Home of the Reds! Adelaide, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley

OK, so – this is a good time to bring up flying in NZ or AUS, since we flew from Auckland to Adelaide, clearing customs in Sydney/ We’ve obviously gotten quite used to air travel in the US and all its many idiosyncrasies/ Suddenly, it’s a whole new world/

In Auckland, we walk straight through security with a basic x-ray machine/ Didn’t have to take anything off/ Only thing they wanted pulled out of carry on bags were laptops/ Super easy and fast/ In Sydney, we had to clear customs and immigration, change terminals to domestic and go through security again/ We completed the customs paperwork, which they didn’t even look at and walked right through/ They had automated passport machines which took our picture and matched it to our passports/ We didn’t have to talk to a single person/ This is only a bummer because we still, after 46 days of traveling in numerous countries, haven’t gotten a single passport stamp/ I mean seriously/
While I greatly appreciate the easy breezy security process – including, gasp! Walking through with a bottle of water or bottles of wine, one HUGE thing stood out – we had no idea what to do or where to go and no one was standing  around screaming at us/ If you haven’t traveled internationally and reentered the US lately, let me tell you, there is a lot of constant yelling/ Do this/ Don’t do that/ Go here/ Stop that/ OVER HERE! It makes me want to gouge my own eyes out/ I really hate it/ HOWEVER, standing in a long hallway in Sydney trying to figure out what to do or where to go, I thought, well – at least in all that yelling, you know what to do! ;) We got over to this waiting area where we thought we needed to catch a bus to the domestic terminal/ There was no one there and there were no signs/ We sat there for about 10 minutes and then started to get nervous/ As it turns out, we were in the right spot somehow but man that confirmation would have been some good peace of mind since we really needed to make that connection! 

In Australia, we also didn’t have to take anything off and it was just x-ray machines but this time we had to remove aerosols/ Fascinating/ We had one sunscreen spray so that was easy enough/ Walked on through with my water bottle like a boss! You can also hand carry up to 3 bottles of wine per person as part of your carry on allowance/ Dude/ As I stood there delighted with the easy security Jason pointed out, "well sure, no one wants to kill these guys" Wow -- that drove it home/

So, the other interesting thing about Sydney – we are traveling first class so we can go to the Quantas first class lounge (or the biz class lounge)/ We only had about 20 minutes but it was right near our gate, so we thought we’d run in and check it out and grab a glass of water/ We came to the biz lounge first and they directed us to the first class lounge/ Ok, fine/ We get there and hand them our tickets to confirm we can enter and the desk clerk says to me, “I’m sorry but we have quite a strict no thong policy; do you have other shoes available?” Me: dead silence and then, “Um, what?” Turns out, there is a dress code that pretty much just is you can’t wear flip flops/ Poop/ We went back to biz lounge and they wouldn’t let me in either/ Poop/ Finally, Jason went in and had a glass of water while I just stood there/ Seems so lame – most people travel as comfortably as they can these days – which doesn’t normally include carrying extra shoes so they can drink water/ That said, whatever, it was already time for our flight over to Adelaide! 

Quantas is a great airline-- we are really enjoying them/ You always get food – even in coach/ We got wonderful meals in first class and good wine/ I had some sort of grilled fish and one of the attendants made me some thyme vinaigrette for it!  The staff are super friendly and attentive/ Great to fly with/

Ok, we land in Adelaide which is a 2 ½ hour time change/ We think it is midnight because we’ve been in NZ for 2 weeks but it is only 9:30-10PM in Adelaide and the city was hopping! We grabbed a cab, which was very easy and they took credit cards/ Our driver was awesome and pointed out all kinds of things as we went—it was like a mini tour! The city was very well lit, lots of people were out walking around/ Very vibrant and safe/ I love it!

