Michelle's visit Part 3

Michelle had a wonderful trip with us in July. We had such a fantastic weekend, Markets for research and then dinner. We ate in the food court of the market that has every type of meal you can imagine. Its focus is on Asia and let me tell you, it is spectacular. Here's Michelle with a tasty sizzling thing.


If you don't eat too much, you can even have a desert. I have no idea what these are called, but they are like a little sandwich with pudding inside. The dough is almost like waffle batter with a crispy outside, but not as fluffy. They make them in lines, each of a different flavor.


Looking at the same machine, but watching the batter drip into the little circles. They use spoons to dish in the center. You can get chocolate, coconut, corn & cheese, or red bean. I've tried them all but the chocolate is the best.

While Michelle was here, we hiked up a hill just to the south of our house. There really are a million and one hikes around Adelaide & we keep finding new places to explore. Michelle and Cam are surrounded in olives looking towards the city.


As Cam went to work on Monday the 4th, Michelle and I checked out a few other places around Adelaide including the beach. Glenelg is where the first Europeans landed on South Australia's mainland (there was an island off shore that they were hanging out a few days). A storm was brewing at Glenelg and the waves were so high they swallowed up the beach and lapped all the way to the break-wall. Their height looked like it would just wash the jetty/pier away.


Of course, a trip with Michelle would not be complete without more art. I shot this at the Art Museum on North Terrace. It is a different perspective on a metal a birdcage.

Friday Night Markets Part Deux

Our Friday night began with the pub and a brew. We moved to the Markets for food & research. Food, obvious, but research? Yes, Michelle is going to paint us something that reminds us of our Friday nights.


One of the places in Adelaide that helps me think of home is this Polish stall at the Markets. There are packets a aplenty, Polish sausage, even real horseradish. I needed horseradish for Easter and the ham.



Remember how I promised a better photo of Michelle? Here's one of her thinking what fish to purchase for our grill/fish tacos. It was very tasty, especially the taco part.



One of the images that we really used for inspiration was this one. Although we don't regularly shop at Seven Brothers, the food always looks tasty. The best part about this was the angles and the shadows. The final painting will also have people walking through the markets with bright colors of food and signs overhead.



Veg here, veg there, veg everywhere you look. One of the best parts of the market is the seasonality of the veg. You can get anything all year round, but the specials on different fruits and veg really make it clear the season. Cam, Michelle, and I all took turns with the camera throughout the Market. Lets say that I took this one!



Purely by watching, you can see interactions between perfect strangers. They were just giving money for bread, but to capture that transaction, one had to be quick with the shutter. I love the warm tones of the light in this image too.




Of course, there even is a honey store! Eating local honey really helps with the allergies, at least that is what I tell myself. We use lots of honey for our granola, thanks to the recipe from Bode. We have one final posting to go with Michelle's visit. Stay tuned...

Fun Friday Nights Part I

For Cam & I, a typical Friday night includes a pub and the markets. When Michelle (Cam's awesome Cousin from Wollingong, New South Wales) visited us over the Fourth of July weekend, we showed her one of our typical Friday nights & it was AWESOME. This post will be the first of several that cover the markets & Michelle's visit...ENJOY.



The Central markets are located in Adelaide, conveniently on our bus line. They contain fresh food stalls, meat and cheese places, whole grains in bulk, and two food courts. Pretty much if you can imagine it in food, they have it. You just have to be patient enough to find it.



The markets are partially contained in a wonderfully historic building. Made of brick, the markets are located adjacent to Chinatown. In fact, it is difficult to say where one stops and the other begins.



Like I said, they have cheese. One of the stalls is called SAY CHEESE, another SMELLY CHEESE. The Smelly Cheese stall really has the best cheese & we picked up a bit for dinners this week. Mmmmm cheese.




They have meat as I mentioned, lots that hang from the ceiling or within the refrigerators. There even is a smoky place, although not as good as stall B-12 at the West Side Markets in Cleveland.



