Happy New Years!

Cheers to the New Year! 

We're celebrating the new year in Adelaide, South Australia for the next couple of weeks.  For New Year's eve we opted to go to a cricket game featuring the Adelaide Strikers against the Sydney Thunder.  Cricket is to Aussie what baseball is to US.  It's a summer love affair with statistics, cold beer and fish n chips (Aussie's fav. food ever).  There are a few similarities between the 2 games in that they both use a ball and a bat of some sort, but past that they are totally different.  We still can't proclaim to understand all of the game's rules but it seems that most Aussies aren't able to explain them to us either!  We had a super fun night and laughed ourselves silly as the crowds danced to snippets of oldies (think the Adam's Family & Macarena).

Adelaide prides itself on being a "free" city.  Which means it was built without the use of convict labor.  It was also a planned city from its inception in 1836, which means it is beautifully laid out.  The entire city is ringed with parks and walking paths while the streets are all wide and tree lined.  Like most Aussie cities, it is tidy, clean, has no air pollution and very little street noise/congestion.  Adelaide is known as the city of churches since there are more than 20 of them located inside the central business district.   

St. Peter's Cathedral

St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral

?? After church 10, you lose track of things.  

Most of the neighborhoods are filled with modest homes surrounded by lovely gardens.  There seems to be a great appreciation for preserving the architectural styles of the original cottages as below is how many of the homes look.  English gardens filled with rose bushes and lavender are prevalent.

A home style we've found only in Adelaide

We are staying in a comfy apartment which offers us grand views of the surrounding area.  There is a river that runs nearby with a lovely walking path alongside. Here we spotted our first non captive Koala bear snoozing away in a tree about 30 feet above ground.  We've also found a few new birds as we explore the area.  

No trip to Adelaide would be complete without a visit to one of the famous vineyards in the area.  We opted for the only vineyard inside the city limits called Penfolds.  This is a beautiful winery producing some exceptional wine and spirits.  We took a tour which was really interesting and informative.  Plus there were tastings of 10 different wines at the end.  We couldn't resist buying several bottles of white and red.  Luckily with no way to store things, we are limited to the more reasonably priced "ready to drink" bottles in lieu of the really pricey ones that should be rested for a bit!  They do sell their wines in the US, so if you have a chance to sample this brand, we'd highly recommend it.

Founded in 1844 with vine cuttings from South Africa

Wine storage barrels

One of the original cellars

Today is another hot day with temps reaching 104 F and winds whipping about.  The fires are expected to grow again based on these conditions.  We are grateful to be out of harms way and do extend our prayers to all who have and are being impacted.  

Wishing you each a joyful and prosperous 2020!

Cheryl & Dan