Getting beautified and seeing pandas in Adelaide

We had fun in Adelaide. Was surprisingly good to be back in a big smoke for a short time. Neither of us had ever really spent much time there but had heard only good things about it. We stayed in a caravan park right near the heart of Adelaide so we could jump on our bikes, cruise down the bike tracks next to the river and get into the city. The Park was a bit crowded but full of the usual friendly folk. Our neighbours were a nice couple from Brisbane who had left their house in the responsible hand of 20-something children to travel Australia. They were kind enough to let our kids play in their van and showed them the van's fancy step which could be slid in and out at the touch of a button (hours of fun for a 3yo). Sadly they only stayed a couple of nights and were replaced by an older couple from country Victoria who had plenty to say about the perils of iPads, computer games, lazy children and of course the Government giving too much to the 'abos'. We listened politely to the diatribe, then got out of there quick!

Spectacular Japanese dinner the first night - pricey but we were in heaven!

On a perfect sunny day, we cycled to the Adelaide Zoo to see the famous pandas - Funi and Wang Wang. The pandas were cool and so was the rest of it. Saw a flamingo doing a funny dance. After the zoo, we went to see the Lorax movie. As big Dr Seuss fans we were prepared for the worst, but it was actually really good!

Next morning, Kate fulfilled a long-held promise to Zara by taking her to a cheap and cheerful nail-place to get a manicure. It was a bribe to stop Zara biting her nails and worked a treat. By the time we arrived in Adelaide Zara had talons which the ladies at Citi Nails turned into gold-polished beauties! Zara was thrilled, Kate was slightly uncomfortable with the whole deal but got her toenails polished up anyway! Then we hung out in a bookshop and Zara got a book about the human body. Over hot chocolates at a nearby cafe, all patrons were treated to a stream of loud facts about blood cells, ligaments, bones and how babies are made...

Joined by the boys who had cleaned the car and done the shopping, we rode our bikes to the South Australian museum which had lots of cool stuffed animals, a giant squid display and mummies from ancient egypt - amongst other things. Then we jumped back on our bikes and rode off in search of gourmet pizza. Ended up at a place called 'Good Life' where we had a great dinner and bumped into an old family friend of Bill's - bit weird to bump into the one person we know in Adelaide during our 3 night stay there! Cycled back in the dark which was slightly hairy due to Sasha's newness to bike riding - But Bill did a great job riding next to him and grabbing his arm when things got hairy...

Great times in Adelaide but time to get out of there before the Easter hordes hit the nearby camping spots...