Doing Time

Izzie's been having a wonderful decadent two weeks of holidays. It's fun slinking around wearing our culture vulture hat. Spending most of the time lurking in Fremantle attending various events at the annual heritage festival. Walks around the town, snooping inside old and mysterious houses - especially the sorts of places you walk by and drool over and think of buying if you ever win the lottery
There's been just so much stuff and such a feast for the senses and best of all, most of it has been either free or a gold coin donation.
Yesterday's highlight was a visit to the old prison. The tours normally cost $18 but this one was free and there was only 12 people on it. Guess being at 3pm on a Tuesday partly explains that.
Could not help but think that it's most silly indeed not to have been near the place since last going on a guided tour with a friend way back in 1995
The place was built around 1860 and closed only as recently as 1991. The evil real estate goblins wanted the place demolished and to build apartments and hotels on the site which happened to be on one of the most elevated parts of the old town. Lucky that sanity prevailed and the place got preserved
There are bits such as the old entrance, visitors centre, tourist shop and cafe that are open to the public without needing a ticket. Will be lurking there more often now that we know that.

And even a grimy spooky old prison looks magical and beautiful in the delicate winter sunlight. The weather has been simply gorgeous for most of the serpent's two weeks holidays except last Thursday when it just poured all day long

Decided to vary the routine a bit today and visit the east end full of cute and quirky cafes and very boring yuppie clothes shops. But there's also lots of gorgeous old houses made of limestone
Varying the routine and adding a bit of randomness makes things just so much more interesting. And that is part of the reason the last week or so will remain so memorable. Did so many things and visited so many new places that every one of them will be part of serpent memories many moons from now
The usual lurking ground of the old lunatic asylum only got one hour today since there were so many other temptations
Will be back again on Saturday at the lunatic asylum/ arts centre to look at a collection of old bicycles and to go on a tram tour departing from there led by one of the historical society guides. But instead of the usual pointing out of various places - this one has the theme of buildings that were going to be trashed but which got saved by lobbying by the various heritage groups. Scary to think that both the lunatic asylum and prison were on that list
That was the fate of most of downtown Dursleyville which is why Izzie has no desire to spend much time in the place and goes to Fremantle instead

But the party will end soon. Will be back at the mad house on Monday. Wondering how long those extra well recharged batteries are going to last

Doing Time

Izzie's been having a wonderful decadent two weeks of holidays. It's fun slinking around wearing our culture vulture hat. Spending most of the time lurking in Fremantle attending various events at the annual heritage festival. Walks around the town, snooping inside old and mysterious houses - especially the sorts of places you walk by and drool over and think of buying if you ever win the lottery
There's been just so much stuff and such a feast for the senses and best of all, most of it has been either free or a gold coin donation.
Yesterday's highlight was a visit to the old prison. The tours normally cost $18 but this one was free and there was only 12 people on it. Guess being at 3pm on a Tuesday partly explains that.
Could not help but think that it's most silly indeed not to have been near the place since last going on a guided tour with a friend way back in 1995
The place was built around 1860 and closed only as recently as 1991. The evil real estate goblins wanted the place demolished and to build apartments and hotels on the site which happened to be on one of the most elevated parts of the old town. Lucky that sanity prevailed and the place got preserved
There are bits such as the old entrance, visitors centre, tourist shop and cafe that are open to the public without needing a ticket. Will be lurking there more often now that we know that.

And even a grimy spooky old prison looks magical and beautiful in the delicate winter sunlight. The weather has been simply gorgeous for most of the serpent's two weeks holidays except last Thursday when it just poured all day long

Decided to vary the routine a bit today and visit the east end full of cute and quirky cafes and very boring yuppie clothes shops. But there's also lots of gorgeous old houses made of limestone
Varying the routine and adding a bit of randomness makes things just so much more interesting. And that is part of the reason the last week or so will remain so memorable. Did so many things and visited so many new places that every one of them will be part of serpent memories many moons from now
The usual lurking ground of the old lunatic asylum only got one hour today since there were so many other temptations
Will be back again on Saturday at the lunatic asylum/ arts centre to look at a collection of old bicycles and to go on a tram tour departing from there led by one of the historical society guides. But instead of the usual pointing out of various places - this one has the theme of buildings that were going to be trashed but which got saved by lobbying by the various heritage groups. Scary to think that both the lunatic asylum and prison were on that list
That was the fate of most of downtown Dursleyville which is why Izzie has no desire to spend much time in the place and goes to Fremantle instead

But the party will end soon. Will be back at the mad house on Monday. Wondering how long those extra well recharged batteries are going to last