Adelaide Hills, South Australia.

Let's take the time to wrap up the trip to Australia and specifically Adelaide. We now have just the Adelaide Hills and environs to finish. It isn't anything too hard core, and there aren't a great deal of photos of magical stories at all.

The cleanest window I could find in Handorf was in a gallery of art and craft.

What a lovely place to eat, alas we didn't have the time to do that on a busy day of cruising the hills. So, we just enjoyed the view of Bird In Hand's barrel room.

Then we got a tastin'. Bird in Hand have been one of my favourites for some time. I first visited them back in about 2002 or so when they were still quite new. Now they are a goliath.

A pressed ceiling in the hills somewhere.... I just can't remember where!

One of the local birds.

We got some pretty cool clouds one night.

The skin that tells a story. Eucalyptus trees have some really amazing bark that can protect them during fires. They also help make fires hotter, sounds crazy right? But the hotter a fire is the quicker it burns out and actually saves the trees, as a longer fire would kill both the tree and the seeds. Smart trees!

A bit of flora!

Ok, I'm not going to lie. This isn't the hills. It is actually "The Cube" which is the new part of the McLaren Vale winery D'Arenberg something totally different. It is a winery that does strange and interesting wines. Like Mencia, Sagrantino Cinsault and others. But the cube, feels a little like me when back in Adelaide. A little out of place but still able to nestle in hopefully not making too much of a stir.

Tasmania, Australia - On the Road.

The last glimpses of Tasmania will come from the road. It is a bit of a compilation of stop offs while cruising about the coolest of islands, yes I do mean that in two ways.  This is about some wineries, some beaches and some happiness, ok, a lot of happiness.

Just round the corner from the gorgeous Wineglass Bay is this little place, Freycinet Vineyard. It is a little over touristified but still a nice place and some pleasant wines, but when the website has a quote from 2008, you know it needs some help.

Where to next? The Devil's Corner, a wine I just recently saw in the UK, too! The Sparkling was lovely and fresh, but the Resolution Pinot was outstanding.

They also have some great snacks available.

I went with the coffee instead, with this view I didn't want to be distracted.

The quaint Spring Vale Winery, their had a nice Pinot, but their Gewürztraminer was a touch sweet for me.

Spiky Beach and its little conservation park. Very cute. 

Spiky Bridge, not sure how this convict built bridge got its name.....

Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, Spain. Segundo dia.

As there were so many photos from this incredible part of the world, it ended up being divided into two. Here is the second part. A winery tour and a world of food, surprised? I didn't think so.

Windy roads, rivers and trails.

More twists and turns

Or a coloured version

The true stars of the valley.

Some other locals.

I may have borrowed these....

Albarino being made.

We stopped off for a tasting at Adega Vella a small family run winery in an unexpected setting.

Yes, it is right next to the town's cemetery.

On the recommendation of the winery family, we went to a local restaurant Meson Casa Lelo. It was fantastic! Like this fabada, which I couldn't stop spooning ladles of into my plate.

Some Razor clams.

A version of so bucco.

Some grilled fish. All was washed down with some delicious cooled local red and sparkling water.

Crossing the Sil again, and leaving Galicia for Castilla y Leon, the largest state of Spain.

The scenes remained the same, cliff faces covered by vines and the river poking up on occasions. 

But we are still on the camino.

Onwards into the dry interior we go!

Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, Spain.

The Ribeira Sacra translates as the "Sacred Shore". This related to the vineyards which are planted on the steep slopes of the valleys and canyons of the rivers Miño and Sil. It is some of the most beautiful, heart breaking, densely forested, precipitous areas I have seen, and nothing like anyone would expect coming from Spain. Dense forests of chestnut, oak, with rocks and vineyards scattered throughout. 

The authorised white varieties are: Albariño, Godello, Treixadura, Loureira, Torrontés and Dona Branca, though the first three are the most predominant. The authorised red varieties are: Mencía, Grand noir, Brancellao and Merenzao.

The roads are narrow, windy and beautiful, but probably a little scary in bad weather.

The houses are mostly made of stone, some from centuries old, many remain in tact.

We drove and then walked to a nearly dead village to a beautiful view point. The river is dark and moody here.

This hasn't been photoshopped it just has these amazing shadows and shades.

In winter you could imagine it is quite wet and cool here, the moss and lichens suggest it too.

The path from the lookout back to the village

Galicia is home of many dying villages, the most dead villages in all of the Spanish states. This village was just like the rest. You would find buildings in many states of death.

Left by families when older relatives died, there still remains morsels of their past.

Without maintenance the roofs often cave in.

As there are so many monasteries we landed upon this one. Santa Cristina De Ribas De Sil.