February 15, 2025

Charlie Rogers

Travel Blog, Travel, Blog

Travel Blog: Australia- Part Four: Wine-ding Down

February 15, 2025

Charlie Rogers

Travel Blog, Travel, Blog

Welcome back, welcome back!

Well… Unfortunately we have made it to the end of this travel series. I know, I know, I’m as utterly heartbroken as you are, but we will get through this. That being said, if you’re here & you’re reading this current paragraph with unfamiliarity to this series & its content, I would advise you to turn to the prior installments, give them a read, & report back here. This is the fourth & final installment of my Australia series. Yes, fourth. That means there are three other blog postings around this trip for you to go back & read before you read this one! Lucky you! I’ll do you a solid & will go ahead & link those other three blog postings below so you have easy access to all of them! If you’re an ace student & are here like, I got this, I’ve read everything, let’s go, then I hope you’re ready to wrap this whole shebang up! Let’s get rolling!

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

PART FOUR:

Day Thirteen

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

We return once again to a morning at Leena & Max’s. We had decided when planning out our week together that we wanted to try to go up to Barossa, to South Australian wine country for a brief overnight. Once there we would stay at Hart Of Barossa a vineyard that Max’s mother & step father had bought while Max was still in school. So much like we did with our live aboard on the reef, we packed up a small bag to take out & use just for the two days that we would be there.

First things first though, coffee.

If I’m remembering correctly, Leena & Max both had morning sessions at the studio, which means Evan & I took it upon ourselves to venture out & find coffee. Naturally we ended up back at Seven Grounds where I got a bangin’ Almond Croissant & a Dirty Pandan Matcha Latte (yes, it hits as hard as it sounds).

The Hurrells wrapped their session around noon. They had already packed in the morning so all we had to do was pack up the car & hit the road.

On our way out of town we stopped by a gas station to fill up & grab a rather large assortment of drinks to bring along with us for the road & for the house.

Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia

The just over one hour trip out to Barossa is a beautiful one. It’s mostly a straight shot through salt flats, farms, & grasslands. Our first stop once we arrived was to a supermarket. The vineyard, had a pizza oven, & Michael, Max’s stepfather, had been working to perfect his pizza dough recipe. We gathered a bunch of pizza ingredients as well as some items for an evening charcuterie board.

After provisions it was time for more coffee. Sat in the middle of Barossa you’ll find Barossa Beans & Cream. Truth be told, not my favorite name for an establishment, but it does highlight back the location & the nature of the business in the name. Barossa Beans & Cream is a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, & a patisserie all rolled into one. We only went for coffee this day. The hazelnut latte once again made an appearance & off we went to Hart to start our adventure in wine country.

We formally arrived at Hart of Barossa around half past three in the afternoon, greeted by the Galahs in the tree out in the drive & the chittering whistlings of a Magpie. We met Michael & were given a tour of the lovely home that resides on the grounds. Additionally we were presented with several room options to choose from, Evan & I went with the one that seemed a little cooler.

Barossa in the summer time is hot & arid. It doesn’t get the sea breezes that Adelaide has to offer & is itself located in a valley which in turn makes it a bit of a cauldron of heat. This, of course, if perfect for the grapes.

Michael advised us to head over to the Tasting Shed for a flight with Alicia, the wonderful guide on duty, as it closed around 4:30.

The one hundred plus year old shed has had quite the life. At one point it was a stables, later it was a blacksmith shop before it finally came into its current configuration as a tasting room, complete with a long wooden table & the pews from the church where Max’s grandparents got married.

We all made our way in & sat at the end of the table near the bar that looked to be constructed from old grape vines & barn wood. There we met Alicia who lovingly walked us through the different wines.

We started out with the Frizzante, a lightly sparkling white wine that uses the Frontignac grape. It was light & aromatic while not being overly sweet & saccharine like a moscato or sweet riesling. Next came the Rosé. Typically I am not a huge fan of Rosé, I find it frequently too dry & my palette can’t decide if I want it to be something more savory like a dinner white or red, even though the tasting notes lean fruit forward. The Hart rosé threads the needle perfectly & lands as a really nice compliment to the heat of the summer day. Not overly sweet but also not unassumingly dry like I feel I normally find the blend. Next up was the Shiraz Noir.

It’s safe to say that Shiraz is the main Australian grape, pronounced here as “Sure-As.” With it being the primary grape so too does it end up lending itself to a number of blends, naturally the Rosé on the list being the first to feature it here. Here in lies the first of the bottles that is entirely the Shiraz grape, though offering a lighter, more delicate presentation. More headstrong than I would say a Pinot Noir, but still allowing itself the gentle fluidity of function to play well with others, especially where food is concerned. We then moved down the line of age to the flagship single grape bottle, the South Australian Shiraz.

I will be the first to admit to you that typically I am not here for a Shiraz, at least from the French. It’s often way too leathery, too earthy for my taste. However I would argue that the Australian varietal tends to almost lean into being a heavier, most spicy Malbec. An odd comparison I’m sure, but the Hart Shiraz packs a velvety, dark fruit softness almost like biting into the dark fruits you’ll note in it themself.

Here we find ourselves back to another blend; Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz. I loved this bottle. Loved it. It packed that dark fruit explosion on the front that then almost instantly retreats to unveil the deep tannins & almost herbal nature of the Cab. It’s like a wave crashing over your tongue. High marks on this one!

