On a sunny weekend, Fremantle is most definitely the place to go in the Perth area – it has all the beaches, the historic pubs, the restaurants, and its famous markets to keep entertained the lively youthful crowd who flock here. The other reason so many Perthites head here, is that the cooling winds of the "Fremantle Doctor" make sure that Fremantle is about 5 degrees cooler than Perth – even so, the temperature was in the 30s.
We got into port at 4pm, so we still had time to walk to the weekend market, to savour its vibrant atmosphere – colourful food stalls, lots of souvenir stuff, plenty of hippy gear, and good buskers to keep us entertained as we browsed. After deciding that we didn't need to buy anything, we just wandered around town, had a look in the old convict-built jail, and enjoyed the incredibly well-preserved historic architecture of this once-neglected port.
Seeing as it seemed as if everyone was enjoying a drink in the pub, we decided to join them by going to the Little Creatures micro-brewery – cold beer, sunset views and good company made for a wonderful combination.
Next it was time to enjoy one of Fremantle's famous alfresco fish and chip restaurants – we decided to go to the slightly more upmarket Kailis rather than the more famous Cicerellos, so that the health conscious in our party didn't have to stick to the traditional battered fish (I, of course, decided to stick to the more cholesterol-laden choices).
An excellent evening was rounded off with a couple more beers in one of the town's lively Victorian pubs, listening to a raucous rock band thrashing out a few covers.
It's pretty hard not to enjoy yourself on a Saturday night in Fremantle.