Stuffs about Adelaide
Sunday night, we took a 2 hour flight from Sydney to Adelaide. Again, we stayed with relatives, and they gave us way waaaay too much to eat! We landed just in time for dinner, and completely stuffed ourselves with various homemade Vietnamese dishes. We had an early start Monday morning, and again we were given a small feast. My aunt and great-aunt took us to the Botanical Gardens and the Adeliade Zoo before lunch at an Italian restaurant. The koala was hidden and sleeping in a tree :(. But I got to see my first kangaroos! There was even one with a joey in the pouch! Sadly, the tiger wasn't feeling social. A pair of American alligators were also at the zoo...and both were asleep in the corner!
After lunch, we took a long ride out to the Whispering Wall. There is a parabolic shaped dam (140 meters wide), holding water in the Barossa Resevoir. On each side of the dam, there were a set of a few steps that brought you to a platform just a few feet below the top side of the dam (on the dry side). If a person stood on each of the platforms, they could speak and hear each other loud and clear! It was amazing and bizarre at the same time. There was no sound amplification; the placement of the platforms and curvature of the parabola was such that sound waves bounced off of the parabola and reached the other platform which allows people on the two platforms to communicate. When walking from one end of the dam to the other, I did notice that when I was in the middle, I could hear the people on the two platforms, but not while walking the whole length. After the Whispering Wall, we got to the Barossa vineyard right before they closed. Didn't get a chance to do a tasting, but was able to go through the museum area. Apparently it's the largest/most popular Australian wine brand, and my aunt got me a bottle while we were there. Hopefully it makes it back to the states with me in one piece :) Afterwards, we drove back to the city. My great-uncle joined us for dinner; we went to a really fancy restaurant called Alphutte. Actually, I think it's the finest fine dining I've ever had! I even ate oysters for the first time ever. They were already de-shelled, placed on a pastry, and covered in hollandaise sauce. I've always been wary of oysters because of the way they look and are presented when in a shell. Still have mixed feelings, but it certainly helped that it was covered in hollandaise. I also had garlic prawns, and a trio of filets: veal, pork, and beef. It was delicious, and after that meal, I really don't know how anyone can choose to be vegetarian! Ended the night with vanilla ice cream wrapped in a pancake, and covered in chocolate sauce.
After lunch, we took a long ride out to the Whispering Wall. There is a parabolic shaped dam (140 meters wide), holding water in the Barossa Resevoir. On each side of the dam, there were a set of a few steps that brought you to a platform just a few feet below the top side of the dam (on the dry side). If a person stood on each of the platforms, they could speak and hear each other loud and clear! It was amazing and bizarre at the same time. There was no sound amplification; the placement of the platforms and curvature of the parabola was such that sound waves bounced off of the parabola and reached the other platform which allows people on the two platforms to communicate. When walking from one end of the dam to the other, I did notice that when I was in the middle, I could hear the people on the two platforms, but not while walking the whole length. After the Whispering Wall, we got to the Barossa vineyard right before they closed. Didn't get a chance to do a tasting, but was able to go through the museum area. Apparently it's the largest/most popular Australian wine brand, and my aunt got me a bottle while we were there. Hopefully it makes it back to the states with me in one piece :) Afterwards, we drove back to the city. My great-uncle joined us for dinner; we went to a really fancy restaurant called Alphutte. Actually, I think it's the finest fine dining I've ever had! I even ate oysters for the first time ever. They were already de-shelled, placed on a pastry, and covered in hollandaise sauce. I've always been wary of oysters because of the way they look and are presented when in a shell. Still have mixed feelings, but it certainly helped that it was covered in hollandaise. I also had garlic prawns, and a trio of filets: veal, pork, and beef. It was delicious, and after that meal, I really don't know how anyone can choose to be vegetarian! Ended the night with vanilla ice cream wrapped in a pancake, and covered in chocolate sauce.