Out and About

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Port Adelaide here we come! We set out to explore and see what the once lively, but not so much anymore, Port Adelaide had to offer on this overcast day. We were limited for time because I had to head to the Adelaide Exchange teachers dinner. We wanted to make the best of the day. It is quite a nice area with many historic buildings, and I am sure being a Port that back in the day it was quite busy and bustling. The buildings are absolutely beautiful and it is a shame that it doesn’t draw more business. Teresa had mentioned that money was being back into the area so that businesses would open and hopefully draw people to the area again. The do have markets in a building on the wharf on Sundays. We were hoping to hit those in a couple of weekends from now. Not only did it have lots of character in terms of the buildings, the shops that were there were cute and different as well as a mini Sheffield. Some buildings around the area have murals painted on them. We looked into doing the river cruise to check out the dolphins but did not have enough time to fit it in. So we decided to cross the river and have lunch at the Birkenhead Tavern.

This restaurant had a great backdrop that overlooked the Port and would be a great place on the patio in summer. Lunch was delicious and now that we had full bellies we needed to walk it off. SO we set out enroute to check out some shops. We came across a local SALA gallery and checked that out. The woman was kind enough to show us a map with all of the murals in the area, so that was our new game plan with a few shops in between. They had some cute places to check out, I particularly would like to go back and check out the Aboriginal Art store. We stopped at all the murals and took advantage of some photo opps of course. Then it was time to depart as I had to head to the Exchange dinner. I won’t go into details about that other than it was good food, good company and some really nice speeches from those who have been exchanges in the past as well as some performances by the current exchange teachers.



The next day I headed to Myponga to meet up with teachers that went on the ski trip. We went to the Smiling Samoyed. It is a cute local Brewery that is known for their pizza’s and roaming dog(s). I went to Meagan’s house to car pool with her and her girls and we were early to arrive at the brewery so we decided to check out the local market, if you could call it that. I walked around for a bit then had to get out of there as it was making me anxious and depressed. We went around the corner to the brewery and met with Steve and his family, then Nat arrived, and then the other Stephen with his teenage daughter. The service was not great, the entrees (appetizers) were great, and the pizza was average. We did enjoy a taster of the different beers they make, which were different and I particularly enjoyed the one that had a coffee flavour to it. It was a great afternoon and so nice to catch up with the teachers form the other school as we had such a great trip together.





I must insert a little side note here as I do not mention them often and they deserved to be mentioned as they are great friends and like a second family to me and that is the neighbours. I spend minimum 1 night a week there for dinner and hanging out and they do SO MUCH for me! I honestly don’t know what I would do without them, like what if I had been only 1 more door down, would we have met? Kym cuts the grass and Simon fixes everything that goes wrong with the house and plans all my trips. A lot more things will be done around their house when I leave. Not only that, they allow me to drive their car, who does that? That blows my mind to be completely honest! There are no words or actions that I could express that would come close to conveying how grateful I am for them and all that they do for me, I would be an absolute basket case and lost without them. They also have introduced me into their social circle, been introduced into mine and hopefully when I leave they can all stay in touch.

Although there are many significant people all who are important in my life, there is one more person who also needs special mention as if I didn’t meet her I wouldn’t have met all these other important people and that is Teresa. She introduced me and took me in to her social circle with open arms and expanded my family circle here to V & G, Corri, Gazz, her mom and Ken, and Suzie B. If I am not with Teresa I am with any of the people I mentioned above, but if it weren’t for her I don’t think I would have survived this exchange. She is easy going, caring, kind, generous, FUN, and one of the best people I have ever met! Special spot in my heart, along with all the others I have met here!!



Day in the City



Teresa and I decided to hit Costco and then the CBD. First on the list however was checking out a rental apartment for her. We arrived and the moment we walked in, I was like yup, this is totally for her! It was so cute, 70’s and lots of space. We made sure to grab an application as we were going to make damn sure we were gonna have drinks on that balcony. We set forth on our journey to Costco that made me feel like I was at home. We sampled some food then made our purchases. Then we decided to head to the CBD as I wanted to purchase a “Heaps Good” T-shirt from a shop down there. The shop is Urban Cow and it had some other neat things in there as well. After I made my purchase we headed to get a bite to eat at Fancy Burger. It was good and went down well with a cider and we ate in a little old fashioned alcove, blast form the past. Last on the list, Opals. We headed to the shop and I found my ring, that I know that I deserve, however I am not sure I can drop that kind of coin and justify it! I told him I would be back again and hopefully I can find a cheaper version.





Wineries- Again!

