Guitar Festival

This is our second event at this year's Guitar Festival. Before the start of the performance it is announced that the two top performances will be by the understudies. 

We depart during intermission. We cannot help believe the advertised guitarist would have been much better. Perhaps it's because we have seen the real thing in Andalusia but it is not a great performance.

We are supposed to have the Melbourne Guitar Quartet the next evening. Due to COVID, they cannot get in from Victoria. For this substitute performance, they offered a refund and we have accepted that offer.

Cellar Door Fest - Winter Edition

There is a winter version of Cellar Door Fest. We meet James and Jackie at the event.

The highlight of the evening was having a chat with Iain and Bob at the New Era pouring. They were sampling something we haven't had, their new Montepulciano. Otherwise, most of what we tried was disappointing.

This is likely the last of these large events that we are going to do. There are too many producers to chose from. There is too much marginal wine. We no longer have the patience to sort through it all.

Having another event this evening, we find a table and have dinner here. Over a bottle of New Era Montepulciano, we people watch. The crowd was older early, young by six, and beginning to age by the time we depart for the theater.

More marrow

Whenever we have a chance to pass by the butcher, we attempt to get marrow bones. We are successful. These are the most marrow filled bones to date. Delicious as usual.

First Signs of 2021 Spring

It is the second coming of spring since we have been COVID stranded. With the beginning of spring a few days off, there are signs it is on its way.

As CJ leaves physical therapy, there is a yellow rose bush in bloom on the street. He finds this strange since the early rose on Halifax Street is not blossoming yet, and the rose garden in Veale Gardens has only recently been pruned.

He returns home through the south parklands. Veale Gardens is abuzz with activity. City personnel are busy with spring plantings.

Adjacent to the recently pruned rose gardens, he finds another bed recently planted with bright spring flowers. There is no sign of activity in the rose gardens.

There are also perennial spring flowers already in bloom.

Two parks later, near the Japanese Garden there is a stand of Japanese cherry trees and a succulent garden. The succulent garden has aloe plants flowering a sign of the end of winter. The blooming cherry trees herald the coming of spring.

Mt. Lofty

We take the Mercedes into the Adelaide Hills. First stop is at Belair Fine Wines. Very productive but costly move. From there we have no plan but end up at Mt. Lofty. Too bad the day is overcast. This monument is the distinguishing feature of the park at Mt. Lofty. We can see it from the deck on top of our house.

The views of the Adelaide plain from the Adelaide Hills is spectacular. One can see from the salt lakes of the north to nearly McLaren Vale in the south. The Gulf St. Vincent serves as the entire background with the CBD of Adelaide front and center.

A keen eye could spot the roof of our house in this picture. It would be just beyond the light green and dark green belts and near the intersection with the thick green of the south parklands.

Ethiopian lunch @ African Village Centre

We have not had Ethiopian food in more than two years. We spotted African Village Centre and another Ethiopian restaurant one evening when being delivered to an Afghan restaurant. This is our first chance to give it a go.

The food is better than at Enjera, the Ethiopian restaurant in Virginia that is owned by an acquaintance.

At Enjera the food is served on a huge plate where the enjera bread is the base and the meal is spread over it. Here they serve the food in a pot and the bread enjera bread separately. We open the bread and spread the food over it so that is soaks in. This is yummy!

 

Today is the Edinburgh Great Shiraz Challenge 2021. CJ last attended one of these with mates a decade ago.

The event is held in a huge tent erected in the parking lot between the hotel and the liquor store.

Although there may be as many vendors at this event, it is a mere shadow of its former self. The original one CJ and mates attended had all of the big producers such as Penfolds, Henley Farms, and Clarendon Hills. None of the big guys are here. None of the great wines are here. We are disappointed and depart after sampling few wines. 

One should never go into a liquor store after a wine tasting. There are only two wine stores in the Adelaide area with a good selection of French and European wines. This is one of them. Take his credit cards away.

 

Putting on Supplies

It had been 103 days since we had hired a vehicle to stock up. It has been put off as long as possible. We are out of slabs of water, cereal, and milk. Last week we made an emergency run to the central market with two trolleys to get a week's supply of milk and cereal.

Our main stops are Costco and Coles. This is only one of the car loads that enabled us to fill our shelves and closets.

Once the house is full, it is time to begin storing food in the garage. Visible are six slabs of spring water, half of the healthy supply of almond milk we've laid on, restocked soda supplies and sparking water.

This should be good for two or three months.

Yum Cha or Dim Sum

Off to the market we go. CJ wants to change up lunch and forgo lunch with Fernando. He has his mind set on the Chinese food court or the Uyghur place across from the market. A few doors before the market is Ding Hao, purportedly the best dim sum, or as they call it in Australia, yum cha restaurant.

We have been meaning to try this place for 13 years. We are not disappointed.

It is a little different. In most dim sum restaurants, waiters pass by with carts loaded with selections. This is a smaller place with the tables crammed in. The serving people bring two selections to the table each time. The first person to the table offers us fried chicken feet and the other is tripe. We pass. Things get much better after that with friend pork dumplings, scallion pancake, shiu mai, a steamed spinach dumpling, and a scallop dumpling.

Dinner with the Hahn

We have a formal home and away series going with James and Jackie. Every two weeks or so, we get together in one another's home for an evening of good food and wine. It is our turn and on offer this evening is a homemade squash soup followed by a lamb stew, fine winter fare.

Mercedes

CJ has never driven a Mercedes. A byproduct of COVID closures is that during the initial lockdowns, the rental companies sold off their vehicles. Now that business is picking up, there is a shortage of normal vehicles. The rental companies can get luxury vehicles. The least expensive SUV available was this Mercedes, or Merc as the Aussies call it.

Who puts the shift lever on the steering column and makes it look like the turn signal level? What happens when you are driving along and want to make a left hand turn and mistake it for the turn signal lever on your other car?

We use it mostly for shopping but one afternoon CJ puts it through its paces on the winding roads of the Adelaide Hills. With the exception of the interior creature comforts, it does not handle different.