(mini)Trip report to Perth for the footy

[Simo]

great trip report...

 

[Justinf]

great trip report...

Thanks Simo.

 

[cove]

Today we are doing the reverse trip going to Melbourne from Perth on QF.

 

[Justinf]

Awake at 4am local time which meant my body clock was at 6am and getting back to sleep was nigh on impossible.
I made a cup of awesome International Roast coffee (sarcasm emoticon if ever I needed it) and watched tele for a while.
Received a text message from the Upgrade Fairy confirming the good news for my flight home. I quickly jumped onto the app and selected seat 2K, the same seat I had flying over. Cost was 25,000 points plus the initial outlay of of around $220 for a red e deal.
Decided I needed some sustenance for the day ahead and the room service breakfast didn't disappoint.



It was delicious and I ate every single bit of it.
The forecast was for no rain and 18 degrees and I decided to go for a walk along the river but then realised that with only hand luggage I only had my jeans and shoes to wear and no suitable gear for a proper walk.

 

[Justinf]

I lounged around in the room for ages and then started to realise that I had to get out to Subiaco somehow.
I was meeting friends at the Vic Hotel on Hay St at around 12.30pm.
Toyed with an Uber and then toyed with the idea of walking to Perth station where it would be a two-stop trip to Leederville.
But eventually settled on the free Red CAT which departed a block away.
I showered a dressed and waited at the Red CAT stop on Hay St at around 11.30am. The beauty of this thing is it's free and even on a Sunday they ran every 10 minutes.
I waited for around three or minutes and it appeared.
It was a quick 10- to 15-minute trip to Outtram St in East Perth. I got off and walked the 900m to the Victoria Hotel in Subiaco. This was certainly the cheapest way of getting and there and pretty hassle free.
The pub wasn't overly busy at noon when I got there, half an hour ahead of schedule.



It filled up very quickly and I couldn't believe the amount of Richmond supporters there. We may have our faults, but there's no doubting our passion.




I couldn't help but think how the Vic and the Subi Hotel would fare once games were played at the Burswood Dome from next year. A lot of their trade would have been from game days. Still, Subi is a nice area and I doubt they would do it too tough.
They had just one person behind the bar, so I bought a jug of Rogers Beer and settled in. There was the usual CUB cough being served, so the Rogers was a no brainer for me. Lower in alcohil to get me through the day plus I like the taste. Rogers Beer is a Little Creatures offshoot and at 3.8% alcohol it was right for me at that time of day. I like the taste. a nice amber ale even though cove thinks it's trash.



It was a game we just had to win to keep our top 4 hopes alive. The atmosphere at the pub was great and I love experiencing away games with the home fans.
The beers were going down so well, I grabbed another jug.
Unfortunately the men's toilets smelt like someone had barfed up a heap of parmeson cheese. I kid you not. I nearly barfed myself at the smell. It literally was like someone had brought up their lunch that contained a whole block of parmeson.
The only dampener on a great couple of hours pregame.

 

[Justinf]

At around 1.30pm, 40 minutes before game time we downed our last drinks and made the short stroll to Domain Stadium.
Plenty of Richmond supporters around, which makes for a real show of solidarity.
We took our seats and they were half decent even though they set us back $72 each.





Obviously there were heaps of Freo fans around us. They were great though. No aggro, unlike my last trip to Subi and they were just generally there to see Subiaco Oval off and although we were passionate in our support of our team, we weren't over the top in respect for the people around us.
Freo led by four at the first quarter and it looked like an upset was on the cards, but I never really felt like we would lose the game.

 

[Justinf]

After quarter time, where Freo led 3.4.22 to 3.0.18, it was all one-way traffic. We would kick 22 goals to four to win by 104 points.

There was a lovely family sitting behind us with a gorgeous two year old who took a liking to us. I even entertained the little man for a while with some of his games that his mum had brought along. I should have charged babysitting fees.
There was also a dad and his son in front of us. His son was travelling back to Denver, Colorado the next day where he lived. The young boy would have been no more than 4. Having been in Denver in February this year, I had a good chat to the dad about how much I liked the city.
All smiles after the win.



Taken just before the final siren. We would kick the last goal of the game to make it a 104-point win. We came, we saw, we kicked its cough (a line from Bill Murray and Ghostbusters.)

