From the Future!

Yea, regardless what the blogger says, I'm almost a full day ahead. Adelaide is 18.5 hours difference from California, so whenever we chat, I'm 5.5 hours behind you and 1 day forward. Wrap your head around THAT!



The sun is no joke here. I walked Marina to work and back figuring it wouldn't be a big deal, and all of a sudden my neck and face are pink. Anyway, there are a ton of cool places to hang out and eat in town, so here are some pix:


^ King William St. intersects the city in the middle, causing street names to change. It makes things pretty confusing, but at least there are a ton of cool fountains and statues in the middle.





^ This is a cool bar/lounge called Zhivago, right around the block.


^ There was some kinda of restaurant, can't remember what kind of food, but they had these to put on your table. Rad!





^ Down at the Torrens River, which separates Adelaide from North Adelaide. Still no spiders! We found a pretty big redback, but no huntsmen. I have a feeling I'll never see one in person. :(





^ Rundle Street at night. The malls here are called arcades. Weird.



We also went to the zoo and played with animals, but most of that was video recorded on the Flip, so when I edit that together I'll post it up. Giant cricket!!

Seeing the Sights in Adelaide

^ This weather is nuts. Sunny and hot a few hours ago.. now it's raining!

Adelaide is a small city. The downtown area is smaller than Vancouver's downtown. You can walk from one end to the other in about 20min, and there are tons of cool shops and buildings to see. First we checked out Chinatown and the market on Gouger Street.






Rundle Street is the biggest shopping area in town, most similar to Robson Street in Vancouver or Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley, but accessible only to foot traffic. There is always something going on, from street performers to live music, and a wide variety of people from all over the world.












Adelaide has been called The City of Churches, and for good reason. Over 50% of the population is Christian, and a cathedral can be found on just about every-other block. I haven't taken many pictures yet, but a lot will come.







More to come!

Catching Up

The flight from San Francisco to Sydney wasn't nearly as bad as one would think. We flew at night, so after watching a few shows and eating dinner on the plane, we were able to sleep for long enough that 15 hours in a cramped airplane seat didn't feel that long. The 3 hour layover in Sydney was used up by waiting for bags and catching a bus over to another terminal for our flight to Adelaide.






Customs was a joke. As strict as the Canadians were with their interrogations just to cross the border, Australia seemed like going from California to Oregon. They said hello, we handed them our papers, they gave us stamps, and sent us on our way! Setting up a new bank account was just as easy, without needing any information like phone numbers or addresses. Ridiculous!






Once in town, it became apparent that we really were on the other side of the world. Cars drive on the left, but people also walk on the left of the sidewalks. Screen doors on balconies are on the inside instead of the outside. The air conditioning units have remote controls that open up vents like transformers. Even the moon is backwards! Over here the shadow falls on the other side, so what we can see is different. The streets are littered with Holdens, odd European sub-compacts, and more modified imports than I've ever seen. Food and just about everything else seems to be more expensive than the states, but the tax is included in the price. So if you see $49.95, it's really that and nothing more. Also, you don't tip at restaurants because they work on salary, which makes it a bit more affordable.

The money is crazy. The lowest bill is a $5, like in Canada, and all of their bills have little windows in them. I'll take a picture soon. They have holographic clear plastic holes with designs on them cut into all of their bills. The coins are similar, but odd. Their $2 coin is the size of our penny, so it could be lost easily. Instead of a quarter, they have a 20 cent coin. Odd!



Anyway, as of now we are limited to our internet usage, so I'll upload more pix and stories soon. Here is a shot of Glenelg Beach at night. Wish the panoramic worked:



We also got to celebrate Australia Day on 26th January (as they say it). Vegemite, Coopers, and Cricket. Doesn't get much more Australian than that! More to come. G'day mates!

AUSTRALIA!

By some crazy twist of fate, I've found myself on the other side of the world. You know when you think there's got to be another version of you somewhere else on Earth that looks like you but is completely different? Well that person is probably in Australia. You look around and see similar people everywhere, but they're weird and talk funny. It's as if you looked in a mirror and saw an alternate universe reflecting back. They drive on the other side of the road, their cars are the same brands but different models, the money has transparent plastic holes in it, and the toilets don't really flush the opposite way.. they have two buttons and attack from all angles! Thus begins my 6 month adventure down under!