last stop ... Adelaide

We landed at 11:00, got a car and we were on the way to McLaren Vale - 30 minutes to wine country! Our goal was to try boutique wine places ... favorites: Primo Estates (Italian influences), Pertaringa, Coriole and Samuels Gourge. All spectacular and in their own ways! We had to catch the last ferry to Kangaroo Island - so we were in a tear to Cape Jervis. Not a minute to spare and in the rain - we got over and to our house rental (we had Island Breeze - perfect choice). We were awakened by the heavy rains, disappointed we got up any way - only had one day here ... by the time we were ready to go the sky's were clearing up! We were the first to Seal bay - where we took a beach walk with the sea lions. Scott met a new friend we called scoopy - a 12 month old who seemed very interested in us and came within 3 feet to us. We also visited the Remarkable Rocks (really remarkable!), Admirals Arch, Flinders Chase and Cape du Couldic. All were very wonderful sights! Saw lots of seals, kangaroos, wallabies, a few kola bears - no whales or enchidnas.
Back on the ferry to Adelaide - stopped at a potters - Damon Moon. Really interesting watching him throw a couple of pots. We made it into Adelaide by 1 and visited the Jam Factory - a great facility for all craft! Not a school, more of a support for the selected artists who apply. Last stop for the day ... Jessical Loughland's and Deb Jones - Gate 8 studio. It was an old church now divided into a few work spaces. We went out to dinner with Jess and her partner David - wonderful tapas and wine.

Borossa valley took up our next day - we took the scenic route up and it was worth it! Our favorites: Henscke, Rockford, and Toberrck. We relaxed in the mountains with wine and a pizza topped with kangaroo, venison chirizo and emu.

Back to the city for our last day here - We visited the Tandanya Museum of Aboriginal Art, The State Library (where we saw Gabriella Bisetto's exhibition - AMAZING installation work), the SA Art Gallery, we loved that furniture was displayed among the paintings! and we walked thru a bit of the botanic Park and picnicked. We drove just a bit out of the town center to the Blue Pony Studios - first we checked out the neighborhood - a few 2-d galleries, an aboriginal gallery space and furniture maker Khai Liew. Then the Blue Pony Tour Gabriella showed us around - this is a wonderful shared studio in an old wood factory. Tom Moore (SO UNIQUE and out there!) was also in there we were amazed about his works and themes (everyone we met prior kept telling us about him). We ended the night with Nick and Pauline Mount - he has a great space and a wonderful home and collection. We went to The Sparrow - fantastic tapas and perfect wine pairing (thanks Nick) ... best way to end our time in Adelaide!

... on to Melbourne

We are definitely back into a big city - Melbourne had a real bustle to it and we were happy to have warmer weather - about 65 and overcast. We were right out and exploring - Federation Square (center of town) - The National Gallery of Victoria and Kiarra glass gallery - who had a Nick Mount exhibition up. The museum of Contemporary Art had Salvatore Dali's - Liquid Desire - that was fabulous we learned a lot of new information and saw an unforgettable video that he created with Disney!

In the morning we rented a car and went for a day trip to Mournington Peninsula. On the way we stopped at Axia Gallery (Matthew Curtis exhibition) and the McClelland Sculpture Park (REALLY worth the stop if you are out that way!). We had an exceptional wine and food experience at Montalto (so good, it was the only winery we fit in) - the setting was just PERFECT overlooking the vineyards and fields of sheep and great service/knowledge of the food and wine. On the way back to the city we visited a local cheese shop to try out what they had to offer - yum! Picked up a clean skin wine to take back to the room (not so great).