On Sunday morning we headed for the hills. V, G, Suzie and I got in the Golf and hit the road. We took the back roads to the wineries, again V& G gracious enough to include us in their coupons that they had for a Lobethal winery. We drove by Belair Park that is stunning and hope to perhaps take my family there when they come for a nice stroll. Our first stop was the Stirling markets to have a look and grab a snack. It was on this stroll to the market that I first heard about the Magpie Swoop. Now I know at home birds will swoop at cats or animals if they are getting close to the nest, I have never heard of this happening to humans. Apparently, humans are the preferred victims of the Magpie swoop here and signs are posted in nesting areas warning people to cross the road or not use the path. I am absolute hysterics listening to Suzie’s stories about swooping. There is also a technique where they come from behind so that you don’t know they are coming. Techniques that people use to protect themselves are cable ties and sticks in their bike helmets and sunglasses, quite the sigh to see.

We hit the road again and went to Art Works winery which had a great setting as well as wine. They have a dog Coco that is a beautiful and kind dog that has the run of the winery. From here we went to the next and final destination in Lobethal called Tilbrook Estate. We tasted some more wines and the one I enjoyed most was heated to 70 degrees and tastes like Christmas, I thoroughly enjoyed it. We then sat down and had quite the feast. The two cheese platters that arrived before us were unreal and the biggest portions I had had yet at a wine tasting. We also had a gourmet pizza that was nice too. What a great afternoon!



Pizza Party!



Simon and Kym were kind enough to extend an invite to Teresa and I to attend Slicks Pizza Party. We were to make some appetizers and then basically show up. Slick and Bec have a great outdoor patio and spot to host an outdoor party. The pizza oven is on the back patio and there is a tonne of room to host a party. The pizzas were fire hot, the drinks were flowing, and great times were had by all. Such a friendly, welcoming, and fun group of peeps. We didn’t head home until 4:00 am and Teresa and I walked then took a trolley for most of the way. Simon ran back to see if we were all right and accompanied us the rest of the way home. I spent Sunday of course recovering.



Port Power Parade!

Well it may be more a march than a parade, but a great experience. I was fortunate enough to see the kick off game and the last game of Port Power season. They were both very good games that they won, but unfortunately the season stopped there for the Power. I was sick yet again and woke up with no voice. I headed in to Teresa’s where we got ready and boarded the train for the city to meet her friend Paul, the train into the city is free on game days, who cool is that? He was kind enough to get us Member’s tickets and a booking at the Strathmore Hotel for dinner after the game. We met him at the Casino and headed for the Strathmore for some nibbles and drinks. He geared us up with some scarves and we headed to the CBD to meet up with the rest of the March, or so we thought. We arrived at the pub and it seemed as though they had left. We quickly skulled our drinks, stopped for a photo at the Malls Ball’s and found the group. It was a great atmosphere and really enjoyed marching down the middle of the street wit the rest of the die-hard fans; the roads were even blocked by the police for us. We hit the Fan Bar as soon as we arrived.



After a drink or two Kym and Simon arrived to join us for a beverage and then we headed in. On my way in I spotted a hoodie I wouldn’t mind having to support the Power, but $100 was a bit dear, I would debate if and see what happens at the end of the game. The seats were great, just down from Kym and Si and they were covered. The game had such an awesome atmosphere, but got off to a VERY rough start for the Power, a little nervous as if they kept that up then the mood amongst friends would not be friendly at all! They picked up their game prior to the half way mark. We then headed upstairs to join the Jones’ for a drink and decided to watch the rest of the game with them as they were kid free and had enough seats. It ended on a high note because they won, but no Grande Final for them. As we headed out it looked as though my decision to buy a hoodie was made easy for me, as there were none left. Then when we got outside the fan truck had 1 left and I contemplated too long I suppose as Paul pulled out his card and bought it for me, what the heck?! Needless to say I bought dinner!



The Strathmore was very nice and I felt a bit underdressed in all our gear. We had a nice McLaren Vale red called Rabbit Hole and a Seafood Stone grill. So the seafood comes out raw and the Stone rock is boiling hot and that is how you cook your food. It was quite delicious and I enjoyed very much. We headed to catch the train with our bellies full, and Oh missed that one so back to the Strathmore for another. The train ride home was long and quite eventful as there was some chaos and it was busy because of the game and Adelaide show. Great day and good times had by all!





V Birthday

Later that week, on Wednesday which I had off because that is our schools show day, it was Virginie’ s birthday and she invited us to join her and Glen at Windy Point Cafe for dinner! Suzi B picked up Teresa and I, then V&G, and we headed to Windy Point to take in the sunset. It was such a great view and we had sparkling red to celebrate! It was a little brisk and I was not well still and feeling a bit under the weather, but there was no way I would miss her celebration or this food. The dinner was phenomenal. We paid $30 a head because V had Adelaide Festival of Food vouchers so that included 3 courses. We had an entre (appetizer) of crocodile, ham and cheese ball, as well as a mushroom stack. I had Kangaroo with a feta and leek tart for my main and it was divine. For dessert, which was extra but a reduced cost was rhubarb crumble and popcorn panna cotta, yeah that was to die for! It was a great celebration and a few glasses of nice wines were had by all as well. Thanks again V & G!

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