Port and the Barossa

What is there to do at Port Adelaide other than shop at a dodgy second hand market (which I like doing by the way). Well you can always head to the lighthouse. No, I don't mean the actual nautical steel investment, although of course you could do that. I mean The Lighthouse Hotel. Forgive the rather sad website, as it is a great little place to have a bite to eat, well priced and good food. However the best thing is the beer. They brew their own and there are at least 6 on tap. I had a sampler when there which included:

Front to back: Honey Wheat beer, House Cider, Lighthouse Gingerbeer, Tusker Draft Rootbeer and the Archie dark ale

It was a nice thing to do in the middle of a beautiful sun shining day. So after that we went to the Brickworks markets, a place that when I was a child I enjoyed. Now, however, it is a slowly dying indictment of what has happened to many things that we more community oriented before people flocked to Shopping centres to buy things they really don't need and eat food they really shouldn't. It really is a shame, I hope someone takes control of it and really makes it into something great.

Instead of hanging around, we jumped back into the car to head to Brighton's Jetty Road strip where we grabbed a coffee and cake before a stroll on the jetty.

Some of us had too much fun eating.

And then put our feet up.

While I sipped my coffee

and ate my choc-mint hedgehog

Kerrin had an orange sponge cakey thing

On the jetty we could measure fish..... had anyone caught any of course.

Marty was just squinting instead

Some shared chips by the sea

The shark chopper was on patrol

As were seagulls looking for chips

Little Mali was more busy trying to look cute

Or at least sing a song.

The next day we jumped in with the sister and partner to hit the Barossa Valley. One of the fun places around Adelaide to taste wine.

Here we were surrounded by classic Australia

Even tin sheds to make it more classic, just needs a kelpie

Of course, pubs are classically Australian too.

There are many things to reflect on..... even tiles

I find it Australian that the museum looks like a pub

The Barossa is a great little day trip or even for the bigger drinker, a longer stay. It has around 170 wine companies and over 75 cellar doors that are open mostly 7 days a week. We only visited a few in probably one of the "most famous" brands Penfolds (where I recommend most things red that you can't sample with the exception of the Cellar Reserve Sangiovese), Rockfords (I recommend the Alicante Bouchet or Basket Press), Kellermeister (I recommend the Boots Cider and the 2008 Wicked Witch), and Kies (where I recommend the water and conversation with the lovely lady in the cellar door).

Somewhere I try to get to when in the Barossa is Rockford's Winery

To sample what they have lying about

And if the boss is happy, I can buy some :)

After lunch we moved onto the more serious side of things, Penfolds

Except not everyone seems to think I am serious.....

Robert Louis Stevenson once said "Wine is bottled poetry", which I could agree with as long as people think that poetry shouldn't be left to people in black skivvies sitting in a smoke filled room or drug induced haze telling others that they just "don't get it". Then again many wine snobs are a little like that.

Where as I prefer the words of Aristophanes which probably are most apt at the end of my blog post, where as he said

“Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.” 

Alas, I have not wet my mind before this. Sorry reader.

Yes Warsaw, I neglected you.

Sorry Warsaw. I know. I have totally been distracted by the world of Portugal. So what can I say.....???? Sorry again.

Ok so life in Warsaw is now changing drastically. It is September, the time when Warsaw kicks back into life. Everyone has returned from their holidays in the lakes or abroad. Public transport is less dominated by Grannies and more by stinky noisey school kids. The weather has turned it on, and it is radiant. Even clothes dry on the line in an afternoon.

Recently Marty and I have been lucky enough to have Luke and Zuzypants over from the States and Spain, respectively. So we have been eating great food, playing parlour games and painting, as we like to try to make all our guests.

The Summer has also inspired me to get creative with food and become a more self sufficient cottage industry person, in a way.

Take some good Polish apples, preferably a little tart in flavour.
Cut them up into small cubes, after removing the cores. Keep the skins on for flavour.
Add sugar, brandy and of course something traditional, Polish Vodka.
Then shake it all about. Try to dissolve all the sugar. An easier, but less fun alternative, is to dissolve the sugar in warm water earlier.
There you have it. The making of a schnapps/liquor. All we need now is time to really let the flavour of the apples get into the alcohol.

Something else I really desperately wanted to try and had the chance, due to Obi being near the house and because they have Demi-johns. Was Gingerbeer. This is how it works......

Combine yeast and warm water, with sugar and warm water.

Peel the ginger and then chop it up really finely, with this add lemon juice, and more water, this time cold.And there you have it, already to go. It is sitting next to me now, bubbling away at differing intervals, as the little yeast ferments away.

Ok and finally to stay on the topic of beverages, with Winter poking his ugly mug around the corner, it means we will leave the house a little less. Also we were (I was) sick of cleaning up the exploding stove top espresso coffee maker. So we splurged....

Yes we now have a lovely Spanish girl in our kitchen. It must be a girl as anyone who knows Spanish boys knows that most of them are useless in a kitchen. :) This one makes delicious coffees!

So now every morning we don't hide around the corner in case of explosion, instead we stand with awe as this amazing 18 bar wonder pumps out some tasty brown deposits. If you are living in Poland and looking for a coffee machine, this is great value on sale at Saturn now! :) Enjoy, and if you want to drop round for coffee drop me a line! :)