#21 - The Barossa

First, a catch up note.

Adelaide....first night there, walking through Rundle Mall on the way to drinks before dinner. I was wearing white jeans and a white silk tank top, it was very hot. As we walked down the Mall there were long tables set for dinner. A lot of tables, and very long. People were setting up for what looked like a wedding, but then, I saw the sign. It was a White Dinner!!!!

I had no idea they had spread around the world, I had tried to go to the one in Philly a while back but they fill up as soon as they are announced. Now, here we are in Adelaide and there are literally three blocks of tables and they are expecting 1400 for dinner. I am wearing white and could fit right in but alas, Steve had a blue shirt and no one could tell me if there was room.

This dinner was a bit different than home, as it was not hosted by a chef or two but you buy or even bring your own food. Later that night as we walked by again, it was in full swing. Groups had brought their own table decorations, some had matching hats or dresses. It was beautiful to see but hot as hell to sit out there unless you were directly in front of the misters. And I was glad we didn't miss our amazing dinner at Peel Street.

We left the heat of Adelaide early Monday morning, heading an hour or so north to Barossa, Australia's most famous wine growing region. 

We swung by the Dairymans Cottage, our next accommodation, said hello to Farmer Mike, and since our room was not ready, we simply headed up the road to start our wine tastings. 

The Barossa is for best known for Shiraz and  Riesling, although they have many GMS blends as well, and some Cabernets. We eventually got to Seppeltsfield where we had a very lovely vineyard lunch and a tasting as well. 

One of the downsides of a long journey is that at some point, for me usually about ten days in, I start being full all the time and can pretty much handle only one good meal a day. This is not quite enough food for Steve, so we compromise and I sit and have a coffee or glass of wine while he gets an additional meal each day. But the Barossa is all about food, so when we finally returned to the Dairyman's, late in the day, we decided to stay in and cook.....I vow to cook at least once a month while away! Our farmer and host, Michael, had provisioned us well, with a fresh loaf of bread, local made Brie, oranges for squeezing juice, a bottle of white wine from the neighboring vineyard and an abundance of pork products right from the pigs on his farm that he himself makes. 

I choose to sauté the fennel sausage for dinner, with fresh eggs from the chickens that were bound to wake us up the next morning.  It was a nice change to 'eat home' and spend the night watching TV and simply hanging out. 

A quick coffee Tuesday AM and we were off for more wine tastings. The Barossa is definitely all about wine but not the same emphasis on things like great or crazy architecture or tours. However, the 'cellar doors', their name for tasting rooms, are abundant and usually free. We went to many that simply poured you five or six or seven tastings, gratis. And the ones that charged provided truly premium wines to taste. 

We did a bit of shopping in Tanunda after our picnic lunch of cheese, bread, fresh local cherries and a bottle from the Penfolds cellar door- they actually have some incredible wines. After finding a few good items in a small shop, we got to talking to the manager and like everywhere we go here, people have either been to the States or want to go there. And they all have this crazy notion to drive across the country, something that even I have never done. We try to explain that much of it is totally boring and then they explain that you can a drive for a day and a half In Australia and not come across a single person....guess our cross country trips are a bit more interesting. 

The rest of today will be reorganizing our luggage for another flight tomorrow and helping Mike feed his very pampered pigs...they have a milk fed diet. This makes them unique, as no one else in all of Australia does this. 

We are also looking forward to our 'Locals Dinner' at The Appellation at The Louise Hotel tonight, where all we told the chef is no offal and no kangaroo. After that we are in his hands. 

And speaking of a Kangaroos, we did expect to see them all over...but have not. So today, we drove out to a reserve nearby and finally got to see at least a dozen, including some adorable joeys, hopping about; so glad we are carrying binoculars. 

And the best news of all....last night a big thunderstorm came through and it was a glorious spring like sunny day.....well under the 100 degrees we have been having. Guess they know we need to get ready for New Zealand next week. 

We are almost halfway through our trip and so it seems a good time to reflect. This is a different type of travel than we usually do. Less exotic because we can always communicate, accents are no issue at all.  More like being at home with so many imported American cultural things like music, shops, TV and even food.  Unique because we are covering a lot of ground in a big country. Refreshing because it is beautiful and easy and allows us to have many more interactions with Aussies. Different because we saw Sydney through the eye of locals and friends. 

We only have another five days in this great country and we are looking forward to enjoying the sophistication and culture of Melbourne, as well as meeting Janet and her family, our hostess, and a friend of friends back in the States. So in advance, thanks Lou, for our Melbourne connection!!  We know it will be fabulous. 

P.S. The internet connections are spotty lots of places. We already bought a new tablet and now a new iPad ( ! happy birthday to me! ) to keep on blogging but sometimes we fall behind or the upload simply fails and we have to wait for a cafe stop or an airport. Don't give up on us, we have many adventures still in store for the next four weeks.