Home again...

K and I arrived home about 2 hours ago...dreading the pace that we're going to have to get used to again from Monday. At least we have the whole of tomorrow to recover, and prepare mentally :-)

We met up with Ang, Greg and Ann on our last day in Perth. Went to a cafe called "Soda", which is on the coastal road, about 5 km's from where Ang and Greg are currently staying, and had a good breakfast there. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, before all going out for a final supper in Northbridge. I got to finally sample the chilli mussels that Perthians are so crazy about. You see them on every menu, in virtually every restaurant in town - and for good reason. They serve a whole plateful (I'm talking no less than 30) of shelled mussels in a chilli, garlic, tomato based sauce - delicious. It was a good evening out - and a nice finish to our last 2 weeks of absolute relaxation.

They say its good to get home, and I usually feel that way, but I have to be honest and say that I'll definitely miss the lazy days in Perth over the next few weeks, as we get back into the swing of things.

Currently reading : Down Under, by Bill Bryson. Bought the book in Adelaide, and have been getting the odd couple of pages in during the past week. Managed to make quite a dent in it during the flight back today. Its really interesting, as its not only a travel diary, but also contains quite a bit of history, and some facts on Australia (like, did you know that of the 10 dealiest animals/insects/reptiles in the world, Australia has 9 of them) - although it needs to pick up a bit of pace now.

To do tomorrow: Take the mongoose out, blow the dust off the handlebars, and put some mileage on it.

Rottnest Island

Today was spent on the very pretty, unspoilt island of Rottnest. K and I caught a ferry from Hillary's Boat harbour, to the island situated about 20km off the coast of Fremantle. The island is about 11km long, and 5 km wide at the widest point - and the best way of getting around, is by bicycle. So we hired two mountain bikes, and spent the whole day cycling around - stopping at the various bay's and coves, either to take in the scenery, or to explore a little. It really was a fantastic day out - lots of sunshine, white beaches, cool waters, and exercise. If you're every in Perth on a nice day, and have a day to spend, then this trip is worthwhile doing.

Adelaide in summary...

Well, we're back at the airport now, waiting to board our flight back to Perth. We gained two and a half hours on the way here, so even though we leave at 7:45pm, we land in Perth at 8:35pm. That's the beauty about travelling West...you feel like you're gaining time.

So what did we think of Adelaide? Well, for one thing, its very different to Perth. It has a much older feel about - the people as well as the buildings. I think that we've seen more pensioners in Adelaide than anywhere else. Having said that, there are parts that feel very young - the student town kind of vibe. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground though.

This is what we saw and did:
- Monday: after landing, we checked into our hotel, the Mercure Grosvenor on North Terrace. We then took a stroll down Rundle St Mall, and ended up at "The Stag", an old hotel at the bottom end of Rundle St where we had a couple of drinks, and listened to a couple of students playing in a live band. After that, it was off to "Daniel's" for dinner. Food was ok - nothing great.

- Tuesday: set off mid Tuesday morning on the Glenelg Tram, to the town of...yup, Glenelg. Glenelg is a small coastal town, with lots of history. It has been a port town for about 200 years, and is filled with old buildings, galleries and museums. We spent most of the day on Jetty Road, which is lined with shops, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops and bars. Stopped at "Good Food" and had a fantastic organic vegetable pizza, before heading back into the city. Whilst back in the city, we went to the Museum of South Australia, and took a walk through "The Bradman Collection" - definitely worthwhile. Next, we took a stroll through the botanical gardens, and finally made our way back to the hotel. We then freshened up, and went in search of some Indian food. We found a great spot, again on Rundle St, just opposite The Stag called "Taj Tandoori". Ordered a lamb dish, chicken tandoori dish, vegetable jalfrezi and some garlic naan bread. What a great meal!

- Wednesday: after packing our bags, we headed off to the tourism centre around the corner from the hotel, and booked ourselves on a half day tour. The tour took us up to Mount Lofty, which gave quite a good view of Adelaide. We then spent the afternoon in the German town of Hahndorf. We were a little late to sample the "Wurst", so ended up having tea and cake at the Hahndorf Inn. On our way back, we got to see some Koala bears in the wild, as the tour driver stopped in the side of the road after spotting them in the local gum trees. From there, we headed back to hotel and caught a taxi to the airport.

So, the verdict on Adelaide...well, like I said, its very different in feel and character to Perth. Much slower, and older - which can be a good thing I guess, but not my cup of tea at this stage in life. It would have been great to catch U2 at the Adelaide Oval, but that was not meant to be. Definitely worthwhile doing the trip though.

I picked up some local CD's - The Whitlams, and Pete Murray and transferred them onto my MP3 player last night, so looking forward to listening to them on the way back to Perth.

Off to Adelaide

Sitting at the Perth Domestic airport at the moment, waiting to board our 9:40 am flight to Adelaide. Thought it would be a good idea to reflect on the past few days.

- Friday: Well, the wedding turned out to be fantastic. The weather cleared at the last minute, and the gazebo up in Kings park provided the perfect setting, overlooking the city, and the Swan River. After the ceremony, and whilst the photos were being taken, Ang had organised a tram trip through King's Park for the guests, which was a really good idea as we got to see and learn about some of the history. The reception was then held at Fraser's restaurant - where some good food and wine were consumed during the remainder of the evenings celebrations. Well planned, and executed Ang and Greg.

- Saturday: We set off on Saturday to do the Swan Valley Wine tour. Departed at around 10am, on a ferry, and headed up the Swan river for about 2 hours. We then got off at Caversham Hotel, and boarded a bus, which took us to about 4 wine estates, an ice cream parlour, German brewery, and the Margaret River Chocolate Factory.



Needless to say, by the end of the day, we had drunk enough wine, and eaten enough cheese and other food to last us a while. Very pleasant though...no complaints here. Western Australia certainly does produce some fantastic wines.

- Sunday: K and I headed down to the beach on Sunday morning, and spend some time in the sun, before going into town and checking out some of the shops. We then went for a drink at the Windsor Hotel on Mill Road, went across to AppleCross to watch the sun set, and then spent the evening with K's granny, and Alva (K's mom's cousin). Alva took us to a restaurant called "Thai Corner" - the food was absolutely awesome. We had four or five dishes, ranging from garlic prawns, chicken green curry, sweet and sour noodles, to vegetables and checken and beef kebabs. Really enjoyed the food, and had a great evening.

Well, that about sums it up. Still enjoying the fact that we're on holiday, and that even though it is a Monday morning, we have nothing more to worry about, other than which seats we're going to fight for on the plane - we have the choice of a middle seat, and a window seat. Hmm...wonder who will win this one? Life is good!