Le Chic En Rose

Well what surreal and unsettling times we find ourselves in! It’s only a couple of weeks since I posted my last blog about our trip to London in May last year (see here) and so much has happened in that short time.

It was not a great surprise when Australia’s borders were abruptly closed this week – we are attempting to “flatten the curve” by employing social distancing measures early on in the epidemic although we are moving inevitably towards stricter quarantines and lockdowns especially in the eastern states, which currently are more affected than Western Australia. For now schools here stay open but…..

It was a shock however when Qantas, the national airline, announced the cessation of all international flights from the end of the month (31st March) until at least 31st May but the flight hiatus will almost certainly be much longer than that. In practice this means the end of flights next week on the prime London to Perth non stop route. Citizens and permanent residents can come back into the country assuming they can get a flight, which in reality will soon be impossible. There is a 14 day mandatory self isolation on return for all arrivals with heavy fines for non-compliers, $50,000 here in WA. The government has urged Australians travelling or living overseas to get back Down Under as soon as they can.  Those of us with overseas families feel this indefinite travel ban acutely but it is far safer to stay at home and there are many people in worse situations at present.

However despite this being primarily a travel blog I do want to keep posting and reading other blogs – it is a connection to blogging friends round the world at a time when we are, in all likelihood, going to be self isolating in our own homes for quite a while.

It does seem a bit insensitive to carry on posting about past trips at present though I guess vicarious travel will be the order of the day for some time to come. I may well resume my Alaska series (and our trip to Seattle) at some future point. We took a cruise up from Vancouver for a week and one wonders if that section of the travel industry will ever properly recover.

For now I will focus on posting some photos taken in Perth – we are still out and about to some extent but far more limited than usual. My daily walks mean even more than normal and help to calm anxiety in worrying times. The following photos were taken on my regular walk around our suburb. I’ve featured the Trigonometric look-out point before (see here). Spot the kookaburra – he stayed on his perch for quite some time making the distinctive loud “laughing” call as he finally flew off.

 

 

 

Earlier in the year before the school term started, we visited Kings Park with our elder daughter and granddaughters – always a perennial favourite. Here are some photos from that outing. It may be a while before we go back there again (see here for a previous visit).

 

 

Winston Le Schnoodle does not yet understand the concept of social distancing but he is happy as long as he gets his walks. Monsieur took this photo of the sunrise over the Perth Hills last week.

 

 

In the meantime stay safe and sound everybody. À bientôt.

 

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