One day at a time

Wednesday 30 December 2009 After a late breakfast, we went into the centre of Adelaide to do some shopping. Didn’t end up buying what I planned to, the colognes at Rivers were missing the full range and I didn’t like the hats at Harris Scarfe. But I did buy some stuff for my trip in June and August, and Conrad was able to return the original bag that he bought me as a Christmas present. We had lunch in North Adelaide at the Sparrow and after a rest at Conrad’s home, we went out for dinner near the Central Market. Thursday 31 December 2009 The hottest day of my trip and again after a late breakfast, Conrad drove us up into the Adelaide Hills for some more wine tasting, although neither of us were that impressed with the wines that we sampled and then we had lunch at the Stirling Hotel. Conrad drove me back to the airport, where I am now waiting to board my flight back to Melbourne.

Elliot Beach Originally uploaded by PD Blog Pics Tuesday 29th December - view of the beach at Port Elliot

Tuesday 29th December After a late breakfast, we drove down to Port Elliot, via Mt Barker. It was a very nice drive and we stopped in one or two of the towns on the way down. Had lunch in Port Elliot, but instead of going on the beach, we drove back via McLaren Vale stopping at one more winery on the way back to the city. The sea and the beach did look very nice, but I was concerned about burning and Conrad had already got burnt from our last beach trip. In the evening, we went to North Adelaide to have an Indian dinner and then settled back at home with a class of the wine we had bought that day and watched a trashy movie on TV.

Monday 28 December After spending a couple of hours on the beach, we came back to the house to wash up and prepare for dinner, which was at an Argentina restaurant in the city, as we both faced steak for dinner. The meat there was excellent and I choose lamb chops instead of the steak, which was a wise choice given the size on Conrad’s meal. It did mean that I had room for dessert after the main course, but we went to the local chocolate shop for that. We came back and watch two very interesting documentaries on the ABC in the evening.

Monday 28th December After a late breakfast, we went to Adelaide’s Harbour Town, mainly to see if the Rivers store was open, but unfortunately it was. However the bag shops were open and after much consideration and differing, Conrad bought by a new suitcase as my Christmas present, which was greatly appreciated. After the shopping trip, we went to Brighton beach and spent a couple of hours on the sands and in the sea. I was careful to cover all my skin with at least 30+ sunscreen lotion. Only time will tell whether I did enough to avoid sun burn.

Penny Hill Originally uploaded by PD Blog Pics This is the view that we enjoyed while having lunch at the restaurant at the Penny Hill winery

Travelled for the first time in many years on a Qantas domestic flight. Their terminal in Melbourne is in need of refurbishment, but the plane left the gate on time, only then we waited 30 minutes before taking off. Not usually a problem, except I needed to go to the toilet. Thankfully the seat-belt sign was turned off relatively soon after take off and I took full advantage of this. Being a full service airline, there was even a meal served on the flight, which I ate, apart from the cracker. Strangely the meal options did not include a gluten free alternative. My mate Conrad was waiting for me at the airport and after collecting my bag, we drove down to the beach, where he had booked a table at a local greek restaurant. Good thing he had booked as the place was very busy. Nice food but I’ve had better Greek in Melbourne. On Sunday we when to the McClen Vale wine region and drove around a number of the vineyards. I was the main taster and was getting to the end of my tolerance fo...

Currently waiting at the airport, got here early to avoid the crowds, unfortunately the crowds had already been and gone. At least I managed to get an emergency exit seat, although the downside is that I won’t be able to keep the laptop with me when I sit there. Looking forward to spending a few days with Conrad in Adelaide. The weather forecast is very promising, sunny and warm but not too hot (at least until the day I leave) and the forecast is better than Melbourne’s. Checked my bag in, I hope it doesn’t get too crushed, there are a few things in there that although not fragile, they won’t be able to take a lot of abuse. The wheat allergy is making finding a snack difficult, usually I would buy a cake or something, but there aren’t many alternatives, unless I want something deep fried (that’s not stopped me before!)

After several weeks relying on wireless internet and limited downloads, we finally have a fully functional internet service. I didn't realise how much I would miss having the speed and quick downloads, but at least with the wireless modems, I could stay in touch (but with whom?)

Pictures from first trip around Australia in 2001 with friends from the UK.

Went to see the latest 3D animated movie (this time from Sony) about an obsessive inventor and his talking monkey, who invents a machine that can turn water into food (using microwaves – not sure about the science there). It’s an amusing movie, uses the 3D effect well (but not over the top – there’s none of those usual tricks of things falling towards the audience). The main character is a rather pathetic and single minded, so it’s a little difficult to warm to him and his “the world doesn’t understand me” attitude, when frankly his inventions are useless. The mayor is the closest that the movie gets to a villain, but not in the evil cast, but again in the pathetic nature. In the real world, inhabitants of the island would have left for the mainland of America when their main employment closed down.