Day 1 - Adelaide, South Australia Australia

Agh. Finally on my way to Adelaide. It was still a challenge though. I found online that there was transport from Bendigo to Adelaide, but because I couldn't find or determine if it was via bus or train I just assumed it was by train. So when I arrived at the train station this morning asking for a ticket to Adelaide the employee looked at me strangely. I don't know if he was confused about my request or if he couldn't understand my accent or both, but we had to play the game:

Me, "Ticket to Adelaide please."
Him, "Adelaide?"
Me, "Adelaide."
Him, "In Melbourne?"
Me, "In South Australia."
Him, "Adelaide?"
Me, "Yes, Adelaide."
Him after checking the computer, "Do you have a reservation?"
That's when my heart started freaking out.
Me, "No, can I get one now."
Him, "Let me look it up.Yes there are a few empty seats."
Thank goodness.
Me, "And that's by bus?"
Him, "Yes."

Well that explains why it's a NINE HOUR ride. Of course we will make a bunch of stops in between.Why does everything have to be so difficult? But I'm on my way now, just seven more hours…

Later in the evening…
The bus ride wasn't as bad as I expected, it went by pretty fast with all of the stops we made, on top of me coloring, listening to the ipod, and reading. Lots of variety to keep myself entertained. Brodie and Sydney picked me up from the station and we walked downtown Adelaide, which is much cleaner and artsy than I thought. It's actually how I originally thought it would be when Brodie described it in Cairns, but some people told that it was like Bendigo - ummm, no. Bendigo is old, this place is new and cleaner. It also has more artsy stuff, like these giant panels on one of the parking garages that put on a light show - so cool! The place that Brodie is house sitting for, and our accommodation for the weekend, is fascinating.The house is very old, there's a fire place in almost every room (not working, but obviously used back in the day), the light switches are these giant gold bell looking things, the doors have tiny round door k*** , the ceilings are very high, and there's artwork everywhere. It's clear that one of the members of the house is an artist, like Brodie said. This house is definitely something an artist would buy, it has so much character. But I could never live here. I need contemporary and open.We spent the remainder of the night watching The Nanny - the sitcom that played in the 90s. Between that and our nonstop talk fests we didn't get to bed until late.

Some random observations I've made but do not remember if I wrote them down: At fast food restaurants they do not have a non-carbonated beverage option. In America they usually have lemonade, Hi-C, iced tea, or some other non pop/soda pop/soft drink beverage. Here they do not. Their lemonade is carbonated. They also do not have water in their fountain machines. When I ask for water I usually get bottled water. I've only been to McDonalds twice in Australia, once in New Zealand, Hungry Jacks three or four time in Australia, and KFC once in New Zealand, so I really haven't had that much fast food here. Also in America, McDonalds is known for its cheapness, but here I paid $7-something for a double cheeseburger meal - outrageous!And forget the dollar menu, it doesn't exist.