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| Downtown Adelaide |
Hi Maggie and Chloe!
Thanks for report on Mom. Unfortunately, here, Trevor's Dad is not all that well. He will probably have to go to a care facility in the not so distant future.
Yesterday, after Trevor collected me from the pool, we came back home and had a bite to eat. Jade was there and this was the first time I'd met her. She is a real cutie. Around 2:30pm Trevor went to collect Maya at school and half an hour later Teens drove us to the the girls' home where they had to put on their gym clothes. We met Trevor there and then he left to pick up rest of crew, who had been downtown since late morning, so Cora Lee wouldn't have to walk any further than necessary. We were all invited to the end of term performance at CirKids, the Adelaide gymnastics organization where the sisters have been taking classes for past few years, bit like Arts Umbrella on GI.
Gang were there when we arrived and Maya and Jade went to rehearse while we visited. Bree and Mark, TNT's daughter-in-law and son, arrived from work shortly thereafter and we introduced them to F/S and visited until it was showtime. We were asked to remove our shoes as show was in gym. Audience arranged itself in front of of makeshift stage area. Three classes performed, youngest to oldest and it was a hoot. Basically, a Christmas Pageant scene, as you can imagine. Basically each group and each child and or pair of children, performed an example of a move appropriate for their age level and order of difficulty: tumbling, walking on a beam, trapeze work and even a magic show. Latter was a chortler as lad was a Merlin the Magician as played by Mr Bean, given his skill level! Nevertheless, great good fun and all the adoring parents/grandparents/friends applauded each and every performance or performer in spite of hilarious mistakes and tumbles. Of course, all the kids had a ball. Some, a bit shy, were helped along by more confident friends. One or two, of course, almost needed The Hook to get them out of the limelight!
Chatted with everyone after the show was over. Will see girls and their parents next Wednesday for Trevor's 65th. Said goodbye and made for downtown, in two cars, The Sisterhood in one, The Brotherhood in the other, to park near the Central Market, Adelaide's version of GIM, and wander for a few minutes. Tina made a reservation at Star of Siam, a Thai place, while we shopped for a few items for meals for our stay in Clare Valley. We re-grouped at restaurant and enjoyed a more than delicous meal. Everyone ordered a different dish and we shared the plates:
Cora Lee, #9: Snow Pea Salad, salad of blanched snow peas and minced chicken tossed with shallot, roasted coconut and mild, spicy lemon dressing
Flamin' #16: Pad Ka-Pao, stir fried chicken with chilli, onion, spring onion and fresh basil
Patrizzio #17: Pad-Khing, stir fried beef with fresh ginger, onion, spring onion and capiscum
Trevor #19: Pandan Chicken, pieces of boneless chicken wrapped with aromatic pandan leaf, deep fried until the skin is crispy, served with sweet chilli sauce
Sarge #21: Pepper and Garlic Chilli Pork, marinated pork, pan fried with pepper, spices, crispy garlic flakes and chilli
Tina #31: Pad-Thai, fried rice noodles Thai style witj prawn, peanuts, bean sprouts, bean curd and chives
Sarge and Trev had Singha beer while rest of us sipped glasses of Totino, Adelaide Hills, Pinot Grigio. Food was simply wonderful, service remarkable and friendly so we were more than pleased. Paid our bill and made for home, lads quizzing Trevor about Super Cars, V8's, one step down from FI in Australia. Home before The Sisterhood to monitor email while lads pounded beer. When The Sisterhood returned Teens whipped up a raspberry/banana sorbet, (700.33 grams of ice), in the Nuclear THERMOMIX in about 10 minutes. Divine! Dessert ectasy! Gang were knackered from day downtown so made for their respective beds while I digitated on the FDiaries, desperately tryying to bring them-up-to-date. Quite about 10:30pm, brushed and flossed and then repaired to bed to read a few more chapters of Truth. Quite absorbed by Inspector Villani and his remarkable cast of Melbourne nasties.
DRAFT:
Up at 6:30am to digitate with a cup of java to wake me up until Flamin' joined me about half an hour later
Grant Burge:
7:65 7:60
Charles Melton:
Met Charlie as we were leaving! Richelieu, 100% Mataro
Rockford: too many mini-bus tours
Turkey Flats:
Butcher's Block White, two bottles
Into Tanunda for lunch at Artesan of Barossa. Cora Lee bulled her way into front seat to navigate so we have little hope of ever finding the restaurant! Having a tour of the suburbs of the burg as Cora Lee tries to find where we are. How anyone would allow Coriandre tothe navigate is beyond belief. This is called The Wine Country Weight e tWatchers thReduction Diet: Lose kilos while you search for a place to off The
Navigator!
