March was an extraordinary month for me. I traveled to Australia to see my son and it was amazing! First let me say, if you are squeemish about being in a cramped plane for hours, this is not the thing for you! It was a 23 hour flight in all and I lost a day! (left on Saturday-arrived on
Monday) Babies crying, toddlers screaming, folks snoring and I won't even talk about the smells! LOL! I flew from Atlanta to Los Angeles, From LA to Sydney From Sydney to Adelaide in the Southern Territory of Australia. I think I like traveling with a partner a bit better, because two heads are better than one when you're trying to navigate the airports.
I arrived worn out, but feeling the sunshine and breathing clean air in Adelaide gave me a second wind! I arrived at the Pullman Hotel to a very friendly french concierge named Jean, who came to Adelaide more than 10 years ago to follow true love. The true love faded but he loved Adelaide so much, he stayed! I settled in and called my son for dinner, I hadn't seen him in nearly 2 years, so you know I was excited. Not only is he handsome but he has grown into this interesting young man with his own opinions, style and ideas.
I arrived smack in the middle of festivals for city; the Fringe Festival, The Writers Conference and the WOMAdelaide 4 day world music festival, so there were folks everywhere and from all over the world. Everyone I met, said it's a ghost town for all the other months of the year, but it still didn't compare to the crowds we get at any given concert here in the states, I was very comfortable.
The outside mall was a block from my hotel so I got my walk and shop in daily. There was entertainment throughout the day with friendly people eating and enjoying the beautiful weather. The temperature ranged between the 80's and low 90's daily, not one day of rain! The weather is a reversal of weather in the Atl, it was summer time in march and winter will arrive in our summer months.
I visited the Cleland Wildlife Center with my new friend Nicole and fed the kangaroos, the koalas were on lockdown because of an outbreak of chlamydia.
I strolled the board walk of the Glenlg Beach, where the water was so clear and beautiful, I wanted to jump right in. The Circus Afrique was awesome with acts that included no animals but lots of color and ooohs and ahhhhs over their antics. Aussie's are serious about their food, the restaurants are relaxed and the food is fabulous, but be careful, the sunny side up egg on my hamburger did not go over well nor the beetroot! LOL! Hey...I managed and I found a deli that made my food the way I liked it, I was there practically everyday for breakfast and lunch. The seafood was so fresh, it actually tasted different to me- it was delish!
I met refugees from Afghanistan, Syria,Persia, all who came to Adelaide some 10-20 years ago, these were my Uber drivers.I tried to tip the servers and everybody said no thanks, we make a living wage- I was stunned! I saw one police officer in the two weeks I was there, I saw one homeless guy and the city was clean. One day of the week was a holiday for the horse races- really, an entire city off for the races? I love it! And everyone was going somewhere to relax and enjoy their time off. The amazing thing about the people of Adelaide was that they loved my American accent and no one was in a hurry! We are trying to run folks over just going to the grocery store! My drivers actually drove the speed limit, when I was walking, it was leisurely and nobody was walking on the back of my heels. Folks took time and enjoyed their meals and the company they were keeping. I loved the slower pace- I got to breathe for two weeks and then I woke up! Back to the ATL and the grind!