The start of our next day was at the Queen Street Market - WOW what an experience the fruits, vegetables, meats ... were laid out as the dealers yelled for your attention. Without missing a beat we were on to Yarra Valley ... this time we fit in a lot of tastings ... too many to do them all. Our favorites were: Miller Creek Estates, Dominique Portet and Tarra Warra Estate, here we strolled thru the contemporary gallery next door and viewed a wonderful painting exhibition with artist Steven Quilty (I loved the work skulls and cars ...!). Before we were headed out of town we visited Tali Dalton's glass studio - she was having an opening reception and demos. BTW Scott did a great job of driving on the left hand side of the road in an unfamiliar location - I did ok with the navigating as long as there were street signs to follow (which was not always the case).

Canberra

BRR - a bit cooler here and the winds come right out of the mountains. Canberra is a MUCH quieter town - sleepy almost, but has a lot to offer! Our Hotel Diamant was very cute - odd from the outside, but the inside was very up-to-date and wonderful art is on display here from the college!!! We started our time at the Australia National University (ANU) what a treat ... Phil Spelman, sculptor, showed us around the fabulous and very clean and organized facilities. Perfect and quaint settings for small and intimate learning and growing - Glass, Ceramic, Furniture, Metals, Sculpture, Fiber ... LOVED IT. Finished off with watching Nadege blowing one of her famous glass q-tip sculptures. We then wandered around town and ended up at a wine bar that sounded great for dinner - but it was not at all - Benchmark - we would not recommend the place to anyone - good wine recommendations, but the food was frozen and freezer burnt (not to mention the service was not up to par).
Second day we thought we would get some fresh air - we walked over to Beaver galleries - Canberra is NOT a walking town - what we were told was a 45 minute walk turned out to be 90 minutes. Worth the walk (there is even a coffee shop inside the art space), but would not do it again. Beaver galleries and Martin, the director, were great wonderful space and art! excellent coffee/cafe included. Afterwards we cabbed over to the National Gallery - WOW. We loved the building and the works ... top floor for Australia artists only, from modern to classical. Ground floor a variety of works .. the aboriginal exhibit was being renovated, but will be back next year better than ever! The sculpture section was outstanding and the outdoor sculpture park was beautiful in setting and art! Across the way was the National Portrait gallery - we thought we would run thru, but it was AWESOME! Spent a little time in there, wanted to spend more. The contemporary section was very interesting - mix of media and we learned a lot about famous Australian persons!!! A refreshing walk back to Canberra Museum and Craft A.C.T. (worth the walk thru) and back home to freshen up before dinner with Judi Elliot. Judy and Bob picked us up - and took us to their home and Judi's studio. We had the best time with them in art, dinner and company!!!
Our last day was the fullest ... Kristie Rea picked us up and the hotel and took us to visit Matthew and Harriet Curtis studio - What a great place!!! - not much work was up to see (exhibit opening the next weekend) but we got the gist. They took us over to Kristie's studio, looks like a tin shack from the outside, but WOW what a great studio! huge, nicely organized - new works and in progress works were up and out to see - can't wait to see the final exhibition!!! Kristie took us to a close by vineyard (Pialligo) for lunch (friends of hers) yummy meal and wine - fabulous company. Matthew and Harry got us over to the Glass Works - Amazing facilities - gallery, show space, blowing, casting, kilns, studio space ... non stop. Claudia Borella was there too!!! - a very pleasant bonus. We watched Brian Corr and Nick Wirdman work - Nick gave a presentation later in the evening - they a bunch of us went into Kingston for Beer and pizza - great way to end a full day!!!

I am typing fast here - so much done - so much to do !!!!

OFF to Melbourne the next morning ...

Sydney

Even though it is winter here ... the weather is absolutely PERFECT! We have had upper 60's and sunny every day. The first day we did not how long we would last after the long travels. We arrived around 10:30 a.m. Checked into our room and freshened up - and we were off - in search of lunch and the Sydney Harbour!!! We found a wonderful outdoor cafe and had a coffee (long black with cream) and fresh turkish while we watched the people bustle by. Veering over to Darling Harbour - King Street Wharf #8 - we walked up the docks/coast to the "Rocks" area. We learned about the history and architecture of the area as well as exploring the shops ... as we moved under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and caught sight of the Opera house! We took a lot of pictures, but it will never be as good as experiencing it in person! As we walked down into the harbour we heard the sounds of the didgeridoo - persons were in costume playing the Aborigine music and selling Cd's. It was nice to hear the different and calming sounds. We kind of pooped out - and ended up purchasing a few things from a grocer for a picnic dinner on the hotels rooftop before we zonked out - I think about 6 p.m. - when the sun went down.