Einstein makes several appearances in Adelaide, but this one at the Markets is simply the best. He is always on his bicycle, but this is the only image where he is carrying something. I promise to post a better image of Michelle next post!

English Ale Festival: Late July

Cam & I joined a friends from work at the English Ale Festival up in the hills outside of Adelaide. The evening festival began with a parade. People dressed the same danced with sticks or handkerchiefs. Everyone was lead by torches since it was dark.




The culmination of the parade was a giant woman made of paper-mache. You can tell how tall she was, and we were a bit worried because of a little sprinkle. There were about 3 or so large spirits, but this one was the largest and most spectacular.




Most of the evening had a fire theme involved. The procession lead everyone to a large bonfire area. As we waited for the fire to start, there was a man spinning fire around on two chains. It was a dangerous activity, but he was very skilled.




The fire was lit by a flaming man made of string and moved by two people by sticks. It looked much better than this photo, but you can see them walking away from us around the circle. The man on fire burned all the way around the circle of people and then was thrown into the brush to start the bonfire. Merriment abounded with cheering and music. An interesting but fun July night.

Clare Valley Part II: Slate Mining & Wine

Cam & I spent the weekend vising a bunch of places in the Clare Valley, and my favorite was the slate mine at Mintaro.


Most of the slate (except the one on that spectacular pool table) at the fabulous Martindale Hall came from just down the road. The Mintaro mine is Australia's longest continual mine. Since at least the 1860s it has been mined and harvested for its slate. Mintaro slate can be mined in very large pieces. All of Adelaide's slate sidewalks come from here. This whole is an older one with the current works across the road.



Slate contains a bunch of moisture and must dry before it is polished and cut. Here is the slate drying on racks.




The Clare Valley is known for their wine. So we had to visit some wineries. This one was run by Jesuit priests. The architecture really reminded me of St. Ignatius High School where my brother went. Standing on their property, you felt as if you could be anywhere...Europe, the US, or even South Australia.




They had a cellar full of old casks and a small historic museum. The cutest thing was the kitty-cat that was cured up in a basket of hay right by the fire. He really was a warm ball of fur.




We took a long walk around around the town of Mintaro checking out the historic architecture. Many of the structures that were houses were occupied, but others appeared deserted. This church was Episcopal and had a smaller, earlier church built next door.

Must come back to the Clare Valley!

Clare Valley Part I: Martindale Hall & Mintaro Maze

Cam & I took a weekend in the Clare Valley - one of three vine regions in the Adelaide Regions.


We pulled in front of Martindale Hall just outside of the small town of Mintaro. Imagine pulling into this place! It was amazingly large...featured in the movie "Picture at Hanging Rock." There were over a dozen servants for a household of 3 people. Absolutely ridiculous, but wicked fun for one evening. We got there & went for a walk around the grounds. The carriage house was larger than most buildings in SA.





Cam & I did a bunch of things that weekend in the Clare Valley. In the town of Mintaro there was an outdoor maze. Cam was exceptionally good at finding the correct way. We answered all of the trivia questions properly.



We went to several wineries over the weekend as well. The white wine was superb. Back at the mansion, Cam & I drank wine by a fireplace after playing on the largest pool table I have ever seen. I was corrected several times to call it a "billiard table" but the balls were the same size as pool. This table was so huge, they built the room around it. The table that Gram used to have on Thurman Alley would fit easily within its width! Picture a huge amount of green.





Evenings included more walks around the country side. Walking is the best way to absorb your immediate surroundings, especially in a new place. We hiked up a short hill to have the following view. This was my attempt to recreate a historic shot.




Back at the mansion at night, the Ant was well positioned right in front of the entrance. We slept in the same bedroom featured in the movie above. I learned all about the proper way to use a heated blanket. In the AM we got to eat a breakfast fit for kings & queens.

Brickworks...Adelaide Style

We haven't had too many images with industrial places lately, but that doesn't mean we haven't been visiting them...this brick works is pretty close to down town Adelaide, just a bit west of the city's center.





