The people in Perth come out every Friday night to spend their money in the shops - and there are a lot of shops. With two streets turned pedistrian malls the shops, malls, department stores basically fill 6 full city blocks. And that doesn't include the uptown stores on King and Queen streets. Friday night is the shopping night- every other night the stores are closed up at 6:30 or even earlier. Suburb shops are open late on Thursday... I don't know if this is law or what, but it's really frustrating for a new guy in Perth looking for groceries after work!
They even have themed areas, one for England another for Ireland and I'm sure there are more that I haven't found yet. While this is all well and good for the locals that might be familiar with where their favorite stores are, for a NYer, I couldn't figure out where anything was. I still don't know where I can buy a can of tennis balls. To add to the confusion, known names, like "Target" and "Woolworth" aren't the same as the states. I was ecstatic to see Target as they would have lots of what I was looking for- nope. They sell clothes and some housewares, and a very small electronics department. Couldn't even get an SD card reader from them.
The most unusual of them is "David Jones" which looks just like a Macy's with a little extra bling. A co-worker said they have great pre-packed meals for "take-away". Yeah, right. Well, turns out, on the lower floor, in the back, there's the full service gourmet kitchen where you can get meals to go, made to order. That, plus your new suit and tie all in one stop.
Aussies have done away with the penny!! It's great. All the prices listed include GST (tax) so when you check out, your total is "$40.20", not "$41.32". Much easier. Their bills, made of this industructable plastic, start at $5 and they have $2 coins. Perhaps the US will wake up and do the same.
So, I've wandered enough to know my way around town. Hope I will meet some interesting people to make the stay worth more than just a business trip.
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