The last of the wines we tried was the Mataro. I actually very much enjoyed this one as well! Leaning into those spicier notes while not becoming overwhelming. It was a lovely, pleasant pallet.

Alright. I said we were done with the wines. That’s not entirely true. We still had the Fortified Shiraz VP!

I love me a fortified wine. Port, Madeira, etc., I’m here for it. This one was no exception. It had that raisin-y sweetness but also lent itself to tarter notes like blackberry & current. I was a fan to say the least which then led us finally into the Shiraz Gin.

Again, really here for this. It was unique in that it carried with it the sweetness of the grape while battling the intense dryness of a gin. Apparently Max’s mother makes a specialty cocktail using the gin, the frizzante, & a splash of sparkling water. It is dangerous because of how utterly drinkable it is.

Cheeks warmed & vision slightly blurred, we made our way from the shed back to the house. There we made more of the Hart cocktails which we took & sat in the pool with.

After about thirty minutes to an hour in the pool Michael came out to inform us that the pizzas were almost ready. So we got out, got dried off & changed, & headed in to dinner.

Michael needs a pizza shop. That’s all I’m saying. The man can cook a pizza. I was thoroughly blown away.

We sat at the table & he brought over the three pizzas he had crafted. One was entirely veggie, one entirely meat, & the other a mesh of both while still maintaining its own unique set of ingredients. I certainly ate too much, but it was so worth it.

After dinner we took a digestive walk. The sun was beginning to set & we walked the outskirts of the vines trying to taste the differences in the old vine grapes & the new. It got darker a little quicker than I think we all expected so we cut our tour short & headed back into the house for the night.

Even though it’d probably been an hour or so since we’d eaten, we decided to put together our charcuterie board. That didn’t take too long but once it was ready we sat around playing card games, drinking wine, & eating until we all fell out from exhaustion & hauled ourselves off to bed.

End Of Day Thirteen

Day Fourteen

First things first, coffee. We started off our morning back at Barossa Bean & Cream. I got my Hazelnut Latte, but also got one of their homemade Caramel Banana Muffins. They warmed it for me & it was sinfully divine.

After coffee we popped around some of the shops in Barossa before heading off to tour the valley a little more.

Our first stop was Chateau Tanunda. It’s a vineyard that dates back to the late 1800s that was erected at the site of where some of the first grapes planted in Barossa grew. WE walked around the Chateau & its grounds, complete with a cricket pitch, before we ventured inside to take a peak at their wine cellar/tasting room.

We didn’t stay at Tanunda for long before we continued on up to Mengler’s Hill.

Mengler’s Hill or Mengler’s Hill Lookout & Barossa Sculpture Park as is its government name, is exactly what the full name implies. It is an outlook that sits about halfway up one of the larger hills that overlooks Barossa below. There are a series of concrete sculptures scattered around as well as a monument to the colonizers who moved into the area & set up Barossa. We meandered about here for a bit, taking pictures & enjoying the view in the early afternoon heat before we went back down to Hart.

We stayed at Hart of Barossa until the early hours of the evening. We all worked a bit in the Glass House on the property doing our respective tasks, taking a break every now & then to dip in the pool or go into the house for a bite of food or something to drink. We ended up leaving at around 6pm to head back to Adelaide. We packed up, thanked Michael for the stay, were gifted a couple of bottle of wine, then we were on our way.

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

We got back just after 7 PM. Upon arrival we were greeted with some fairly nice leather chairs that someone had set out for anyone to take. Max & I loaded them up into their car & took them down the street to the studio for use there. While we were loading up the car I had the privilege of meeting Max & Leena’s neighbors.

Once we’d gotten the chairs settled & everything put back that we packed we began to think about dinner. On the Hurrell list was a Japanese inspired fusion restaurant called Koyo. As the hours were getting a bit late we made sure they would be open & still serving food upon our arrival, we were basically assured their last table of the night.

Koyo is a darling little restaurant. It features a very unique winding booth that ‘s’ curves back & forth through the center of the restaurant, nestling tables in the crux of each of the bends. We sat on the end & once again ordered family style.

We ordered the Spam, Pork, & Cabbage Gyoza with Black Rice Wine Vinegar & Szechuan Chilli Oil, Beetroot with Whipped Feta & Parmesan, Korean Garlic Bread, Burnt End Chashu Pork Fried Rice, the Ebony Angus Striploin Steak with Soy Jus & Korean Garlic Butter, & the Roasted Bulgogi Half Chicken with Crispy Leeks, Garlic Oil, Charred Lemon, & Senbei Rice Cracker. I think we all decided that our favorite things were the chicken, the beets, & the steak!

After dinner the Hurrells took us down the street to get dessert.

Dessert was a local, authentic Italian gelateria, Bottega Gelateria. It’s one of those places with a line down the block in the summer evenings, but the line moves quick. I got two scoops, Hazelnut & Pistachio. Honestly, it was some of the best gelato I’ve ever had! We sat on a bench down the street, finishing off our treats before heading back to the apartment.