Finally found the tasting room/restaurant and were quite delighted with situation. Enjoyed the tastings while we waited for the Ploughman's Lunch Platters to be served. Met two couples at the tasting counter I hope we can arrange house exchanges with.
Now in search of Two Hands
Hi Maggster and Chloe!
Up at 6:30am yesterday morning to make my java and digitate for an hour or so before rest of crew appeared. We were planning to go to Barossa but needed to wait until an electrician came to do a bit of work Trevor had arranged to have done. Before power was shut off we all managed to have breakfast, (toast, bacon, overlefts warmed up in microwave, more java/tea), and shower. Teens had left shortly after 8:00am to attend a meeting/luncheon of the Home Economics Association of Australia, most recently Past President, but very involved on Executive for last 15 years. Once electrician was finished and paid for his work, (He was completely soaked by the time he had completed wiring as it just poured buckets while he was outside, working on a panel.), we bundled into the car and set off, just after 10:00am, Trevor navigating from the back seat, (The Sisterhood were fussed, completely unreasonably and unrealisitically, as is their usual wont, complaining that Trevor should have been riding shotgun. I wanted dashboard plug to allow me to iPad my way to wine country, Dear Reader!), Sarge driving through the drizzle.
Took the scenic back route to Gawler, a way Cora Lee and I had never traversed before, and were soon in Lyndock, about 10:30am. Wanted to stop first at Charles Cimicky as it is such an attractive winery with terrific wine but were very disappointed to learn that it was closed! Then decided that we would visit Rockford Wines on Krondorf Road but frustrated again as place was closed! Undeterred, we proceeded, in an easterly direction, to Grant Burge at Krondorf which we discovered, to our communal delight, was open at 10:00am. Only customers there so we had a great time. Wines were not as high-end as those offered at their main tasting facility off Barossa Valley Highway but we enjoyed ourselves witht the very friendly woman behind the counter and scored two reds, on sale: a Reserve Cabernet, Merlot Petit Verdot, 2009, 14%, for $7.65 and a Reserve Barossa Shiraz, 2009, 14.5%, $7.60 respectively. Trevor had a coffee while we tippled.
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| Charles Melton |
Next stop, Turkey Flats, again, not far away, so we headed there and were rewarded with an almost empty Tasting Room. I really like their Butcher's Block White, (Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier blend), so bought two bottles. Proceeded to taste their entire line-up so quite enjoyed being back. By the time we had finished tasting. (I was last to leave, Dear Reader!), gang wanted to have lunch.
Into Tanunda for lunch at Artisans of Barossa. Cora Lee had bulled her Shiraz fuelled way into front seat to navigate so we had little hope of ever finding the restaurant! Had a tour of the residential part of the town as Cora Lee tried to find where we were, muttering all the while about how it was not her fault that we were lost. How anyone would allow Coriandre to navigate is simply beyond belief, Dear Reader. This process, once embarked upon is known as The Wine Country Weight Watchers Reduction Diet: Lose kilos while you search The Barossa Loop for a place to have a bite to eat!!!
Eventually, a few moments shy of a full-scale mutiny, (Even Sarge was starting to lose patience and this is saying something!), more by good luch than proper management we found the aforementioned tasting room/restaurant and were quite delighted with situation. The establishment pours for seven different wineries and we did enjoy tasting while we waited for the Ploughman's Lunch Platters The Goils had ordered, upon arrival, to be served. Met two couples at the tasting counter so we chatted about possible future house exchanges, trading business cards at this stage. Lunch was very tasty, a selelction of cheeses, cold cuts, pickles and fresh bread/crackers with a number of different spreads, and rocket salad, plain but with a lovely dressing.
Tummies satisfied we returned to the counter and worked our way through the reds, even tasting a local Durif, D.R.S., 2009, from Spinifex, a varietal I've not encountered outside Rutherglen. Quite happy with range and quality of wine on offer, I decided upon The Dust Kicker 2009 Shiraz, 14.2%, from Schwarz, a blend of Shiraz and Mataro. Had never tasted product from this winery but was quite impressed with their product.
Good humour restored, returned to the car, (Trevor had taken over driving responsibilities after we left Melton), and went in search of Two Hands, a winery we'd never visited on earlier trips but whose offerings we'd been more than pleased to be introduced to in a wine bar in Salamanca, in Hobart, in 2006 when there with Lurch and Grogg. Furthermore, Grogmeister had invited Sarge and I to a wonderful tasting at the Broadway International Wine Shop, on Broadway near MacDonald, a few years ago, when their wines alone had been featured. Wonderful, wonderful stuff so was rather excited to see winery itself.
