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Published: November 2nd 2008
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Arriving in Adelaide Day 30
October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween! They do celebrate Halloween in Australia, but doesn’t seem to be as big a deal as in the U.S. I didn’t need a costume, I looked scary enough after two days on that train.
Although it was a good trip, we were ready to get off the Ghan. I had a problem sleeping last night, mainly because it was so cold and Joe didn’t do much better. The view from the train window this morning was more of the same…red dirt and rocks and scrubby plants. But as we neared Port Augusta, we saw mountains, towns, rivers, farms, ocean inlets and more kangaroos. There were miles and miles of wheatfields and it was harvest time. Our big excitement was the spotting of about 20 emus! They were standing a wheatfield that had already been harvested.
We are in a new state, South Australia, in the town of Adelaide. Our hotel room is the best yet. There is a website here called wotif.com and it has the best hotel deals. Each day they have some “mystery hotels” that they describe but don’t give the name until you book it.
We took a chance and booked it since it was only $67 U.S. dollars. The bottom floors are being renovated, but we are on the 8th floor and the room is modern and beautiful with a nice view of the hills on the south of town. And…there is a BATHTUB!!! I haven’t had a bath (only showers) since we left CA and this is the first time in my life I’ve had two baths within four hours. The toilet has a feature that must have been invented by a woman. It has a seat that automatically lowers after it is lifted. A guy can’t tarry too long with his business, though. Joe thinks it moves a little too fast.
We dealt with future travel details this afternoon and Joe got a rental car. We are so weary this evening that we are just relaxing and enjoying the view from our balcony. Joe fed a visiting pigeon some of our crackers, even though I didn’t really feel like having company for dinner.
There was another spotting this afternoon. I saw a busload of American tourists! Didn’t have much time to chat, they had to go to dinner.
Adelaide
and the Barossa Valley
November 1, 2008
Note: This entry is dedicated to Joe and Caroline Evans, friends that lived in Adelaide for a year while Caroline participated in a Colorado/Australia teacher exchange program.
We think Adelaide is a lovely city, and one reason is that we didn’t get lost here once. The streets all make sense. We walked the pedestrian mall downtown and drove by some pretty parks (there are a LOT of parks). We wished the Evans could have been here to show us around.
We drove about 90 minutes to the Barossa Valley, the location of Australia’s best known vineyards and a beautiful area. We drove several of the marked “Tourist Drives” and all were worthy of their recognition. We stopped at three wineries (they call them Cellar Doors here ) and were very surprised that wine tasting in the Barossa Valley is free! We stopped first at Penfolds since that is the label we are most familiar with and is one of the biggies. The others were Rockford and Chateau Tanuda, both fun places with a lot of character. We bought wine at Chateau Tanuda, mainly because the young man pouring for us
was such a good salesman.
On the way back to Adelaide, we drove through a portion of the Adelaide Hills, very pretty, but looks like this area could use some rain.
In the evening, Tony and Shelley McIntire, who are friends of the Evans picked us up at our hotel and we all went to dinner at a fabulous Thai restaurant. New friends, good wine, good food, good conversation...doesn't get any better than that. We greatly enjoyed being with Tony and Shelley and thank the Evans for hooking us up.
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