Our evening concluded on the couch, only this time instead of VIP we were introduced to the early 00s sitcom that took Australia by storm, Kath & Kim. Staring two best friend comedians that play mother & daughter in the show, Kath & Kim is a parody of suburban life in Melbourne. It looks like it was shot for a middle school film project using your dad’s camcorder, but is way ahead of its time in terms of humor. Ev & I have continued watching it, even post Australia…though we have to do so with the subtitles on…

End Of Day Fourteen

Day Fifteen

In the state of South Australia there is a cartoned iced coffee brand with a cult following, Farmer’s Union. Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee contains three ingredients: coffee, glucose, & reduced fat milk, & for whatever reason, it is phenomenal. Max had bought us some cartons to try & in addition to it being a really solid iced coffee, it also lights you up caffeine wise.

While we sipped our FUIC Max filled us in on the details of his presentation that he’d been selected for to do at the Adelaide Fringe Festival! He walked us through his thought process, what the displays would look like, the coding behind it, how it would function, etc. All in all a really cool, interactive piece & Fringe Fest is a massive event, so happy for him!

Leena & Max had asked us if we there was anything specific that we wanted to do on our last full non-travel day in Australia. I said that I would never turn down another trip to the beach. So that became our afternoon plan.

We made our way back to Henley, this time driving ourselves. We parked near the Jetty so that we could get lunch in Henley Square.

Lunch was Fish & Chips from Henley Takeaway otherwise known as Estia Greek Restaurant. We each got our own which came served on newspaper with a heaping pile of fries. We sat & ate & watched the seagulls fight before heading back up the beach to the same spot we’d claimed a few days prior.

Naturally Max & I immediately headed out into the ocean after the ground cover had been tacked down & all of our belongings were spread appropriately & secured. We were greeted by slightly clearer water & once again the innumerable crabs. Max had found a brand new pair of goggles on the beach so he & I both got to enjoy the wildlife this time around.

At one point a plane passed over head. It was flying fairly low & looked to be only capable of holding about two or so passengers. Max pointed to it & explained that it’s the Shark Patrol. Shark Patrol is a branch of the police that go up & down the coast looking for sharks in the water that may pose a threat to beach goers. If they see a shark in the water they let out a siren to tell people in the water that then need to get out for their safety. We watched it fly over, then continued on pestering the crabs.

This is the chain of events here. Max points out & explains the plane, we talk & chuckle about it as the plane flies towards the Henley Jetty, we go back down to look at crabs, we come back up to the plane circling near the jetty with its alarm going off. The comedic timing of it all way spot on.

So we casually got out of the water.

When we got back to Evan & Leena we had an additional party member, River Lane.

She had just gotten back to Adelaide from holiday with her family. We sat & chatted throughout the afternoon, mostly about diving, travel, & music. She apparently doesn’t live far from the spot we’d plopped & it was nice to formally meet her before we left Australia.

Our dinner/evening plans had been solidified earlier in the week, Elle Holiday & her partner James were set to come over for a game night. They came around 6 PM. We then went through the Uber Eats list of food near by to see what was available & we ended up ordering from Pellegrini Cafe, a local Schnitzel & Pizza place. During our wait for our food we sat, we joked, & told stories. Once our food was arrived we ate, we sat, we joked & told stories. Then once we’d eaten we sat, joked, & told stories. We were so wrapped up in conversation & life that we never got around to playing a single game & before we knew it, the night had crept on & become quite late. We bid them both goodnight & took ourselves to bed as well.

End Of Day Fifteen

Day Sixteen

As with most days, this one starts with coffee. One last trip to Seven Grounds to be exact. I got a Dirty Pandan Matcha Latte & another round of their take on a Full English Breakfast, only this time we took it to go. We spent our morning reassembling, repacking, & getting everything in order. Clean clothing, of which there was a lot thanks to the Hurrell’s wash, went on top with the dirty clothes or clothes we knew we wouldn’t need the rest of the trip stored away. The hallway by the door became our baggage hold as items were restored & sealed for the journey ahead.

Lunch was back at the Adelaide Central Market. We’d opted for that because Max was meeting up with his adoptive mother, Sunset, the market had a plethora of options, & I wanted to grab the Etikette candles that I liked so much from part three. We even ended up back at Zuma Caffe because three of us had ben there a few days prior & the food was solid with a varied selection. Evan & I ordered two different burgers which we split down the middle & gave a half to each of us, as well as a darling little Yuzu Curd Tart.

The burgers we got were the Old School “Zuma Version” Aussie Burger with Two Beef/Pork Patties, Double Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Beetroot, Relish, & Mayo, & the Zuma’s Real Deal Double Cheeseburger with Two Beef/Pork Patties, Double American Cheese, Pickles, Red Onion, Mustard, Ketchup, & Mayonnaise. To be honest, the Aussie burger beat the other by a long shot!

After a very pleasant lunch we headed back to the apartment one last time to gather our belongings, Tetris them in the car, & head out to the airport.

We completed a round of hugs & goodbyes outside of the Adelaide Airport, even snapping a picture or two before we left.

I think it’s at this point that the dread really started to creep in for me. We had spent around two & a half weeks in a warm, welcoming place that, as I mentioned before, felt like an alternate universe to the one we are living in within the US. I think in a lot of ways Australia looks, at least to us, like what The US would have if it hadn’t given into the corporations, to the greed & subjugation. It was a lot like what I imagine The US would be like if it cared for its people, & the earth, & communities instead of trying to leverage everything it can out of us. I know Australia isn’t perfect, but it feels leagues ahead of The US in terms of living a healthy, balanced, happy life where you don’t have to worry about whether your accident is going to bankrupt you or whether your government will prioritize trying to save a dying earth over oil & gas revenues. Again, it has its drawbacks but both Evan & I knew the storm we were returning to arriving on January 17th, 2025 & we desperately didn’t want to return.