Very nicely appointed tasting room, more of a small cafe arrangement where one sits at individual tables and pourer serves you each different wine. An amazing array, from top to bottom, from lower entry whites, The Wolf, 2011 Eden Valley Riesling, $25, right through to their most expensive red, Ares, 2009 Barossa Valley/McLaren Vale Shiraz, weighing in at $165 a bottle. Couldn't have asked for a better tasting, ambience, quality of wine and charming personality of young woman shackled with serving us! Hard to believe that it was only her second day on the job. SHe didn't know absolutely everything about the wines but was extremely confident and helpful, most gracious and accommodating whenever she needed to ask others for information to answer some of our questions. Tasting fee, ($5 per person was donated to a charity), included two small plates of bread, olive oil and prosciutto, so we nibbled as we sipped. Extremely civilized, Dear Reader.
I ended up with a bottle of the Gnarly Dudes, 2010 Shiraz, 14.8%, although I would dearly loved to have had a case of the stunningly rich, complex Barney's Block, 2009 Single Vineyard McLaren Vale Shiraz, $100! We thanked Ebony, our tremendous server, and regrouped at the car. Last call was to be at Hensche as it was, more or less, on the way home. Sarge directed well and we were soon at the gate, only to find it was closed! Hard to believe as in 2006, when last here, winery was closed for a private function! Not overy disappointed as all the tasters were feeling pretty relaxed, so relaxed in fact that the entire back seat snored all the way home!
Carted our case into the house to find Teens busy with the Thermomix, preparing dinner, mouth-watering smells wafting from the oven. Gang chatted or read while I digitated unti about 6:30pm when Don, Tina's brother, and Anne, his wife, arrived. Lovely to see tham again. They both look extremely well and after introductions we visited, catching up and telling them abut our trip to date. A more than sumptuous dinner was served, in the formal Dining Room, Dear Reader, and we sat down to exquisite fare, all home-made from Tina's kitchen: Pappadums, puffed in microwave; Raita, cucumber, yoghurt and garlic; Potatoe Aloo, potatoes, peas and spices; Basmati rice with cumin; and the piece de resitance, Kangaroo, (Skippy), red curry! Meat was tender, tender, tasty, tasty, tasty! Anne had made a pecan pie for dessert and it was topped with a special South Ausralian ice-cream called Golden North, honey ice-cream! Rolled our way into living room to sit around charming fireplace and sipped Two Hands A Day Late a Buck Short, a dessert wine we'd bought for Tina, Rutherglen/Barossa Valley Muscat,17.8%, a poifect finish to the remarkable meal. Talked about how to head east when time comes as well as Anne's/Don's olive grove, The Farm. They have invited us to dinner at their place next Tuesday so Flamin' and Sarge will see it. Everyone was feeling a bit drowsy by 10:30pm so we said goodnight to Anne and Don, helped with a cbt of clean-up and then repaired to our separate bedrooms.
Managed a few chapters of Truth before Cora Lee's gentle snores and my drooping eyelids sent me to Land of Nod!
Patrick and Corinne,
While we're disappointed you won't be in town for Andrea's big event at VRC, we're glad you're having a great time in Australia with no shortage of good wine!
We're also glad to hear that Corinne is on the mend. I also went through a course of antibiotics after an incision, and it's great when we get these little episodes behind us. I hope nurse Dunn is providing the requisite domestic, culinary and transport support services. Take good care of yourself, Corinne!
Andrea and I also took a little trip - two days worth - to Harrison Hot Springs. We stayed at a bed and breakfast that was once the home of a lumber baron and when he died at 102, his surviving children turned it into a resort with a surrounding golf course. Because it is still off-season, we got a good deal on rates but were also the only ones in the whole house which made it feel rather exclusive. On the trip home, we stocked up on smoked salmon and hazelnut butter from the local country stores.
Today was the NDP Leadership Convention, and just in case it's not reported in the Sydney Daily Digest, the new Leader of the Opposition is Thomas Mulcair, previous Quebec Liberal cabinet member who quit on a matter of principle and became Jack Layton's Quebec deputy.
But enough of politics - I would hate to spoil your simple cherry tomatoe/bocconcini salad with grilled chicken breast, brushed with sweet chili sauce!
Have a great trip and we'll think of you here on April 14 when we toast the boithday goil!
Warmest regards, Larry and Andrea
Hi Kasimir and Boithday Goil, to be!
Pleased to hear you are both well and enjoying the Lives of the Rich and Famous at Harrison Hot Springs! Take a video of party and we'll watch it upon our return! Did just a smidgeon over 3 miles today, 5K. Trevor picked me up at 3:30pm, 29C! Time to change before guests arrive. Best wishes from Cora Lee to you both. Hello to Barry G. when nex you pummel him on court! Cheers, Il Conductore!!!!
Hi Lasses and Lads:
Sorry for group mailing but time is of the essence! Trust everyone is well!!!
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