Hahndorf - Again!

Hello,

[Tuesday, 7 April 2009]

Today I was able to go to Hahndorf again. Only this time I went with Ellie and Estee – whom I had met at church on Sunday night. We departed Adelaide at about 10:30ish am and headed for the Hills. We arrived in Hahndorf and moseyed around the art gallery for a bit. Estee was selling her jewelry there so she had a meeting with the manager of the gallery. Ellie and I headed out and wandered down the street. It was a bit chilly this morning, but who doesn’t mind a brisk morning breeze? Not me. We hit up the UGG shop (it sells Australiana for a way good price) and I decided to go back when Estee was with us so that I could have some help in the UGG sizing since Australia sizes are quite a bit different than US sizing. We meandered in and out of shops and enjoyed the morning. I went back to the Beeswax shop where I bought my mom’s hand cream and got her some more. She said it’s been working well so I thought why not get another since I am still in Oz? I also bought myself some more lip balm only this time I got vanilla flavored. I was going to get kiwi since that was available last time, but it wasn’t available this time. Drats!

After that the two of us caught back up with Estee and we headed back to the Australiana shop and Estee helped me with sizing. I got an amazing pair!!! They were priced at $99 which is a VERY good price compared to the US – and if I think about the exchange rate I am getting one heck of a deal. When I went to purchase the boots, the man only charged me $89! I told him that they were priced at $99, but he said, “No - $89 dollars” in a very stern voice. So I got an even better deal than I was expecting. Plus I haven’t taken the boots off since I got home. They are so comfortable!! And the pictures seriously don't do them any justice!

After hoofing around Hahndorf, we drove to Stirling and caught lunch with Estee’s friend Liz at an organic market/restaurant. The food was good – I had chunky vegetable with barley, parsley and pepper. We chatted a bit about traveling since Liz is leaving for Sydney, Spain, Morocco, Germany and other places for a community band tour. Estee used to work as a travel agent so I learned the inside scoop on how all of that works: commissioning, sales, paychecks, hours, etc. I have no desire to work in that industry at all.

Then we came back to Adelaide so that Estee could say good-bye to her Nana before she caught a flight back to Canberra. Ellie and I hung out at the Burnside Village Centre. The shopping center there is ridiculous. Purses (handbags as they are known here) cost $400 dollars and I swear I don’t think I saw a single person wearing jeans other than Ellie and I. They dress up all day, every day and wear Gucci, Chanel or Armani clothing and glasses. I didn’t buy anything in the stores since things were just so outrageously priced. Even books were expensive – a little kids book was $26 dollars, a paperback novel was $30 and cds were $26. Yikes! I don’t know how people can afford to live a lifestyle like that. It makes me sick just thinking about it – what about all of those who can’t get food to eat? Can’t take care of their sick children? Spending $500 on a purse when it could save someone’s life is more appealing to me.

In part of the Burnside Village Centre

The Athlete's Foot - funny name for a store, eh?

No one's store would be called that in the States!

Estee dropped us off at our house after the Burnside extravaganza… and I ate tea and watched the news. A woman named Helen White was sentenced to 13 years in jail with a minimum of 9 years served for starting some bushfires in the Hills a few years ago. They reported that she might try to appeal, but I don’t think that the appeal will be accepted. She has some mental health issues that her lawyer tried to get her acquitted on, but the judge dismissed the issues completely saying that she “terrorized her community.” Bushfires are a serious thing and the fact that she set them deliberately is a big deal.

Also my heart goes out to those who lost their homes and all their belongings, and those who lost their lives in the in earthquake that happened in Italy. To think that everything can be taken away and lives ripped apart by a mere matter of seconds.

On a different note, the Rudd government is going to be spending 43 billion dollars on a broadband plan nationwide. Over 4.7 billion of that money will be coming from taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars. The rest will be made up with government iniquities and other monies. This will be quite nice because Australia really is behind the technical times here. They do have internet, but it is quite expensive so I am curious as to see how this will play out and how it will affect the citizens. On a happier note, a dolphin was released back into the wild off the coast of Queensland. And families were reunited on Finding My Family - a show about people being reunited after adoption.

I’m off to bed now, work comes early these days.

Cheers.