It’s not even that we spent two+ weeks on vacation & now we were like ‘vacation for life’ because for the last week of our trip, yes we did activities, but we also did a lot of work & got a sense of normalcy built around that. It was nice to go places & feel safe & cared for & like you as a person mattered to something or someone larger than yourself or your ability to be a monetary outlet.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

We had a late afternoon flight out of Adelaide, it got us into Sydney around 7:15 PM. From there we hopped into an uber & went downtown to the Hilton Sydney.

The hotel was both stunning & massive. We were placed in a king room about twenty-five floors up with views overlooking the lower part of the city. The room was cozy & modern & we quickly used it to change into nicer apparel & ditch our luggage.

For dinner I’d found us an Italian spot called Ragazzi. Ragazzi Wine & Pasta to be exact. We arrived with the sheer hope that even though we didn’t have a reservation we’d be able to get in. They were kind enough to start us out at an outdoor table which they informed us would have to be moved inside at a certain point, as they were only allowed to have outdoor tables til a certain time for noise ordinance.

We started our meal off with Cantabrian Anchovies with Butter on Sourdough, Lonza (Cured Pork Loin) with Pear Mostarda, Melon, & Pickled Mustard Seeds, & Sugarloaf “Caesar” with Smoked Pancetta, Reggiano, & Cured Egg Yolk. All was exceptional.

At this point Evan could tell that the anxiety of returning to The United States was weighing on me. He asked me what was wrong & I explained to him my feelings & my fears. We both admitted that we’d really hoped in part that we wouldn’t enjoy Australia as much as we did, because it made going back to the regression of America that much harder. I think, unfortunately, that my fears & predictions began to weigh on him as well & it turned his emotions fairly quickly.

We were moved inside, now definitely a mopier lot, but still very much enjoying the food & the restaurant. Our pasta courses then came. We had Cacio E Pepe, Cavatelli with Buffalo Mozzarella, Heirloom Tomatoes, & Basil, & Conchiglie with Prawn, & Smoked Tomato XO Sauce. We were torn on a favorite between the Cav & the Conch.

For dessert we ordered a Mango Royale with Macadamia, Lime, Coconut, & Chantilly as well as two scoops of Sorbetti.

We paid the tab, thanked the staff for an excellent dinner, & made our way up farther into the city towards the harbour.

I am nothing if not well researched when it comes to food or drink at a destination I’m traveling to. In addition to sifting through blogs, different food awards, recommendation site, etc., I always ask locals to give us their own takes on the ‘must hit’ spots while we’re somewhere. I had found a bar through The World’s 50 Best Bars Of 2024 list called Maybe Sammy.

Maybe Sammy currently holds down the #26 spot on this list of the top 50 bars in the world. Of which I am sure there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The bar themes itself variably but it always meant to replicate that of a hotel bar. The current menu being so themed around The Grand Budapest Hotel & Monopoly. I got a High Tea (Benraich 10 Year, Fino Sherry, Mastic Tears, Tonic Syrup, Matcha, & Coconut Syrup, Garnished with a sheet of Nori) & a Wake Up Call (Bacardi Ocho 8 Year Rum, Mr Black Coffee Liqueur, De Bortoli Black Noble 10 Year, Espresso, Toffee, & Marscapone) the latter of the two being my definitive favorite.

We made our way back towards the hotel pleasantly buzzed, we’d also had a cocktail with appetizers at dinner. Our night wasn’t quite over yet though, I had one more stop in mind. Back again to Cantina Ok!, a bar that also finds itself on the Top Bars list (#96)!

As I mentioned in part one, upon our initial trip to Cantina Ok!, they do a weekly special. This week’s sounded bomb AF & it was bomb AF, truly one of the top 5 cocktails I had the whole trip! The drink in question was Jax’s Special. Tequila (obviously), Garden Wine, Shaved Frozen Nectarine, & Lychee Ice. It was refreshing with a bit of zippy tartness & subtle sweetness. Wish it was a menu staple, but I get that something isn’t beautiful because it lasts.

Pleasantly inebriated we went back to the hotel to pull out the morning’s clothing, repack, & drift off to sleep.

End Of Day Sixteen

Day Seventeen

I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog series. I’ll be entirely honest & say that I had a deep sense of melancholy while writing it. I loved Australia more than I could have ever imagined I would & this two+ weeks was really just the tip of the iceberg, the continent has so much more to offer, so many more cities to see & places to adventure. Being there filled me with a deep sense of calm that I haven’t felt in a very long time & unfortunately, given the state of the States, doubt I will for a while more. I have a bit more before we head out & put the final ‘period’ in this series. Though it is brief.

We awoke around 7 AM with the obvious intent on hitting The Grumpy Baker one more time before we left town. Part of it was that I wanted one more Hazelnut Latte & a pastry, the other part being that we wanted to get a friend of ours a bag of Single O coffee as a ‘thank you’ for doing some winter prep around our house while we were gone.

The Grumpy Baker locale that we went to was in Hyde Park located inside of an old bus stop. I got my latte, a potato & leek pastry, & I’m sure something sweet. We then walked & ate back to the Hilton to get our belongings & head to the airport for our flight back to the USA.

