Hello from Adelaide! I'm here to present at the 26th Australian Computers in Education Conference (ACEC). I've never been here but have always dreamed of a day that I'd get to be one with the kangaroos, and as you can see by the picture, I can check this off my bucket list!
The trip from Washington DC is not a walk in the park. Without boring you about details, here are the highlights:
DC to LAX, about six hours. Pretty uneventful, left around 6:30 pm so much of the trip we were just ahead of the sunset though by the time we were over LA, it was dark. I have never been to Southern California and here about the traffic and I have to say, I was still surprised when I saw from the air, every highway in my view had cars bumper to bumper and this was at 11pm ! I wish I had more time to go through the airport, but no sooner had we landed we were off to catch the Qantas flight to Aussie. From what little I did see of the LAX, it was like going to an upscale shopping center! I've never seen so many wonderful stores in one place! Loved it, so I guess it was a good thing that we didn't have time to stay and shop.
The Qantas plane was huge, an Airbus 380. It was a double decker bus with wings. That being said, my space was small and cramped. I had a window seat and felt squished! My husband in the center and a super fellow, George, was on the aisle. George made the trip interesting because he was from Melbourne and was a delight to talk to. He is an artist by trade and travels around the world restoring paintings. We spent a lot of time talking and soon the lights were out and we were supposed to sleep, but I couldn't. I had just come down with a cold so my nose was stuffy and I was feeling pretty lousy. Eventually (17 hours later), we got to Melbourne where we barely caught the connecting flight to Adelaide. It had been thirty hours since we left Manassas and we were ready to toss in the towel and head to our room. Between all the time changes (even from Melbourne to Adelaide) we had no clue what time it was, we just knew we were hungry, tired and excited to finally be on Aussie soil.
We left D.C. on Thursday at 6:30 pm and arrived in our room, Amble at Hahndorf, on Saturday around noon. I was in bed by 7:30 pm that night and slept until 6 am on Sunday morning, which is today. Our host, and owner of Amble, Roger, spent the day giving us a personalized tour of the hills of Adelaide. We visited many beautiful wineries, beaches, and just drove the country side. One of the wineries included a sanctuary for kangaroos. It was there that I got to feed some of their long tailed - hopping residents.
The trip from Washington DC is not a walk in the park. Without boring you about details, here are the highlights:
DC to LAX, about six hours. Pretty uneventful, left around 6:30 pm so much of the trip we were just ahead of the sunset though by the time we were over LA, it was dark. I have never been to Southern California and here about the traffic and I have to say, I was still surprised when I saw from the air, every highway in my view had cars bumper to bumper and this was at 11pm ! I wish I had more time to go through the airport, but no sooner had we landed we were off to catch the Qantas flight to Aussie. From what little I did see of the LAX, it was like going to an upscale shopping center! I've never seen so many wonderful stores in one place! Loved it, so I guess it was a good thing that we didn't have time to stay and shop.
The Qantas plane was huge, an Airbus 380. It was a double decker bus with wings. That being said, my space was small and cramped. I had a window seat and felt squished! My husband in the center and a super fellow, George, was on the aisle. George made the trip interesting because he was from Melbourne and was a delight to talk to. He is an artist by trade and travels around the world restoring paintings. We spent a lot of time talking and soon the lights were out and we were supposed to sleep, but I couldn't. I had just come down with a cold so my nose was stuffy and I was feeling pretty lousy. Eventually (17 hours later), we got to Melbourne where we barely caught the connecting flight to Adelaide. It had been thirty hours since we left Manassas and we were ready to toss in the towel and head to our room. Between all the time changes (even from Melbourne to Adelaide) we had no clue what time it was, we just knew we were hungry, tired and excited to finally be on Aussie soil.
We left D.C. on Thursday at 6:30 pm and arrived in our room, Amble at Hahndorf, on Saturday around noon. I was in bed by 7:30 pm that night and slept until 6 am on Sunday morning, which is today. Our host, and owner of Amble, Roger, spent the day giving us a personalized tour of the hills of Adelaide. We visited many beautiful wineries, beaches, and just drove the country side. One of the wineries included a sanctuary for kangaroos. It was there that I got to feed some of their long tailed - hopping residents.
 Adelaide is the capital of South Australia, which is one of seven states in Australia. It is a beautiful city that offers something for everyone. |  This is one of the Moana Sands beach. Adelaide borders the Southern Ocean and has beautiful cliffs and crystal clear water. |
 This is one of the kangaroos at the sanctuary. They love their soy milk and biscuits! |  Here's Bo sitting against a grape vine that is over 100 years! |
Things I've learned about Australia since my arrival.
- Aussies like Vegemite. It's a yeasty spread in a tube and they put it on toast.
- Peanut Butter is called Peanut Paste
- Coffee is pressed not brewed
- The lowest money denomination is a 5 cent piece/nickel. They don't have pennies, nor do they have a 1 dollar bill. They use 1 dollar coins and they have 2 dollar coin. The smallest paper bill is a 5.
- Yes, the water does drain counter clock wise
- Yield signs are called "Give Way"
- Cookies are called biscuits though the word cookie is trending and catching on, making some native Aussies upset with the change.
- Daylight savings time is opposite of the U.S. We spring forward and fall back, where they spring back (next weekend, in fact) and fall forward. Next weekend the sun will rise at 4:30 a.m. so their daylight savings is at the front of their day, not the end.
- Adelaide is home to the first nude beach in Australia, Maslin Beach.
- Aussies don't tip. They pay their folks enough so tipping is not needed so they don't. We had lunch and dinner..no tips. Weird, but I'm good with that!
Stay tuned for more pictures and fun.
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