Yesterday (Saturday) my mother and I went on a Gray Line tour of the Barossa area and Hahndorf. The day started off... not so great. I had it all planned out, and we waited at the bus stop near the house to catch the bus to the city. Then it slowly dawned on me that it was Saturday, and buses on our road only come once an hour. I checked the time table, and we could still make it to the bus station by 9 am... probably... but only if the 503 was on time- which it NEVER is. 10 minutes late, I was sweating. I finally decided to bite the bullet and called for a cab to meet us at Paradise Interchange in 10 minutes to take a cab the rest of the way. Finally, 15 minutes after the bus was supposed to pick us up, nearly 10 minutes past the time it was supposed to be at the Paradise Interchange, it shows up. We board the bus, finally make it to the interchange, and end up shelling out $30 to make sure we get to the bus station in time (we were there at 8:57.)
On the bus at last, our tour guide Gordon gave us details on everything we passed- trees, the towns, the buildings. We spent about 10 minutes at the whispering wall, the water reservoir for the Barossa that does the neat acoustical trick of letting a person on one side of the reservoir hear a person talking quietly on the other side of the reservoir. Mom was amazed. Next, we stopped at a little bakery in Lyndoch and had coffee and German sweets. We finally reached our first tasting stop at Richmond Grove and had a tour of the winery first. We got to taste both whites and reds and Mom and I were most impressed with a Cabernet Savegniot from 1994 and we got 2 bottles.
Next we traveled on to the Kaesler Winery and had an amazing lunch of Kangaroo, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and sticky toffee pudding.
Next we had another wine tasting before heading off for Mengler's Hill to take in panoramic views of the Barossa.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in Hahndorf, browsing the streets, buying 5 kinds of fudge and 2 six packs of Gulf Brewery micro brew beers.
Once back in the city and back home, we got ready for James and Hannah's birthday's- a medieval theme. I had rented a dress a couple of days before and Marie had purchased hers online. We spent the evening feasting on various meats that were cooked rotating over a fire and home brewed beer.
And also vodka jello shots prepared in orange rinds and cut into neat little slices for easy consumption!
Today Mom, Marie and I went to the markets at Port Adelaide. I got 2 pairs of earrings for a dollar each and mom got me a new purse. I also got polenta at Woolworth's- and guess what polenta's one and only ingredient is- corn meal! I have been looking for corn meal for several weeks, so I was happy to find this.
This afternoon I made brunswick stew and hush puppies for mom, Sarah, and Emmanuel for dinner. It was great, and I froze the leftovers for later eating.
Tomorrow mom and I set off for Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, and Uluru!
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