 

[Daver6]

Folks, I think I found a worse beer than West End Druaght.

I'm pretty sure Swan draught is actually brewed now at the West End brewery in RAdelaide and shipped across. Next time you're over, ask for a can of Emu Export

 

[Justinf]

I'm pretty sure Swan draught is actually brewed now at the West End brewery in RAdelaide and shipped across. Next time you're over, ask for a can of Emu Export

Have had Emu Export. It's total filth. It's weird. Last time I was at my father in laws in Moonta I had a few West End Draughts and they were ice cold out of an esky and I found them drinkable purely because they were nearly frozen.

 

[Justinf]

So a great win and a great day.
One of my mates who I was with wasn't drinking and lives in the Perth Hills so we walked to his car and went to the Lucky Shag for a post-game celebeation.
I ordered a nice big pint of Four Pines American Amber to celebrate.







The crowd was your fairly typical Sunday night crowd. Subdued. But it was nice to watch the sun set over the Swan.

 

[Justinf]

My mate called it a night after one beer and I decided to walk back to the hotel.
Once again the views walking back in the fresh air was worth it.






Vote YES for marriage equality. I will.

 

[Justinf]

Not quite willing to call it a night just yet, I did make the ever so slight detour to the Fenians Irish pub which is directly across the road from the hotel.
I had a pint of Guinness and, against my better judgement, a Bundy & Coke to keep the celebrations going.



I got back to my room, ordered a very nice room service pizza and fell into the land of slumber content in the knowledge that if we won our last game, we'd finish in the top 4. If someone had said RIchmond would be in this position at the start of the season I would have looked up the nearest asylum for them.

 

[Justinf]

Awake at 5.30am local time and with a 10.10am departure I needed to be out of there at 8.30am so I had plenty of time.
After lazing about I eventually left, checked out and ordered an Uber out to Perth airport.
The drive was pleasant. I had a driver who had come out from Poland 12 years ago and we had a good chat. The fare was $22.60, which was certainly a lot better than the cab option.
The security line was virtually nonexistent and I breezed through and kept my perfect record of being tested for explosives.
The Perth business lounge is new and very nice. I ordered coffee, but one thing about the lounge was that there was no self-serve soft drinks. I was dying for a Coke and had to ask one of the staff and she got it for me from the bar, which wasn't open until noon.



I didn't take any pics from the lounge. But it's nice. However I was bored and ventured out into the terminal. For some reason I felt like a beer and bought one and enjoyed it immensely despite it being 9.30am, but hey it was 11.30am by my body clock.





The entrance to the business lounge.



Boarding was on time and before long I was settled into seat 2K and looking forward to the next three hours.
Pre-departure drink was either water or a Maggie Beer nonalcoholic red sparkling. I chose the latter but it was so sickly sweet that I barely touched it.
Flight time was announced as bang on three hours.

 

[Daver6]

Have had Emu Export. It's total filth. It's weird. Last time I was at my father in laws in Moonta I had a few West End Draughts and they were ice cold out of an esky and I found them drinkable purely because they were nearly frozen.

What about Emu Bitter. I think you should write-up a review of these beers

I actually agree. When its 40C and those beers are served a 1C, its the perfect tonic.

 

[Justinf]

We took off on time ascended into the clouds.



The menu for this flight was a little more enticing.



Our orders were taken and a drinks service was wheeled around.

 

[Justinf]

I chose the smoked trout for starters and it was very nice.



And I settled in to watch Kong Skull Island.



I enjoyed the movie. It's received mixed reviews but I found it a particularly nice way to pass a couple of hours.

For the main I chose the prawns and chorizo. A but too heavy on the chorizo, but the garlic bread was a nice touch. Overall, quite nice.





After lunch I reclined and finished the movie.
Dessert was an ice cream, which I caught the FAs helping themselves to the last ones that were left over. Good on them. I love ice cream.

 

[Justinf]

Before long we were making our descent into Melbourne.

 

[Justinf]

A nice view of the You Yangs.

 

[Justinf]

Ah Melbourne...she ain't pretty, but don't judge a book by its cover.

 

[Justinf]

View over to the Dandenongs.



And our final approach.