Good Food, Good Wine & Good Company !
Trip Start
Sep 04, 2007
1
106
123
Trip End
Sep 01, 2008
Perth,
Australia
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Oh my gosh! Would you believe it? Another wine festival! This weekend, it was the Perth Food & Wine Festival that attracted us and thousands of others to Perth's Exhibition & Convention Center! With the Food & Wine Festival scheduled from July 11th to 13th, we thought a visit on Friday afternoon would be more ideal, thus avoiding the weekend crowds of those weekday workers!
It appeared the Friday plan was a good one! Another good plan was to take the bus and train downtown which eliminated the issue of driving afterwards! Upon entering the pavilion, we quickly recognized many of the wineries present. A reflection of the wine regions we've visited over the past three vacations to Australia and the past year of residing in Australia! Within the convention center's pavilion, the expansive area delegated to the wine festival gave us and other patrons a degree of freedom of movement! We didn't feel crowded at all! After collecting our free tasting glasses upon entry, we found ourselves moving from one tasting booth to another with little to no waiting required!
At 3:30pm, we made ourselves to the food show presentation by chefs Alastair McLeod & Kate Lamont. This show was promoted as an East meets West with McLeod coming from Brisbane and Lamont from Perth! Both presented some of their signature dishes to the delight of all in attendance! Yum!
Perth Convention & Exhibition Center !
!After the show, we continued our mission to have a taste from every winery represented (just kidding)! That wouldn't be a responsible goal to pursue although, we do love challenges! Maybe someday, when we are taken on a day outing from our nursing home! ha!ha!
With the Festival's first day coming to an end and a few wine purchases including a shiraz from Grant Burge Wines (Barossa), sauv blanc from 3drops Wines (Mt.Barker,WA), sparkling from Leconfield Wines (Coonawarra, SA) and chardonnay from Catching Thieves Wines (Margaret River, WA), we decided to leave and catch the train at the Esplanade Station, only a short walk away from the Convention Center! Within minutes we were on the bus heading home down Scarborough Beach Road!
Within minutes of arriving home, our friends Paul and Suan were out front of our apartment picking us up for dinner at Al Fornetto's Restaurant in Doubleview. We drive past this restaurant regularly as it is located on Scarborough Beach Rd which is a major route heading through Scarborough to the beach! The dinner was fantastic and Paul & Suan's company was excellent! We enjoyed great conversation with our two bottles of wine and dinner which included appetizers, main course, dessert, topping it off with latte's at the end!
The evening came to an end too soon!
Saturday afternoon had us make an unexpected trip back to the Convention Center as we tracked down a purchase that we made on Friday at the 3drops kiosk at the Wine Show and forgot to take!! As the 3drops rep came to the door to deliver our purchase to us, she asked if "buying things and not taking them was a Canadian thing to do"? Elsie responded by saying, "no that would be a tasting too much wine thing to do"! We all shared a laugh! Regardless, we really appreciated 3drops Wines holding it until we picked it up!
With our purchase finally in our hands, we walked through the downtown shopping core of Perth through the London Court to the Hay Street Mall and then Murray Street Mall. Occasionally stopping to watch buskers on Murray St. Being at Forrest Place on the Murray St Mall, we observed the snow slide created for the enjoyment of the young children. Although Australia is in the midst of winter, there's virtually no chance of snow falling in this state. Maybe a few flurries down south near the Southern Ocean on the Stirling Range. Thus, many people here have never seen snow!
Saturday evening had us meeting with more friends for dinner at Siena's Restaurant on Oxford St., Leederville. This was our first visit to Oxford St, which appeared to be a trendy area of older buildings, restaurants, cafes and shops. Again, the company with our friends Borys & Janenne, Nick & Pat, Paul & Joanne and Deanna was excellent! As Pat's birthday will be on July 27th and mine (Rick) on July 26th, it was an occasion to celebrate our upcoming birthday's. We all enjoyed a good meal with wine and great conversation! After dinner, we all decided to travel to Deanna's home in Claremount for coffee, tea and a very tasty carrot cake! Again, for the second night in a row, we enjoyed good food with good wine in the company of great friends!
Cheers, Rick & Elsie!
