Right after the U2 Sydney shows, I flew west to Perth. It was a sleepy yet enchanting city. I loved it. Perth wasn’t a big as Sydney, and was therefore easier to get around. I had a spare day to meander before queuing up for the U2 Perth shows. The town centre was close to my hostel, and the train took only 15 minutes to get to Cottosloe Beach – by far my most favourite beach I’d visited in Australia. The Indian Ocean is a few degrees warmer than the Pacific, not too many people there, wide expanses of sand, clean blue water, and easy to get to. I was able to go back there three times in my limited visitation in Perth. Christmas was in the air, and I enjoyed being in one of the most remote cities in Australia.