My Ah-Gee is Mom's sister. She and Uncle Larry moved to Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, in August 2010. Western Australia is full of resources such as iron ore, natural gas, uranium and diamonds, so mining companies like to set up there and the economy is robust. Perth has about 1.7 million people in the metropolitan area, and Ah-Gee and Uncle Larry live about 2 kilometres (everything here is metric!) from downtown Perth, which is called the CBD - short for central business district.
To get me used to the area, Ah-Gee and Uncle Larry took me into the CBD to show me around. On the way there, we stopped to take a picture at the gateway to the city:
Perth is on the Swan River, so naturally there are hills around. When walking into the City, we climbed this hill and we were eye level with the City skyline! Being close to the Indian Ocean, Perth also tends to be quite windy. This day was no exception!
Around the corner from this spot is Parliament House. This is where the State Government meets. Australia is similar to the United States in that it has a Federal Government and State Government, but things are slightly different here. Instead of the people electing the president like they do in the US, people here vote for senators and representatives and they decide who will be the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is just like the President of the United States. AH-Gee just finished studying Australian Constitutional Law so she had lots to say about it!
While Perth is a small city, there are heaps of things to see and do. We definitely couldn't do it all in one day. Ah-Gee and Uncle Larry thought I would like to see some kangaroos on my first day, but these were the only ones to be found in the City!
Kangaroos are macropods. Once they have a baby, called a joey, the mother carries the joey in her pouch. Can you see the joey in this picture?
Ah-Gee and Uncle Larry had some shopping to do to prepare for our upcoming camping trip, so afterwards we stopped at one of the many cafes that line the city streets for some lunch.
Western Australia is known to produce some of the best wines in all of Australia. Uncle Larry and Ah-Gee said their wine was really good and let me have a sip, but I didn't like it too much. Maybe when I am older I will appreciate it more.
I am so excited to be visiting with my Ah-Gee and Uncle Larry! Next up is our trip to Bunbury!
