Amazing Adelaide

We feel like we've won the lottery.  After living in tents, in extremely poor countries, and in houses that resembled cages more than homes we've moved into a fantastic apartment just off Rundle Mall in Adelaide.

We are literally a stone's throw from pubs, cafes, shops, parks and museums.  The area is vibrant and I can walk to great markets and stores.

Our landlords are actuallly on their yacht in the South Pacific and left the best stocked place we've ever rented.  By the number of wine glasses and serving dishes in the cupboards, they clearly liked to entertain which is good because we had Colin, Andrew and Mukhtaar from the Kansas office, as well as Craig Stratford in Adelaide for meetings so I enjoyed making lunches and dinners for them.

Our apartment is just above the #22 with a huge wrap around deck

Clockwise: Andrew, Craig, Mukhtaar, Roger and Wendy Stratford came for dinner one night

There is some interesting artwork with a focus on breasts and butts

There is a study/guest room available for visitors!

There is a Belgium beer pub next door to our apartment --- "What luck!" as Roger said.

We were having dinner on Friday night and heard some music outside --- looked out, and there was a market set up!

Rundel Mall runs for several blocks and has a great mix of shops and cafes.  Buskers entertain the crowds with everything from music to magic.

Haigh's is to Adelaide what Ghiradelli is to San Francisco

Beautiful fountain on the Mall

Murals and grafitti add to the eclectic mix of architecture

One of my favourite places to shop is the Central Market which is only a 20 minute walk from the apartment.  I wish I could bottle the aromas from all the fruit and vegetables...fresh ground coffee...breads and pastries....cheeses...seafood...flowers... It's intoxicating.

I checked out Yelp to find Roger a barber and found one close by called the "Boy's Club".  The reviews were great and said beer and food were offered to clients so off we went to check it out.

The Boys Club Barbershop really IS only for boys -- I got the message and left.  Roger said it was great and had a beer and chilli dog while he was waiting.  

Adelaide has found a great blend of old and new architecture.

City Hall with the Post Office in the background

State government building

Adelaide is in wine country: a 30 minute drive from wineries in the Adelaide Hills, 90 minutes from the Barossa Valley and 3 hours from Coonawara.  We took a Sunday drive out to Bird in Hand winery and stumbled across a couple of other gems.

Vineyards at  Bird in Hand, Adelaide Hills 

We drove into a little town and saw a sign for a winery and brewery, so we stopped at both.

Robert Jackson, the owner, was very interesting and spent an hour chatting with us as we tried his wines.

The Adelaide Hills are a tranquil, beautiful part of the region -- an added bonus is that they make some great wines.  The next time you savour a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Viognier, you might thank an Aussie as you say "Cheers".

I am making a list of all the things in the area we want to see in the next few months, which I'm sure will only scratch the surface of what's out there.  We've both joined fitness clubs as we can see the combo of good food and wine will be hard to counteract.

And in my quest to find volunteer work, I signed up to wrap Christmas presents for an organization as a fundraising project on Rundle Mall.  Never heard back from them, so perhaps they heard that since the advent of Dollar Stores in Canda I've only used gift bags to wrap gifts......

It feels good to be living in a beautiful city -- where I feel safe, and where there is a multitude of things to experience.

An elderly lady was slowly making her way onto the elevator last week, and apologized to me for taking so long.  I replied, "No worries, I have lots of time."  She smiled and said, "You're lucky."

Yes.  Yes, I am.

"A good life is a collection of happy moments."
                                                                Denis Waitley