End Of Day Seventeen

END OF PART FOUR & END OF BLOG SERIES

February 8, 2025

Charlie Rogers

Travel Blog, Travel, Blog

Travel Blog: Australia- Part Three: Adelaide Back

February 8, 2025

Charlie Rogers

Travel Blog, Travel, Blog

Hiyas!

Welcome back to the Australian travel blog. If you’re just now joining us, this is the third part to this four part blog series. That means if you managed to make it here without giving part one &/or two a read, then it’s time to turn that little tuchus around & give those other bits a gander before you continue on. That is, unless you WANT to continue on without the knowledge of the previous works, in which case live your life I guess. If you would so like to give them a proper read first, I have taken the liberty of linking the two lovely blogs that came before this below. Enjoy them. Relish them. Comeback here when you’re all caught up & ready to continue on & we’ll keep trekking! Sound good? Perfect! Let’s get to going then!

PArt One

PART TWO

PART THREE:

Day Nine (Continued)

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

We landed in Adelaide around noon. I had downloaded a few new LUT (Look Up Tables, prefixed color filters that you apply to a picture or video) packs & had started digging through the dive footage I had while on the flight & Evan had worked a bit.

We were met at the Adelaide Airport by Leena & Max, who were kind enough to pick us up & allow us to stay with them.

Two things before we go forward. The first is a bit of history. The second is a bit about what this portion of the blog will be going forward.

I met Leena Regan in 2010 at Belmont University where we both found ourselves in the Commercial Voice program. We became fast friends & have been ever since. In 2013 she moved to Los Angeles where she eventually ended up taking up a job at Musicians Institute (MI), where she taught voice, songwriting, & performance. She herself being an outstanding vocalist, accomplished songwriter, & having performed as an artist since her youth. At MI Leena met Max Hurrell, an Adelaide native, who was in the states as a student but would later become a teacher himself specifically in the realm of production. Max would later go on to produce Obliterated for Hektor Mass & me! The two of them got married around 2019 & in 2020 moved to Australia due to the US’s lackluster at best response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once they got to Australia, Max’s mentor unfortunately passed & his widow offered the Hurrells the studio which they purchased & turned it into Songbird Society, a musical community center seeking to to transform the music industry and create a thriving environment where the well-being of artists is supported and prioritized.

The second note that I have is that this part of the blog series is going to be a little more pedestrian. This is by design. Max & Leena are close friends whose home we are staying in, who were kind enough to inject us into their day to day lives & give us a taste of what normal life looks like for those living in Adelaide. That is not to say that it will not feature incredible meals, fun stories, & adventures. It is chockablock full, I just feel that each day may have a little less to share then the previous two installments as the four of us were also working while we were there to varying degrees & a lot of what we end up doing is sitting around, basking in camaraderie, socializing, & simply enjoying each others company. You know, pedestrian things.

So yes, Leena & Max picked us up & we played a lovely little round of car Tetris to get all of our ‘too much, too large’ luggage into their car.

Our first stop was their flat on the Northwest side of the city, in an area called Bowden. I would say this is the area that they habitat with the majority of their lives. Their apartment is here as is the studio that houses Songbird Society. They had prepared for us their spare room & were kind enough to buy an air mattress, complete with an inflatable headboard so your pillow doesn’t roll off, for us to use! After we dropped our stuff, we made our way down & out to do a bit of looking about & to grab some lunch/coffee.

We walked along in the glorious 77° day for about five minutes until we got to the studio. We were shown in by the duo, brought from the vibrant, arid seaside of Adelaide, into a space of tranquil darkness accented by vibrant strikes of color.

The interior of Songbird is entirely black. You walk through the foyer to an almost living room set up complete with vintage gaming consoles, funky furniture, an upright piano, a shelf of vivacious knick knacks, & a stage. Off to the right you have the studio; double sided with an isolation book sandwiched in the middle. Straight on from the main room you find River Lane’s office (more on her in part four!) & to the right, Leena’s studio which sits on the opposite side of the isolation booth from Max’s.

After we wrapped the studio tour it was time for food. Down the street we went to Seven Grounds.

Seven Grounds is a lovely little cafe with some really solid drinks & some really solid food. We sat outside in the glorious day & began our orders. The first drink that I got was a Coconut Vietnamese Iced Coffee with Ube Whipped Cream. Yes, you read that correctly. It was absolute heaven. For lunch we all attempted to order the same thing, the Burger. However, there ended up being only one burger left for the day (we were there about an hour before closing) & we opted to let Leena have it. Instead I got the Hong Kong Full Brekkie complete with Taiwanese Sausage, Grilled Mushrooms & Tomatoes, Two Fried Eggs, Rasher Bacon, Sourdough Toast, Potatoes, & the best Chilli Oil I think I’ve ever had. Evan got a Chicken sandwich that was also pretty phenomenal. I ordered a second latte, though I can’t recall what specifically it was. I do remember it also being immaculate though!

After lunch we opted for a walk. Adelaide has a very unique set up where the original city is bisected by the River Torrens & then surrounded by a series of parks. This series of parks is then further surrounded by more city that stretches out in all directions until they run into the mountains to the east or the ocean to the west. Bowden boarders an area of park on its southeastern ridge. This is where we walked, along the Bunyip Trail.

