Land Down Under

It is about 9am, Thursday, July 17th. After countless hours on airplanes (or "aeroplanes" and they are called here) I am in Australia! I am writing this from a computer in the Qantas Club in the airport (aeroport?) in Adelaide. Swanky, no? I was kindly informed when I arrived to check in this morning that I would be flying business class to my final destination of Alice Springs. The generosity of my aunt and uncle never stops, it seems, as they were the ones to make the arrangements. Normally, this would be my cue to feel unworthy and undeserving of such preferential treatment by an airline, but after some hellish airport experiences, I think I'm a little bit more accepting.

But who wants to hear mopey air (aero) travel stories? Considering that all six little children sitting around me on a 17 hour flight were actually quite adorable and well-behaved, we only were on the ground in Sydney for an hour and a half to refuel, I was able to get a flight to Adelaide only a couple of hours after my missed connection in Melbourne, and my duffel bag should meet me in Alice today or tomorrow, I don't really have that much to complain about.

I was greeted in Adelaide by my aunt's father, David, and his wife, Lyn. More obliging hosts I could not hope for! They gave me a driving tour of Adelaide on the way back to their house. It is a beautiful town. It is set up on a grid, framed by North, West, South and East Terraces, which are themselves framed by the "Green Belt" around the entire city. It was built as a planned city, so the streets are logical and there's lots of green space. It's the dead of winter here (a bitingly cold 60 degrees), so a lot of the trees have lost their leaves, but the grass is very green. There are lots of olive trees and fig trees, but the major industry in South Australia is wine. When I come back this way, I will certainly be touring some of the vineyards. One of the more eye-catching features of the city was, for me, Rundle Mall (at least I think that's what it's called). It's a pedestrian street that looked so much like Church Street in Burlington, VT, that I wanted to cry. I can't wait to explore it when I am back in town.

David and Lyn brought me back to their house in Walkerville, a charming suburb of Adelaide, walking distance from town. David pulled out an atlas and gave me a much-appreciated crash course on Australian geography. At my behest, he and Lyn compiled a "Don't miss it" list of things to do while I'm in Australia. They themselves have traveled around quite a bit, having recently returned from a four month tour of the eastern part of the country by caravan. (I'm not sure exactly what they mean by caravan. RV? Long line of cars? I'll let you know when I know.)

While Lyn prepared dinner, David busted out his home videos of a vacation to South Africa some 12 years ago and, after some ribbing from his wife, footage of my Uncle Timmy and his family. Just in case I wasn't already excited enough to see them, this definitely got my adrenaline pumping.

Dinner was superb, as was the cab/shiraz blend that accompanied it. David called it a skinless bottle, which is apparently a colloquialism for excess wine that is bottled and sold dirt cheap without a label. Like, $5 a bottle cheap. What a bloody fantastic idea! The jury is still out on whether or not David made up the phrase "skinless bottle", but I'll go with it. For dessert, Lyn baked a pudding. That's right, baked, not mixed with water and refrigerated. This is a strange land! A strange and delicious land!

I forced myself to stay awake until 7:45, and then fell gratefully into bed. This morning, I feel like I have the upper hand on jet lag and I am ready to see my new desert home. Can't wait!

Peace.