A Tourist in my Own Town.

This morning, The American surprised me with a weekend in the city to celebrate my 27th birthday. We left Balcony 33 at around 9am and drove to the city before taking part in a walking food safari in Perth City. I didn’t even know these existed! The tour company was 'Foodi tours' and started at 11am at Ye Old London Court. We walked through the picturesque London Court and learned about the history, before indulging in raspberry and chocolate brownies to accompany our morning coffee at Mad Lilly’s Coffee Stand. Mad Lilly’s is a quaint little take away coffee stand that provides it’s customers with hot delicious coffee and delicious home made sweets and treats.Our next stop was Moana Coffee on Hay Street. A gorgeous little cafe/art gallery/ shared office building that serves great coffee, home-made foods and the most gorgeous heritage balcony that over looks Hay Street Mall. Tommy, our tour guide, informed us that Moana means ‘ocean’ in Islander and that the owners have restored the building by keeping as much of the original structure as possible. Even the original tiles have been kept at the entrance, although many have been destroyed over the years. At Moana our taste buds were treated to iced tea, chicken quesadillas and cold press coffees including: almond and maple syrup, ginger and blood orange. The almond and maple syrup was our favourite! From here we walked into Northbridge to enjoy a hot dog at the outdoor garden at 'Tea for Tu’. Tea for Tu is located on William Street and is an alternative clothing and homewards store with a cafe and lounge garden located at the back of it. Of course, I didn’t try the hot dog but The American did and he went back for seconds, so I’m taking his word in that they were good!

Next, we went straight next door to ‘The Mechanics Institute’ which is only accessible from the back ally, meaning it is one of Perth’s best kept secret. Tommy told us some more interesting history about how the Mechanics Institute came about before we ventured upstairs for a wine/ beer. the list was fairly impressive as was the outdoor entertaining area. The mismatched bar stools, chairs, wooden benches and metal tables created a trendy and comfortable scene for a beverage in the sun. The balcony overlooks William Street, which was even more interesting at this time of year with the display of Christmas decorations. Another cool things about The Mechanics Institute is that it is proudly above ‘Flipside’ burger joint.

The two share a unique bond in that Flipside Burgers provides The Mechanics customers with a smorgasbord of tasty burgers and sides, which can be enjoyed at the bar. We got a sample sized burger here (which was actually pretty massive) with the American having the beef burger and me having the chickpea and cranberry burger. It was one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten and I enjoyed every last bite of it!

 After our wine/ beer and burger, we went to our final stop on our food tour which was The Muse Cafe, located in the WA Museum. Here we treated our tummy to chicken and spinach sausage rolls, egg and sweet potato frittata, strawberry macaroons and chocolate tarts and treated our eyes to the gorgeous display of cosy and vintage- inspired furniture and cutlery. It was so nice sitting in the shade under a leafy tree, enjoying the weather, food and company of others on our tour. This was the last stop for our Foodi tour, thank goodness, as we had eaten more than needed that’s for sure!

The American and I wandered around the stores in the city before checking into the Rydges Hotel on Kings Street. Talk about being spoilt! We had an executive room on the 15th floor which had a bed the size of Australia, lounge furniture and the most incredible view of Perth City! Not long after we settled in, I was informed that there was a taxi waiting for me downstairs to take me to my next adventure. The taxi took me to ‘The Richardson’ where I was treated to a full body massage and spa treatment. It was so relaxing and exactly what I needed after a full week of training. After over an hour of pampering, I made it home to our hotel room to find beautiful flowers, wine and a packed picnic  ready for the Burswood Outdoor Cinema, our next stop of our weekend.

We arrived around 7pm, hired a bean bag lounge each and indulged in red wine, chicken and pumpkin wraps, salad, mixed nuts and fruit salad before watching a movie under the stars. It got a little cold, but we were prepared with our sweaters and rugs and of course, each other. After the movie we caught a taxi back into the city, stopped briefly for a wine at 'Le Roi’ Bar before heading back to enjoy our hotel room. If today is anything to go by, my 27th year is going to be incredible. How lucky am I to have The American in my life who spoils me everyday?