I cannot reiterate how much of a lovely day it was. The sun was shining, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the light breeze carried with it the smell of the salt from the ocean which picked up the oil from the groves of Eucalyptus & other Gum Trees. The four of us walked & chatted before we made our way back towards their flat.

Along the way we stopped at the IGA (Independent Grocers Of Australia) for some more drinks. Feeling pretty parched from the walk we stocked up on an assortment of mostly Australian beverages then continued walking on to the apartment. At this point I think it was approaching early evening & we sat around their living room chatting for several more hours before the need for food once again set in.

Leena & Max came prepared. They know & appreciate how much of food people Ev & I are & they came ready to encourage that behavior with a full on list or prepared restaurants that either they love or their friends love. That’s right, they’d gone above & beyond & asked around in advance for recommendations on restaurants to take us to. Let’s stop here & give them some proper snaps. One such listed place was Busan Baby (or Bussin’ Baby as it became known to us).

Busan Baby is a modern korean restaurant located in the central part of Adelaide. It is served family style & we ate the menu.

The Hurrells had gone a few times previously, mostly for special occasions, & since our coming to visit was seen as a special occasion by them (& of course us) we went!

We ordered Bibimbap w/ Spicy Pork, Kimchi & Ban Chan, Soy Garlic & Sweet Spicy Korean Fried Chicken, Japchae Noodles w/ Bulgogi, Giant Chicken Katsu w/ Melted Cheese & Fried Kimchi, & I’m honestly not sure what else. The meal was a blur of joy & excellence. Nothing we had was anything short of exceptional. I’m pretty sure the wait staff hated us by the end of the night as we had so much fun that at times we were crying laughing. Oh well.

We wrapped the evening back on the couch where Max & Leena introduced us to a Dropout show called Very Important People in which comedians are done up in full make up, prompted to come up with a character, & give a full on sit down 20-30 minute interview entirely improvised. I highly recommend you give it a watch!

With full hearts & bellies we made our way to bed & drifted off into the night.

End Of Day Nine

Day Ten

The next day we had a quiet morning. We slept in a bit, Max & Leena had some work to get done at Songbird, Evan & I had some work to get done at the flat as well as some laundry that we’d accumulated over the previous nine days & so it was until the early afternoon. (I told you all, some of this would be pedestrian, you didn’t believe me did you?) I do think at some point Evan & I walked to Seven Grounds for a latte & a pastry, but I think that was fairly early on. At around 1 in the afternoon Leena came home from the studio & we went about making a plan for the day.

She had a few benchmark items that she wanted us to hit while we were there, a lot of it was just up in the air & came down to us deciding kind of ‘when & where.’ One such item was the Central Market, which we opted to make our afternoon excursion.

The central market, located smack dab in the center of Adelaide (shocker I know, who’d have thought with a name like central market it’d be in the center & also a market?!) is a large building that houses around 70 different stalls. From grocery to restaurants, bakeries to clothing, there’s a lot to see & a lot to explore amongst the purveyors. We meandered through them until we stumbled upon Sustainable Co. where I was drawn in by the assortment of smells radiating from the booth.

As I mentioned towards the end of part two, Evan & I are lovers of fragrances. This naturally extends to candles as is apparent by the fact that I also make & sell them.

Shameless Plug

The shop had a quant selection of candles themselves, most notably from a company called etikette. I love me a marine scent & they have two that I instantly became enamored with; Tallow in Salt Bush & Sea Kelp & Freycinet in Coastal Moss & Sea Salt. Additionally I really enjoyed their Otways in Bush Botanicals & Evan liked the Wilpena in Cactus Flower, which is subsequently the fragrance used all over Songbird Society & Leena & Max’s flat!

We found lunch at a restaurant that sits half in the market & half outside, Zuma Caffe. I got a Chinotto soda (which Leena found appalling) & their Fish & Chips which were excellent! We sat around enjoying our lunch in the sun for around an hour before I made my way back in to one of the fruit stalls to buy a beautiful looking bunch of green grapes & a couple of local mangos.

After lunch Leena took us around the bend to Breadtop, a Singaporean bakery, where we all got an assortment of different Southeast Asian buns, cakes, tarts, breads, & snacks before making our way back to the apartment.

We worked back at the flat a bit longer before it was time to go eat once again.

Another restaurant on the list from Leena & Max was Africola. Though they themselves had never been, they had a lot of friends who recommended it & apparently it was also nationally renown.

Our reservation was a bit on the late side, we ended up being the last table at the restaurant, but on the way we got to witness the bats migrating from one end of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens to the other. There were thousands of them & it was an incredible site to see!

We sat outside at Africola in the balmy evening air starting our meal off with cocktails then ordering family style with our meal once again.

We had Peri Peri Chicken with Mpumalunga Fire & Boom Chakalaka, Goolwa Pipis with Fermented Chili & White Pea, Crispy Chicken Tea Sandwiches with Peri Peri Dripping, Cabbage with Whey & Prawns, & Boston Bay Pork Loin with Mustard Leaf Gremoulata. I think the group favorite of the items was either the Tea Sandwiches or the Pipis! We also got dessert; Tahini Ice Cream & Chocolate Mousse! Both were amazing!

After dinner we made our way back home, watched more Very Important People, & went out like a light.

End Of Day Ten

Day Eleven

We once again spent the morning doing our respective works. Max had a session for the greater part of the day so it ended up being Evan, Leena, & me again.

