adelaide

we arrived in the "city of churches" late in the afternoon and found our hostel. note on adelaide: it is the first completely planned city in australia, and southern australia, the state in which it is found, was the first state not to be settled by convicts. one million people live in adelaide, but it is a quiet, sleepy oasis that seems very much removed from the east coast backpacker trail. there are tons of restaurants to try, new festivals to experience (right now it is the adelaide film festival and the fringe festival), and wines from barossa valley to sample.

lyds and i were not very impressed with our first hostel so we spent the night at a nice restaurant and splurged on some good food and beer (carlton). we returned back to the hostel after dinner for a needed shower in the gross bathrooms. what kind of hostel doesn't provide a towel and a garbage can? a bad one i guess.

the next morning we awoke early to do laundry and find a new hostel. lyds went searching for a new place and came up empty-handed, and i monitored the washing machines so no one would walk off with our entire wardrobes. afterwards we checked out the central market on gouger street (pronounced goo-jer). stall after stall of veggies, bakery goods, fruits, sandwiches, fish, meats, etc. we grabbed lunch while listening to the vendors bellow out how good their deals are to wandering shoppers. a hint is to come as the market is closing when the deals get crazy from vendors wanting to off load their stock. after the market i had a brainwave to check out a place that some irish guys (dublin and belfast) had recommended to me in st.kilda. we found it, and cooler still, found them sunburnt and staying there. after booking a room with them for the rest of our stay lyds went to the gym and i went drinking with some of the people from our new hostel. let me say again that these aussies can drink, and that they like to buy rounds. everyone got caught up in the good times, and no one wanted to look the least generous. i got to sample a new beer, vb, and also got to revist some others (carlton draught, coopers). one of the guys, chris, was not someone i would usually have struck up a conversation with back in the world. he is 40 (looks 28-30), massive, has big tattoos on both his arms, and drives a massive harley that he had come from perth to pick up. think russel crowe's older brother. we had some great drinks and laughs, and finished off the night with a port and brandy drink and some pool. it just proves that appearances can be deceiving. i was almost an hour late to meet back up with lyds, but she was cool and understood. note on drinking in australia: pitchers of beer are jugs. hence, to kill a pitcher is to skull a jug. aussies don't get twisted or hammered, they get paro (as in paralyzed).

by the time we moved into our new hostel we fell in love with it. it was an old heritage building that had been converted from a b&b to a hostel. guests are all young. internet is free. the kitchen is open and has a huge wood slab of a table across from an antique open fireplace. just outside the kitchen is a spanish-style courtyard when everyone congregates. during the day it is full of people lounging about reading or typing on laptops. as dusk comes it is the perfect temperature for cards and chilling under the xmas lights. everyone cooks their own meals and lydia and i have begun to do so to save money. we enjoy it. i could have stayed in the courtyard until my visa expired. i think this was the reason we saw so little of adelaide.

when lydia again went to the gym i visited the adelaide gaol which was built in 1840 and operated till 1988. 50 people were hanged at the gaol (1840-1964), and these inmates were burried within the walls. coolest part was sitting on both sides of the visiting room barrier and reading the graffitti in the cells. shutting the door on myself in the solitary cells was spooky and dark. i had the whole place to myself, and at the backpacker's discount too.

lydia and i also visited the rodney fox shark museum when we vetured to glenelg (beach community) by tram. rodney fox is famous for being attacked by a great white as a young spearfisherman, and is in ripley's believe it or not museum for surviving his injuries. the museum is a must for shark enthusiasts, as he is now the leading expert on great whites and hollywood's shark consultant. he has been behind the camera on several films and documentaries, including jaws and jaws 2. you can see the signed copy of jaws from peter benchley thanking him for introducing him to sharks, and other jaws memorabilia. unfortunately, lyds and i decided not to book to cage dive with great whites with his company as it was so expensive. however, i found another company that goes out in june and we may do that.

while in town we also explored the brickworks market, and met the craziest cabbie who was an australian olympain for tai-kwan-do. we also went to a comedy night with one of the staff named emily, and the rest of the people from our hostel. we made friends with a dutch guy we called gerry as no one could pronounce his name (we skulled a jug together in diplomacy). lydia organized to meet her friend tom who runs his own tour group, and we may do his tour when we pass through alice springs. my forearms are still marked from twisting off beer caps like aussies do (tom taught me).

the only downer of our stay in the hostel was that we had a bed bug incident. note: bed bugs are common in hostels and are not just part of a rhyme wishing you to sleep tight.

the casualties from this trip continue: lydia's flip flops; lydia's pajamas, my flip flops (x2); my non-perscription shades. much of our clothing is stained pink from pj pants we bought in thailand. my fsu hat is in critical condition and it does not look good. i finished reading the world's first bio-degrating book (a time to kill). as you finished a page it came out in your hands.

got to go ... the flight attendand is saying that in the event of a crash over water the whistle attached to my life vest is great for attracking sharks.

tazzy next.