I heard about a market there so one rainy Sat (we've had a few of those lately) we checked it out. The Hallett Brick Industries built the 6 acre complex in 1912. The brick works operated until 1975 and at the center of their operations was this kiln. Known as the Hoffman and could hold 300,000 bricks. It is the largest kiln of its kind in Australia.





To our pleasant surprise, there was a giant blow-up shark slide. Since the markets weren't that good, we decided to go for a slide-ride.



Cam one most of the races, but I suspect that is because of his slippery socks. We went up and down a dozen or so times, until we were pretty tired. A good time was had for a Sat AM.

If you want to check it out more on the history and to see some historic images, see the website: http://www.brickworksmarkets.com.au/History.htm

Adelaide Zoo, July

Well, there's been lots that I missed posting, and one of those fun activities was the ADELAIDE ZOO back in late July. Cam & I spent a Sat there with all the friendly animals. There are two pandas from China at the zoo who have to find their food each day. Pandas generally aren't that active, but these two have fun climbing around lookin for grub like carrots or apples.







Once in a while we come across these absolutely hilarious signs. This one was near a ramp that was a bit steep, and gravel rather than paved. The unfortunate part was a real lack of crocks at the bottom...we kept trying to find them, but alas, Adelaide Zoo does not have any crocks.




We saw lots and lots of animals on our journey to the Zoo. Strange, but we also saw most of them eating something. That shouldn't be too surprising, but they always seemed to be eating something. This tiger was nibbling on some bones and Cam snapped a sweet shot.










There were seals, both a boy & a girl. They swam & you couldn't help but marvel at their ears. They can close them so easily, especially under water. Their whiskers are much bigger than I expected.








We sat down near the gibbons for a spell and watched both them and other zoo visitors. I'm not sure what was more entertaining...sometimes the girl gibbon looked like she was watching the crowd as much as the people were watching her. Definitely a ham!







One of the most difficult animals to capture was the hippo. There were two of them and they made laps from the pool to their grassland and back to the pool. Unlike the other animals, these guys weren't eating and looked a bit hungry!




Finally for everyone back in the US who saw us eating "bilby" chocolate at Easter instead of bunnies, here is one in the flesh. They are night creatures and had a red hot heat lamp in their area. Absolutely cute and amazing ears! I must admit though, their pointy nose was much more pointy than I expected.

That's all from the ZOO!

Webster Reunion part 2

The Webster family reunion had the best party on Saturday night care of the Hartnells & the Farm. We decked out the new machinery shed made from Australia's best construction material: corrugated iron.


Here is a portrait set on such a long exposure that most of us couldn't sit still. That is why Toby is so blurry, its difficult to tell a dog to sit, let alone sit still.




Since we were both the photographers, we took turns throughout the night. Cam is much better at night shots, especially the focus. So he took this shot.

There was a quiz that night, awards (Michelle & I tied for the best hairpieces at the races), speeches, food, and fun.

The next AM we had a wonderful breakfast at the local dairy barn.



We consumed more food and these super tasty smoothies. Here is Scott (Cam's cousin) & Louise (Cam's Aunt) pointing out the mango madness in the glass.

Webster Reunion April 2011 Part 1

Cam's family had a 10 year reunion and we were the photographers!
Tony Hartnell's mother, Joy Webster was one of four children from J.T. Webster. They in turn had ten additional children, the grandchildren of J.T. Webster.



Here they are today. In the center and seated is Ian (Tony's younger brother), Marg (Tony's younger sister), and Tony. The whole weekend was full of Webster fun-filled activities.



We went to the races to watch the first J.T. Webster inaugural cup. It was a fun race, although the horse I picked was rather feisty! There were also parachute jumpers that "fell" from the sky. On Sunday, Cam won the Inaugural Norman Webster Golf Tournament of 2011.


Michelle & I made some SPECTACULAR fascinators or hair pieces. We entered a contest, but alas, the judges must have missed the beautiful birds nests we created from items found around the farm. Their loss, we should have one.



Later in the weekend, MaryEd had the fab idea of making some tiles to fire and place around the farm. A few of us made the tiles, including the pups Toby & Harry.