the first day of school (read: almost two weeks ago), and its only now that I realise... I haven't blogged about it!

oops

So what triggered the memory? Fabian did, actually, Friday evening. He'd taken Wanlin and I out for dinner in Northbridge (Korean food. yum. definitely go again). We drove through King's Park on the way back, and he asked if I'd ever seen the view of the city from the park at night. I hadn't... because after almost 5 months here in Perth, I've barely been out exploring. And only gone up King's Park twice. I know, boring me. I've got another 5.5 years to slowly explore the whole of WA though. Maybe more. Anyway, he told me to look left as we passed through... and I couldn't keep my eyes off the view.

Pity I didn't have a camera with me then. So we'll just have to settle for daytime views instead...

So. Rewind two weeks. Joel drove Arthur, Hui, and I there. I won't say the weather was good, Perth's weather has been rather fickle lately ("to rain, or not to rain..."), but we did have some rain-free spells to run around. Well, I ran around taking photos... the three of them have been here long enough to avoid acting all touristy.

I guess most people who go to King's Park go to see the Western Australia War Memorial first, and the Eternal Flame. The flame is set in a pool, surrounded by a ring of flowers and another of steps, with the different battles carved into the stone. The Memorial itself is directly in front of that, and overlooking the Swan River.
While taking those photos, I also noticed a rainbow... Kai, this one's for you!I remember it poured after that, and the rainbow was nowhere to be seen when the rain stopped a second time. No matter... I busied myself with taking pictures of the Swan River and the areas south of the river.
Pretty, no? We decided to explore other parts after that. Really, the place is just huge... nowhere near the size of Stanley Park in Vancouver (which I love, by the way... I'd really love to go back there someday), but still hard to cover in a few hours. The next place we went to... well, I've forgotten the name, Arthur probably knows, since he suggested we visit it. And again, I went nuts with the photo-taking... Which, of course, prompted him to say, "You have six years to do this!!!"
Aren't the fountains just beautiful? And that tiny waterfall is pretty too...
I got back from my photo-taking spree to find the three of them right where I'd left them, sitting on a bench under a tree. Only now, Joel was torturing a flock of hungry birds...
Arthur suggested Synergy Parkland after that, so he drove there. I took more videos than photos there, it seems. Pity...

So that was my original plan for the day. FCP, lunch, a trip out, and then study at night. But I didn't do any studying in the end. Well, it was only the first day... Ben brought us (me, Dan, KY) to Northbridge that night for bubble tea (the boys) and ice cream (me). Then we had a long talk about study groups and people and random things in general over bubble tea and ice cream.

And after that? Did we go back to college? Nope... instead, we did one of the more insane things I've ever tried here. Perhaps the most insane. Drive out to Cottesloe beach. At 10pm. Then walk along the beach, with the wind threatening to blow me off my feet, raindrops falling and scattering transient jewels in our hair, and the waves crashing on the sand. I didn't know whether I would freeze or be blown away, but I must say, it was rather thrilling to feel the wind and the cold. (Kai. Don't give me that look. I know you think I'm nuts now.) It was too dark to take a proper picture... pity, that. It was so grand, so humbling, so beautiful. Thanks for inviting us out, Ben. We should go again, when you're free.

So that was my first day of the semester. No homework, and two trips out. It's too late to talk about tonight's formal dinner now, and I doubt anyone has uploaded photos. Probably still out clubbing. Me? I'm turning in. Study group tomorrow, and I intend to make the most of it.

Buenas noches