Adelaide!

Hello from Southern Australia!!

Just a little side note to start with, we are now a third of the way through our trip!! I cant believe it!! We have done soo many amazing things already, yet there seems to be sooo many more amazing things to experience and so many other countries as well, its scary in a way to think we are a third of the way through! You meet people who count the days, or cross off the days, but thats not me! I dont like to cross off days, i take each one as it comes and im quite happy doing that! If I feel like this is not for me anymore I can always come home early, or later or on time, it does not matter!! But I just wanted to mention this landmark...........

So, I made it to Adelaide and have had a good few days exploring the city!!

It feels good to be somewhere different and to explore again! We arrived early on Tuseday morning after an overnight journey by bus from Melbourne. It was nothing like my indian overnight bus experience and was very chilled and relaxed and I even slept for most of the way! They even played a movie - What Happened In Vegas - and after that I was out for the count until we arrived, so it was all good! The hostel we are staying in this week is nice and small and friendly which makes a nice change, from the chain brands that we have been staying in since we arrived here. There is a small tv room so have chilled out nearly evening watching films which has been great, as we did not watch tv the whole time we were in Melbourne!!! Tuseday I was not as shattered as I thought I would be so after freshening up and a supermarket shop we just wondered around town and got a bit more familiar with the city, although all of it is blocked designed so its really easy to find your way around!

On Wednesday we had a lazy morning, the hostel we are staying at has a free breakfast which includes pancakes! Its sooo funny watching everybody attempting to make pancakes, im not sure i have seen one yet that vaguely even resembles a pancake! I think its more amusing to sit and watch rather than actually eat them and i have been quite content with my weet-bix and hot milk this week, although its summer here, its such a homely breakfast it has just had to be done! In the afternoon we went on a self guided walk around the city, and as usual we were pretty darn good at it! It was a gloriously sunny day and we wondered around North Adelaide, passed the festival centre where the Adelaide International Guitar Festival is currently on!!! And then passed the Adelaide Oval cricket ground....im not a cricket person, but the stadiums over here are massive! We then headed for the city lookout but it wasnt all that much, and definitly cant compare to some of the volcanoe's we climbed in NZ for views! But still it was worth it, and then we wondered back through Adelaide suburbier and through the Botantical Gardens and pass the zoo!

There was a bit of a thing started on our day trip to Philip Island of taking photos of road signs...you can get some really funny ones and Julie had loads from all of her travels around Oz, so Jen and I decided to join in the fun!! As we walked passed Adelaide Zoo there was a roadsign of ducks crossing (which I have not come accross yet in Oz - they are normally of Koalas or Kangaroos etc!) so the picture just had to be taken! And then as we walked 3meters down the road...what was there...ducks crossing...amazing!! That just proves the signs are there for a reason!! Weds evening i wowed Jen again with my spaghetti bolognase and it may have even been the best yet!! :-) We havent had it since we arrived in Oz, so it did taste extra good!

On Thursday we finally sucumb to all the trips we have resisted so far and went on a wine tour of the Barossa Valley and it was BRILLIANT!!! Just an hours drive through the Adelaide hills and you are at the premium wine area in Australia! The area specalises in Shiraz so was right up my street and by the end of the 35 samples (!!!!) Jen was loving a glass of the old red too! We started off at Jacobs Creek, yes Jacobs Creek! Im not a massive fan myself, but is cool to say I have now been there! Over 65% of their wines produced here are exported to the UK!!!!! It was a $5million building with all the mod cons and we got a brief history of the company etc, but it was very commercial and the wine was not that great! The girl who did the tastings did not know any of the answers to the questions which i thought was pretty bad, and was probably my least favourite winery of the day, although not many people get to stop there so is cool to say i have been! Plus their sparkling Shiraz which was a cellar door only purchase was pretty darn good and at 10.30am I was not complaining!!!

We went to four wineries in total, and the sparkling Shiraz's deffinitly stood out for me! But we were both out for the count by 2.30pm on the bus home!! The other three we went to were all small companies, unfortunatly the nicest was a cellar door only, which was a shame as i would have bought a bottle if i was not moving on tomorrow. The girl there was also really good at telling you what to look for and she was pretty pissed too, so was just funny!! We had a BBQ for lunch and i ate my first kangaroo!!! Well, it just had to be done really and whilst it was kinda free I thought i would seize the moment!! It was fine really, just tasted like raw beef, but im not sure i will be going out of my way to try it again!

So now its Friday afternoon and we start our outback experience tomorrow morning at 6.30am!! Its 6 days altogether, stopping off at Cobber Pedy for two nights and sleeping underground, and then on to Uluru for two nights (camping in swags, wish me luck!!) and then a night at Kings Canyon. Arriving into Alice Springs next Thursday evening, and then flying to Sydney on Friday 12th where we will then be until the new year, as Jen has a friend coming out from home to spend the next few weeks with us. Im really excited about the tour, i think and hope it is going to be amazing - we have only met one person who was bitten by a snake and only one person who got bitten by a scorpion, so all in all i think it will be fine!!!!!

So, have a good week. Unfortunatly this pc does not let me upload photos either but i will when i next can, which will be the big smoke of Sydney!

Have a good week, i hope it is not too cold with you guys!!

E xxxx