Adelaide

Well! After months without any rain here, it has started with a vengeance! I have never seen such rain as I saw yesterday! It wasn't just sheets of rain, but blankets I think, and yours truly got completely soaked to the skin walking the short distance from the bakery here, where I had been blogging and emailing, to the city centre! At one point, walking through one of the grassy parks that surround the main city centre I was running - as much as I can run - from tree to tree to tree to keep from getting too wet! Didn't work! I was soaked through by the time I got into the centre - and could I find somewhere that sold umbrellas? No way! Only touristy ones with boomerangs and kangaroos all over them. Sorry, but no thanks! I got one this morning on the way here though! A nice sober dark green - and guess what! The sun has come out now!! Things just didn't go my way at all yesterday. I had ideas on what I wanted to see - the city market for one, which I understand is wonderful with stalls selling food, veggies, clothes, souvenirs, books..... quite a tourist attraction apparently! I found the bus that goes on a loop round the centre - free - and asked the driver for the market. I tried to follow our route on the map but got a bit disorientated after a while, so when I finally realised where we were I found we had passed the market and were almost back from where I had got on in the first place. I could have gone round again but was by this time so chilled that I decided to get off and look at the small museum of immigration which had sounded rather good. It was closed by that time!!! So the best thing to do next was to head back to the apartment and get warmed up with a shower and dry clothes. I asked about the buses and understood I was to catch a 182 0r 183 and get off at stop 4. I bought my ticket at the bus office and as I came out there was a bus waiting at the stop. I jumped on, sat down and waited till we set off. Stop number 4? Well I don't think we stopped at stops 2 and 3 because when I got off the bus I was miles further on than I should have been! Someone told me I could get the bus back from the other side of the road, but I'd had enough of buses and could see myself going back and forward all night! So I walked! I am so totally lost with direction here! I can understand it in daylight with the sun going round from east to NORTH to west, but when it's dark? I finally found the right street that crosses over the main route! Do I turn left or right? I turned right - and guess what? It was the wrong way! So I walked back, crossed the main road and walked down the other way! Hallelujah! Found the apartments! Just as I was getting to the top of the stairs to mine my phone rang! It was Ian, telling me he would pick me up in 15 minutes to bring me to their house - rented for the weekend! I had just enough time to leap into the shower and then change into dry clothes but no time to dry my soaking and dripping hair.

While Berny and Clare worked on some flower arrangements for the reception venue, I helped out with tea-making - salmon and salad and chips - and finally we all sat down to eat. The glass of wine to accompany our meal was soooooo good! I told them of my day and they reckon I have to see the museum of immigration, so on Monday morning, as we have some time before the plane back to Melbourne and the start of my flight home, we will maybe all go there. There may even be some time to go to the market too, but I'm not going to break my heart if I don't see it!

So, the wedding is this afternoon and I have to get back to the apartment to wash hair and get ready. Sally had been getting rather stressed the last couple of days but seemed to be calmer last night! Hope she had a good sleep last night and feels fine for her big day!

I think this could well be the last time I blog to you from down under! Tomorrow is the barbecue for family and friends who were staying over in Adelaide, and Monday will be the start of the long journey back to Glasgow. I arrive there at 1225 - lunchtime - on Tuesday, so probably I'll be talking to you on Tuesday night again!

Please forgive all my typos! It's nothing to do with the keyboard - it's just the same as at home but with @ and " being the other way round!!! All mistakes are truly my own, and I seem not to be as good a proof reader as I thought I was!

So, till Tuesday, take care.
Talk again soon!