"Adelaide, you have... a nice personality."

So backtracking a bit, we left Melbourne on February 3 and arrived in Adelaide before the dawn of February 6th...

Our three day journey began along the Great Ocean Road (this is The Grotto along Shipwreck Coast, where the waves collide with the craggy cliffs before collapsing inward with an almighty crash that sends foam and spray flying. So cool)...

and wound its way through the rainforests of Victoria...

ending at the beautiful ranges of the Grampians before heading towards Adelaide (state capital of South Australia) at dusk.

How do I explain my initial response to Adelaide?

HATED it when I first got there. It probably didn't help that we actually arrived in Adelaide at 2am and, being cheap backpackers, slept in the car (in a McDonalds parking lot no less) until check-in the next day.

Have you ever started to compliment someone without thinking it through and had to scramble to find an attribute to praise? It's really awkward when you start to say "You have... um... you have..." and you can't think of how to finish. What do you say? "You have... a nice personality..." or "You have... ten fingers..."

Well take that feeling, of futilely trying to grope for favorable words that you know aren't coming, and for 5 out of the 6 days I was there, THAT'S how I felt when talking about Adelaide.

When a local would ask me "So what do you think of Adelaide?", the best I could come up with was "It's... nice... very different from Melbourne", to which they would WITHOUT FAIL reply "yeah, but WE have the friendliest people"... I got news for you pal. I come from the States, where I once smiled at a stranger and she asked if I was gay- to me, EVERYONE is friendly in Australia.

Not that friendly people were even much of a bonus because it was SO hot that week- the kind of heat that turns a state capital into a ghost town between the hours of 7am and 9 pm. I found it bland and barren. I missed Melbourne... it's quirky character, dodgy alleys, and artistic vibe. I actually didn't even take a single picture until my last 24 hours there. On that note...

Lesson #2: Stop being a punkass! I don't care if Adelaide is the armpit of Australia- it is IN AUSTRALIA. 'Nuff said.

So in the spirit of post-punkass positivity, here are some good things about Adelaide:

• Great pubs and an unexpected rock 'n' roll energy that comes alive once the sun goes down

• Bluest skies I've ever seen

• Beautiful cathedrals and always knowing the hour thanks to the bells- Adelaide is known as the City of Churches.

• Great running trails along the River Torrens

• Parks large enough to get lost in, just north of the CBD (central business district)

• And finally, a bajillion awesome festivals, none of which I was there for.

So yeah, the city actually is probably pretty cool... but that's really all I had in me, so when I got back from Port Lincoln, I packed my bags and took the midnight train goin' anywhere...

Actually, it was a bus, it left at twilight, and was going to Melbourne, but who doesn't love a good Journey reference??