On Monday we drive up the coast to spend two days in Fremantle, the main port on the Swan River, on the West Coast of Australia. We arrive at a delightfully old fashioned B&B - Fothergills - which has a great view over the port. Even better, our room has its own private library, which we investigate a bit, and a second story verandah to sit and watch the world go by. For the first time on this trip, breakfast is included in the price of the room, which not all B&B's in this part of the world provide (note for travel reviewers). Fremantle handles more cargo than any other on the west coast of Australia and by the size of the container port in the distance from our bedroom window we could attest to that. We took a tour of the Fremantle Prison, built in the 1850's by convicts transported from England. As Fremantle was always proud of the fact that the town was settled entirely by free immigrants (no convicts for them), it is little known that the administrators of the Colony actually asked the British Government in the 1850's to send convicts to help them build the port's infrastructure, and their first task was to build the prison to be their living quarters. They did such a good job that after the policy of transporting convicts to the colonies ended in the late 19th Century, the prison continued as a maximum security criminal prison up until its closure in 1991. It's a massive structure very reminiscent of the cell blocks you see in old movies. It has a large, still consecrated, Church of England chapel that, perversely, they hire out for weddings - and it's very popular with local brides!

Visited the Maritime Wrecks Museum which has some extraordinary exhibits from the 1680's of the early explorers and settlers. The Batavia wreck, discovered and recovered relatively recently, is the most spectacular. They display hundreds of objects recovered after over 300 years on the ocean floor, including buttons, pieces of lace and other bits of cloth. Then on to the main Maritime Museum, where they proudly exhibit Australia II, which won the America's Cup in 1983. Also a yacht in which an Australian single handedly circumnavigated the world in the 1980's. After returning to Perth, he found he couldn't face living on land or meeting people so he got back on board and went round the globe again, and then yet again for a third time. Over 600 days at sea--by himself!

For dinner we went down to the harbour which is ringed round with seafood restaurants. We gave in to the national British passion for fish and chips, having promised ourselves this treat the day before—only to find that we've had better (and in fairness, we've also had worse).

Almost forgot to mention, but we seem to have discovered the favourite Australian joke against America. Twice already, when we were being shown around various places (pretty much in the middle of nowhere I would add if I were being catty…), the guide said, "over there is the American embassy" and pointed to the local McDonalds outlet, earning him great gusts of laughter from his audience.