We were staying at the Playford right in the middle of the action and it was a lovely hotel! If you read many blog entries ago, you’ll recall we got to stay here for free by exchanging a time share week of Jason’s parents/ Well, ok, I think that cost about $79/ We had a gigantic suite with a kitchen, a large lounge, a full terrace with floor to ceiling doors and windows, a separate bedroom and a very large bathroom complete with a 2 person jetted tub/ The lap of luxury and it seemed incredibly HUGE compared to our small boat cabin that had been home for 31 nights/ 

 
We ordered up a bottle of wine for a nightcap while we got settled in/ One thing we learned quickly is that in Australia, room service is AMAZING/ First, there are absolutely no additional fees for it/ Back home, I can order a club sandwich and one glass of wine and it ends up being $45 or more with the room service fee, delivery fee, service charge and gratuity/ This is just the price of the food (which is exactly the same as if you were in the restaurant) and there is no tipping/ BOOM! We ended up having a later room service dinner almost every night in Adelaide because we were so worn out from long days of adventure we just didn’t want to go back out!

Speaking of no tipping – this is legit! No tipping! I mean, you can tip if you want and certainly if you get extraordinary service, but it isn’t common nor expected/ And why? Because servers make living wages here! The food costs more but you make $28+ per hour as a server/

One new thing about Adelaide that several people told us about – aborigines! Everyone told us we would likely encounter them, that they might approach us but mostly they keep to themselves/ We couldn’t figure this out at first but finally caught up/ First, there really are very few black people here/ Very few/ The aborigines are, of course, black skinned, but they live on the streets or in the parks or somewhere that we would classify as ‘homeless’/ Harmless, but curious/ Apparently, the government is having to do some sort of retribution pay or some such thing to return what was taken from them/ I’m curious to learn more when I have time to read up on it/

I will say this – Australians are such beautiful, respectful people/ When we did see an aborigine approach someone, they were treated very kindly and almost always given food or drink/ A woman came up to an area where we were sitting having breakfast one morning and the café owner came out and said to her, “hello darling, can I ask that you kindly move along so as not to disturb the patrons finishing their breakfast here?” She apologized and he touched her arm gently and told her it was alright/ She moved on/ The table of people she had approached didn’t push her away/ Rather, they stopped talking, all looked at her and listened to her/ Simple-human-kindness/ I was so sad that I was so shocked by it that I teared up/

Our first full day in Adelaide was so, so, so fun/ Remember Mark and Elizabeth from the boat? Well, this is their home and they told us to call them in the morning of day 1 and we would make plans to meet for lunch/ Jason called Mark around 8 and much to our joy, they’d planned out a whole day! They picked us up at the hotel around 10 and we went wine tasting, to a 3 course lunch at a gorgeous winery, to their house up in the hills with ocean and city views/ They even gave us 2 bottles of wine from their personal cellar! Incredible hosts/ We had so much fun exploring their city with them/ What a blessing/ We went to the Adelaide Hills area because they knew we would be exploring McLaren Vale and Barossa with tours the next 2 days/ Such a nice day and we were just overwhelmed with their generosity – even paying for our lunches/

Our days in McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley were also so much fun! Both areas are really beautiful, quiet, clean/ I’d booked our tours through a company called Cellar Door Tours (they call winery tasting rooms cellar doors here)/ The first day we lucked out and were the only 2 on the tour! So, we had Steve, the company owner, to ourselves/ He completely customized the day based on us and it was a blast/ The wines were delicious and we had a great meal at an Italian place for lunch/ We got to see a lot of animals, too – donkeys, camels, alpacas, sheep, cows, roos! It was awesome/ Steve was an awesome guide – he knew everyone everywhere we went and took us to some of his favorite places, too/

One such place was called Graham Stevens/ Graham is a 78 year old wine maker and winery owner and he is a HOOT! We had the place to ourselves and he was serving us and telling stories/ So much fun/ His personal philosophy is to make good wine that people can afford to drink/ He even had a $10 bottle/ And I’ll tell you, everything we tried was delicious/ He’s a living legend in the area and it was a delight to hang out with him for about an hour/ He makes a sparkling merlot that was just unreal/ He said, “You know what I do with this? I open one Sunday morning and make a good breakfast with eggs benedict/ And then I drink all the wine and say ‘stuff the rest of the week’”