Around noon, when we’d exhausted our intake of items we’d pilfered from Breadtop the day prior, we went in search of food. Opting for something a little different from the options that were in our immediate vicinity, we ended up taking about a fifteen minute walk down the road to Pony & Cole.

It was a sunny, if not outright hot day in Adelaide as we walked to Pony & Cole, to the point where I wondered if the t-shirt I was wearing was too much & I should’ve swapped it out for a tank. We were unfortunately a little sweaty upon arrival at the cafe but I guess that’s what air conditioning is for.

At Pony & Cole I got an Iced Hazelnut Latte. It seemed no matter where we went in Australia our three coffee flavor options were always the same; vanilla, hazelnut, or caramel. I don’t know what is different there, but each of these flavor options actually smack. Three is enough when they’re strangely exceptional despite their casual nature.

I was feeling rather hungry so I ended up getting a smaller menu item as well as a ‘main’ plate. I got the Bircher Muesli with Blueberry Compote & Hazelnut, along with the Scrambled Chilli Eggs with Seeded Brioche, Housemade Chilli Crisp, & Pickles. I think my favorite out of the two was actually the Bircher, which was surprising to me! I just have such an affinity for the dish, even though it is just basically oatmeal.

We hung out at Pony & Cole for a while before walking back in the heat. We then used that opportunity to do further work & finish up some personal chores.

Late in the afternoon, around 3:30-ish, Max came back having finished up his session. We then took to planning our evening. In a bit of a flash of inspiration I suggested we pack a charcuterie board & take it to the beach for a sunset picnic as I wanted to see a west coast facing sunset while we were in Australia. The rest of the gang loved the idea so we went about making it a reality.

First we went to IGA, we bought cheese & sliced meats, fruits & veggies, crackers, chips, nuts, dips, & a bag of candy or two. We rationed out the gatherings evenly to split the cost as such & then went around the corner of Plant 4 to Bowden Cellars to grab a few canned, boozy beverages for the beach. It is here we meet “Yeet Juice.”

Yeet Juice is a product of Bowden Brewing, located just down the street from the flat. It is a hella tart hard lemonade with a cult South Australian cult following. We did not opt for the normal Yeet that day, though I would try it at some point later, instead we went for their summer seasonal Guava flavor, which was the correct option to choose. We also picked up a seller that Leena swore tasted like Watermelon Sour Patch Kids. It absolutely did.

A quick side bar here about guava.

I love guava, absolutely adore it. Unfortunately, this country where I live, The United States, has not, other than it seems the Latin-x & Southeast Asian communities, embraced the lovely fruit & flavor that is the guava. I find that to be disheartening. I find that choice blasé because we so often don’t embrace the things that are best for us here in the US of A. Anyway. All of this to say, more guava please. More guava flavors. More guava fruit. Etc.

Thank you for attending my TED Talk.

We went back to the Apt, packed up all of our goodies into a cooler, grabbed beach towels & swimming suits, & off we went to the beach!

The Hurrell’s beach of choice is Henley Beach & I understand why! It’s a stunner for starters! Additionally it’s almost a perfect twenty minute straight shot from their home to the beach with next to no turns. Additionally, the part that we went to, sits almost smack dab in the middle between the Henley Beach Jetty & the Grange Beach Jetty to the north, so people are more likely at either of those places. We took an uber as to be able to partake in the beverages we’d bought, so we didn’t have to worry about parking. Not that it would be an issue when we came back a few days later.

We claimed a spot on the beach at around 6:30. The sun wasn’t due to set for another hour & a half to two, so we decided to start out our dinner with a swim.

The water temperature was a good deal warmer than that of Sydney, at least that’s how it seemed to me. Subsequently, despite my numerous global travels, this was the first time I had ever been in what is technically the Indian Ocean!

Evan & Leena stuck to pretty close to the shoreline where they picked through the sand for shells, of which there was an abundance. Max & I went out to about the point where we could no longer touch & mulled about the shallows. I had brought my dive mask with me, so I got a kick out of all the Sand Crabs that would spring up from the sand & throw a fit anytime you got even within a foot & a half of them. There were hundreds of them.

The visibility was a bit low for the day, but we didn’t mind. We spent about thirty minutes out in the waves before hunger began to set back in & we made our way to shore to dry off & dine on our provisions.

Leena had received this sick ground cover for her birthday. It was basically a seven foot by seven foot mat that came with tent stakes. It can be washed & is very easy to get dirt & sand off of. It fit all four of us on it perfectly fine & there we sat & drank & ate & laughed & waited for the sun to dip below the strait.

The sunset was stellar (lol), a wash of pale yellow fading into fiery orange that washed the entire coastline in a warm marigold. It lasted a while too, I would say around 45 minutes! It was truly magical. Evan even decided it beat out the ones in the Philippines which I’m not entirely sure I can get on board with, but I don’t think that one is necessarily better than the other. They’re different, the hue of the sky is different.

From there we packed up before the sun was completely gone, leaving us in darkness, changed back into dry clothing, called an uber, & went back to the flat to sleep the night away.

End Of Day Eleven

Day Twelve

We started our day off with a plan to go out to Mount Lofty & do a small bit of a hike around the Botanic Gardens up there. However, first we needed coffee & sustenance.