We had an early start Saturday after a good night sleep. First stop, the Burke Street Bakery for their famous sausage rolls (now we know why), a great way to start the day! Walking again, we went east to the Paddington area - markets, shops and galleries. We did find it hard to find the galleries with the map we had ... but it was great seeing the cute houses and the overall area. Not to mention the Saturday Market - of mostly wearables and art. We stumbled into a designer event that was going on around town, so we kept getting side-tracked into various shops and furnishing stores, it was a lot fun and we saw a lot of interesting and fresh furnishings and designs.

We had an appointment with an artist of ours Daniela Turrin in the Glebe area. So we took a bus over that way and visited Glass Artists Gallery and Daniella's studio. It is always so impressive to see where the artists work and have time to talk with them in person. Daniella is really moving in new and different directions - we can'wait to see more!!! In returning to the hotel we were referred to a restaurant - Chat Thai - really great food, and atmosphere - only a few blocks away. We had a wonderful dinner, our favorite being the green curry chicken - and hit the sack early.

Our last day in Sydney we headed over to Potts Point - window shopping along the way. By the time we got there the city was waking up and we shared the streets with others, grabbing a morning coffee and shopping the market. We saw a couple of very nice galleries before heading back down the coast. We had to stop at Harries Cafe on Wheels for a Potato and Pea Meat Pie - at the end of Wooloomooloo Bay. We planned our walk thru the Royal Botanic Gardens seeing sculpture - fabulous gardens - and breathtaking views. It could not have been better weather for an afternoon in the park!!! Before our boat cruise we had a beer in Sydneys oldest bar - great people and atmosphere. We took the Harbour Express cruise - 4:30, which was the sunset cruise. We explored the harbour from views we could only see on the boat - after the sunset we exhited the boat in Darlington Harbour! Finishing the day with another Thai dinner at "Spice I Am".

AUSTRALIA - August 2009

We will travel thru Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide focusing on the uniqueness of each city and it's surroundings as well as the art / artists, food and wine of these regions.

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Along with it's world famous harbour and opera house, SYDNEY offers fabulous food, art and beaches. We will roam the cobblestone cul-de-sacs of the Rocks or in the markets, botiques, cafes and pubs of Paddington, before heading off to exquisite galleries and a visit a few of the local artist studios.

In CANBERRA we will learn about Australia's culture, history and way of life in the nations capital. Once we have exhausted the monuments and galleries, we will get into the great outdoors! This planned city is one of the few in the world - famous for it's lake, parklands and native bushland surroundings. We will make time to visit Australia National University, the Craft and Design Center and a few very talented artists on the way to a boutique winery on the northern end of town.

Off to MELBOURNE next - a maze of hidden laneways, exclusive restaurants and off the beaten path botiques and wineries. We will not leave out Morington Peninsula, which is known for its quiet country roads, water-front caves, silvery olive groves and rolling hills laced with wineries and vinyards. Yarra Valley is on the list wine tours and artists alike.

ADELAIDE is an elegent city known for it's colonial stone architecture, expansive parklands, lively festivals and incredible sense of space. Explore museums of the North Terrace, and enjoy the gardens sprawled all over the city. A main focus of this area for us is the JamFactory - an internationally known Contemporary Craft and Design center for leading and emerging artists, who work in Ceramic, Glass, Metal and Furniture. Just beyond the city we will disappear into the Adelaide Hills and visit the world class wineries of the Barossa Valley.