We were talking to Steve about trying to figure out if there is a service in the area that would compile wine we liked from various wineries and ship it to us all together/ He said no, not really, but that he would do it for us because he has an international freight account/ BAM! This turned out to really be awesome over the course of 2 days because we could buy a bottle wherever we liked, add it to our collection in the van, and then just leave it for them to handle/ Awesome, awesome service/

Now, maybe you are wondering about the prices of doing this/ The wine itself is fairly priced, we think/ Everything from Graham’s $10 bottle up towards $60 or so was what we were trying/ Remember this is Australian $-- so cheaper in US/ $7 for a great bottle of red is a steal, right? But the shipping/ The truth is, it is expensive/ We asked every place we went if they distribute in the US and they all said no/ They are very small and don’t want or need to do that/ So, if we want to enjoy it again or share it with friends and family, we have to ship it/ We decided it was worth it to send 1-2 cases home/ We’re waiting for the final shipping charges but I think it’ll end up being something like $200 a case – that’s Australian/

Our second day out with Cellar Door Tours, we had a small group of 6/ 2 from Switzerland, 2 from Tasmania and, of course, us 2 from Texas/ What a group! We enjoyed each other’s company and had a good day together/ I especially enjoyed our lunch which gave us a chance to talk more/ Imagine a table of people from these various places in the world and working in these roles: a doctor, a government IT worker, a farmer, a training manager, a barista, a oil and gas pipeline worker/ All agreeing on things like how to care for the poor, how to find work life balance, how to treat people/ I LOVE conversations like that/ We are all the same at our core/ 

The Barossa didn’t disappoint/ This area produces the big reds that Australia is known for/ We were in Shiraz and Grenache heaven/ Pretty much without exception, we liked everything we tasted/ The highlight of the day was Ballycroft, a tiny little winery operating in a building next to the owner’s house/ When we got there, Bob (tour guide of the day) went to the house to get Joe (the owner) to come give us a tasting/ Joe was hilarious/ Short, spunky, vivacious man who was nothing if not passionate about creating wine he loved to drink/ And oh-by-the-way, so does everyone else it reminded us of Vokel, a Sonoma county fave/ We did our tasting in a little room in what looked like a basic barn or shop/ It was awesome/ Joe had a Tesla charging station right there in the dirt driveway that we asked about/ he said Elon Musk was in the area the week before and he installed it the night before he was supposed to stop by and then he didn’t show up/ But, he can still brag that he has the only Tesla charging station in the Barossa;) 

Our last stop of the day brought us a sparkling cabernet, which our entire group went absolutely crazy for/ I’ve just never had anything like it/ We ordered an entire case of it/ BAM!

Speaking of buying wine, I forgot to mention that in Australia, they have a tax on wine (and maybe all alcohol, not sure) that they call the “wet tax”/ It marks up the cost 30%/ Now, when you are shipping it internationally, they don’t charge you the tax/ Boom – 30% discount! Add that to the strength of the american dollar here now and you have got yourself one heck of a deal! We were able to get this deal at every single place we asked except one who refused because they weren’t direct shipping it (since Steve was going to ship it)/ We said ok, no worries, and just didn’t buy from them/ They are the only place we didn’t buy from/ When it is ALL good and every other place gives you 30% off, why would we?

One final note on the cellar door tour company – Steve couldn’t be our guide on the second day because he had been nominated for a very prestigious travel award and had to attend the black tie ceremony that night/ We found out they won! They only wine tour company to win an award throughout South Australia! That’s fun and certainly well deserved/ We also heard that our hotel won an award/ Man, we must be doing it right!

But, our time in Adelaide quickly came to an end/ We certainly feel we saw everything – the whole city down to the coast and all around the country/ We ended up walking the part we hadn’t seen yet on Saturday morning and came across an awesome market that reminded me so much of Seattle’s Pike Place market/ Shortly after, we packed up and headed to the airport for our flight to Brisbane/ We were able to enter the Quantas lounge (I wore my tennis shoes, just in case, but there wasn’t a flip flop policy)/ The lounge was HUGE and had free serve yourself everything and baristas for more of the incredibly delicious coffee!

Brisbane would be yet another very different portion of the trip – we’ll be staying with Karen and Steve, friends who used to live near us back home but who have been living here for the last year/ Can’t wait to see what comes next!