Adelaide - City of parks

Spring in Adelaide
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Tuesday 7th November 2006- The flight to Adelaide was very easy. We picked up our car at the airport. It is a good size automatic, something I have only driven twice before and that was many years ago. Elizabeth has never driven one and says she wants to try it in an empty car park before going on the road! It was only a short drive to our hotel, Mercure Grosvenor, in the centre of the city. Our room is massive, at least three times the size of the one we had in Tokyo.

Adelaide is a compact and attractive city, surrounded by parkland with excellent shopping which Elizabeth was eager to get at! We got some basic supplies as at some motels we will be doing our own breakfast as it helps with early starts and also cost. We ate in the hotel and had a good meal – Elizabeth had salmon and I had had kangaroo. It was only one course but that was plenty for us. Kangaroo meat does not have a strong taste but is quite chewy.

Adelaide - City of parks

Our travellers appearing together in front of Lutheran Church in Tanunda- a rare event!
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Wednesday 8th November 2006 – To the Barossa Valley for wine testing! First stop for coffee and a look around was in Tanunda where the information centre is for the wine region. The town was developed in the mid 19th century by German Lutheran refugees, which was clear from the churches in the area. The first winery we visited was Wolf Blass which is now owned by Foster’s and has a wide selection of wines. The display about the background of Wolfgang Blass’s start in winemaking was interesting, and we tasted a few of the current and extensive range in the very elegant and modern visitors centre. We decided on half a dozen bottles, a mix of red and white, which we’ll just have to drink or give as gifts before we leave Australia. Don’t think our flight baggage allowance will enable us to bring any home. Shame! However, they are widely available in the UK.

Tony at Wolf Blass visitors' centre
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It was back to Tanunda for lunch and then to a small independent winery, Grant Burge, which has very attractive gardens – see photo. Again we tested and bought a couple of bottles, both white. Finally, we made a quick visit to the modern Jacob’s Creek visitors’ centre, which is next door to Grant Burge. By now it was late afternoon and we headed back to Adelaide to prepare for dinner.