Down the road from the flat, in an old clothing store, a bakery has taken up residence. It’s called Against The Grain Bakery & they feature an assortment of different sweet & savory bakery options. From cookie to hand pies, croissants to breads, they’ve got it covered, as well as offering a full coffee bar. I once again got a Hazelnut Latte & I believe the baked good I purchased was something S’mores-y. Not entirely sure. All I can remember is that I ate it quickly because of how good it was!

Carbed & Caffeinated we made our way out of Adelaide up to the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens.

There were two main reasons why the Hurrells wanted to take us up to Mt Lofty. First was because Ev & I are plant lovers & it being summer in Australia, a lot of the foliage was in bloom. The second reason is that Mt Lofty is a great place for wild life sitings; mostly Eastern Grey Kangaroos & Koalas, though the latter can be hard to spot.

We arrived up top & immediately began our search for animals, Leena quickly spotted a mob of Kangaroos grazing in the valley below the parking pavilion, so down we went to see the roos.

In total there were four of them. There was a large male tucked in the shade of a low hanging tree, lounging about, waiting on the heat of the day to pass. Then there was a family; mother, father, & joey. We did our best to keep our distance but still tried to get close enough to observe them. The fella under the tree couldn’t have cared less about us being there, the family of roos wanted to graze & to have nothing to do with us, so we let them all be. From there we made our way up the hill along the paths that wind in & out of the different cultured gardens.

I find it really interesting with how strict customs is when it comes to plants entering Australia that the Botanic Gardens feature so many plants from around the world. It seems counterintuitive to me. I understand that part of the strictness is to prevent foreign pests & invasive species from entering the country, but fining people for lettuce on their sandwich then having gardens of plants from around the world seems a touch hypocritical to me.

Anyway. Around the top of the hill there is a large grove of gum trees, this is where we went searching for koalas.

Max had informed us prior to departure that we would most likely hear koalas before we saw them, if we saw them, especially since it was mating season. He equated the sound they make to a bellowing pig & honestly, I don’t think that’s far off. I’ll link you a sample to that sound below. They actually used the koala mating call as part of the sound effects for the T-Rex in Jurassic Park!

Koala Mating Call

We did not end up seeing (or hearing) any koalas, but that didn’t prevent the walk from still being lovely! We loaded up in the car & down the mountain we went.

Evan & I noticed something interesting about Adelaide. It reminds us a lot of a shrunken down Los Angeles. When you’re coming down from the mountains, through the twists & turns, you often end up with almost an overlook view where you can see the city below & then the ocean beyond. The climate, the foliage, the building designs & layouts are all very similar to certain parts of LA, particularly the Valley or down in Midcity. Naturally there are about 1/5th of the amount of people & Adelaide is markedly cleaner & more put together, but the similarities are bizarre. It just further added to feeling like we were in an alternate reality, especially since the day we went up to Lofty was the day the Palisades fires broke out.

Leena dipped when we got back to go teach a voice lesson or two, so Max, Evan, & I went in search of lunch.

Max ended up taking us to Real Rolls in Regency Park for Báhn Mìs. All three of us got the Mega Meat Combo (Crackling Pork Belly & Lemongrass Chicken) & in all honesty, it was one of the best Báhn Mìs I’ve had in my life!

After lunch he took us back into the city center to go by the Haigh’s Chocolate Factory.

Alfred Haigh was a chocolatier who studied under the Lind family (Lindor Chocolates). He took their recipes & what he learned & brought them back to South Australia to make his own chocolate company based around the tastes of Australia. I ended up getting a variety pack of Australian flavored truffles called the Australian Selection, a pack of Milk Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts, a pack of Dark Chocolate Scorched Almonds, & some Milk Chocolate Mango Truffle Bars. The clear favorites being the truffle bars & the hazelnuts. Then we headed back to the flat to do a bit of work & to prepare for our evening.

Leena had invited several of their friends to join us out on the lawn by Plant 4. On Fridays Plant 4 does a food hall type event where a bunch of venters either open up or come in to offer a variety of food & drinks. Additionally the bar in the plant is open & slinging cocktails, beer, & wine.

Alex & Sophie were the first of Leena & Max’s friends to arrive & when they did we once again spread out Leena’s massive ground cover blanket which was more than large enough to fit all of us on. Once we’d all settled we decided to take turns going into the plant to get food.

Evan & I went first & ended up at an Afghani Curry pop up that was, & I cannot understate this, completely & utterly mind-blowing. The dish came with two or three curry options & a side & I loved every second of it. The pickled veggies that topped each of them were *chef’s kiss.

On our way back we stopped & grabbed drinks from the bar as well. I went with a canned alcoholic ginger beer (if you read part one, you know!) & Ev, I honestly don’t recall what he did.

When we got back to the cover Oli had joined the party. After everyone had gone & gotten food we all sat around drinking, chatting, laughing, & enjoying basic merriment until the sun went down.

As we were drawing the outdoor portion of our evening to a close the power went out. Like the whole area of Bowden went pitch black. Evan had gone inside to use the restroom & this happened while he was in Plant 4…which had magnetic fire doors that sealed upon the power going out. I think he was in a bit of a panic trying to get out, by he eventually found some people who worked there who showed him how to get out through the side doors.

Alex & Sophie departed & the four of us, with the addition of Oli made our way back to the apartment where we sat around by candle light & continued to chat & drink.

At some point the power came back on & we ventured over to the living room for a few rounds of Jackbox before we all called it a night.

End Of Day Twelve

END OF PART THREE