Adelaide, South Australia

21 hours and 1549 kilometers after we left Alice Springs we arrived in Adelaide. We only had 3 days in Adelaide and I had high hopes - Adelaide is supposed to be a food lovers' town. I was a little bit disappointed, though. Australia is a big country and I'm convinced that Australians could enjoy themselves in their own country without ever feeling the need to travel elsewhere, but the cities that we've visited in Australia thus far have been incredibly dull. The cities are made up of wide lanes more than anything else and sights are often not very close together. Public transport is a hassle and the streets are incredibly pedestrian-unfriendly. There appears to be a huge contrast between Australian cities and the great Australian outdoors and Adelaide was no exception.

But there were some highlights. At the State Library of South Australia we were allowed one hour of free internet per day. We received a free guided tour through the national history exhibition at the South Australian Museum. We had lunch at the Botanic Gardens. Most importantly, three times a week the Central Market houses 250+ food stalls where you can purchase everything your appetite might fancy from poppy seed bagels to homeade hummus and from South Australian cherries to Italian pasta. These sights were lovely.

But even before I actually came to Adelaide I had decided that there was one thing that simply had to be done there: WINE. South Australia is home to some of the country's most famous wine regions and so, one Wednesday afternoon, we went on a tour through the Barossa Valley. Here we drove through the Torrens Gorge, saw a Big Rocking Horse at the toy factory in Gumeracha, bought chocolate fudge at Angus Park Fruits, enjoyed the view at Menglers Hill Lookout and talked while standing more than 100 meters apart at the Whispering Wall. It was quite a decadent affair with a 3-course lunch. The weather was perfect with not a cloud in sight. And, of course, there was wine. I quickly realized that one only really needs one or two wine tastings, but after a long period of near-sobriety, it was great fun. The biggest surprise of the day was the Choc-a-Bloc at Lambert Estate - a delicious port made with real dark chocolate.











Yesterday night we took our fourth overnight bus and this morning we arrived in Melbourne. Here we're staying with Eyal and Marieke in St Kilda's and I can't begin to stress how nice it is to be staying at an actual home with friends. Eyal and Marieke share a lovely apartment with their Jack Russel Terrier puppy called Eddie and although none of us feel like Christmas due to the lack of cold and snow, at least we're together.

Tonight Jochem and I will take a train to the restaurant where Eyal works as a chef and I'm very excited to have dinner at an actual restaurant (I bought fancy shoes especially for the occasion). Tomorrow we plan to do some shopping for our Christmas meals and at some point we also hope to be able to drive down the Great Ocean Road together and spend a couple of days there. As always, we'll keep you posted. Please know that we think of you and miss you very much.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!