We managed to book our ferry ticket to Tasmania, and that in itself was a mini novella, filled with loads of drama, highs and devastating lows. Firstly, we didn’t book our tickets earlier because we had no real way of estimating when we’d be in Melbourne. I’d originally expected to be there a week or two ago (the second trip to Perth is the most likely cause). We’re now about a week away, so I thought it would be safe to book a ticket for Monday 7th of October (giving us a weekend in Melbourne. All was going well until I realised that I had to book a vehicle allocation for a vehicle over 2.1m… and the first available was mid-November. NOVEMBER!! My heart sank, thought were racing through my head… I thought that I had screwed up our whole trip. I tried searching for other ferries across the Bass Straight, but no luck.
I then realised that we could probably take the roof rack off the van and be under 2.1m, which meant that we could travel on the 7th. It was a few hours of hard work putting that rack on the roof and I really wasn’t keen to have to do it again, but I’d do it if it was my only option of getting to Tasmania.
I was feeling a little down, and tried to forget about it over dinner (which was an awesome kimchi nabe). When I went to search again to book our place, there were no more vacancies for the 7th, the next available was the 8th… not the end of the world, but still annoying. But, what I can only assume was a system glitch, there was a single available position for a vehicle over 2.1m on the 6th of October! I couldn’t believe it, I was fanatically happy (that’s how much I didn’t want to remove the roof rack). I booked it as quick as I could to make sure that it didn’t disappear. The passenger fares were also cheaper on the Sunday (instead of the Monday), too. So, all up it is costing $99 each (for a business class-style reclining seat – no bed/shower) and $89 for the car. I received the confirmation email, and I had to re-read it a few times to make sure that it was correct before I could calm down enough to go to sleep. We’d had a minor victory this time, and that made me very happy.
We packed our things, said our good-byes to Derek and Kat and made our way to a special lunch treat. I’m rather fond of the ol’ chicken parmigiana, and having friends who’ve spent time in Adelaide who are also parmi fiends, we had a suggestion for good parmi. There were actually two suggestions, but we decided to go with Earl of Leicester for no real reason, other than it sounded rather large. The pub happened to be more-or-less on our way out of Adelaide, too, so that was a bonus. There were several schnitzel options available (including Mexican, Hawaiian, Parmigiana and Kilpatrick), but it was suggested that I get the Bulls Bollocks (Napoli sauce, Salami, Ham and Mozzarella). It was $4 more for the large, so of course I ponied up the extra few dollars for it. Risa ordered a steak special, but no body cares about that, so it’s the last I’ll mention it.
I like to think that I’ve had my fair share of parmis in my life, and some of them have been what I like to think of as ‘large’. When my meal arrived, I quickly learnt a new definition of ‘large’. This thing was just obscene. I had been advised by a friend that the large is actually two-three schnitzels that have been joined. Lifting this enormous slab up to place on top of a layer of chips I could see that it was indeed two very large chicken breast schnitzels. And, not only were they large in area, they were still crazy thick. And the cheese! Oh my, it looked (and smelt) so crazy good. Hopefully Risa’s iPhone 4 gives some sense of scale.
Once I finished admiring the scale of it, I started on my attempt at devouring it. That’s when I realised that this was also one of the most delicious parmis I’ve had, which wasn’t a surprise considering the advice given by parmi connoisseurs. The chicken meat was fresh and tasty, the batter wasn’t too thick or oily, the Napoli sauce was rich and tangy, the ham was plentiful, the mozzarella was just the right thickness (and the right amount of browning) and the salami was a nice bit of added spice. For a meal that should have been dripping with grease, it wasn’t, and my cardio-vascular system will probably thank me. The first half disappeared in giant chunks. I was starting to feel very heavy and full in my stomach now, and this prompted me to let Risa have a taste (but, only a little taste, I didn’t want to give her too much). I think I got to 90% before I started to think that I’d been a little greedy ordering a large, and I was questioning my ability to finish what I’d so naively began. I kept going as a matter of principle and had a plate that had nothing more than a few crumbs and a smearing of grease. I had finished it, and had loved the first 50%, enjoyed the second 40% and pushed on through the last 10%. I was in post-parmi bliss.
I think this parmi-fuelled delusion was to blame for letting Risa play the pokie machines… It was also the first time that I didn’t leave with more money than I started with, and that was sobering.
It wasn’t a great day, but there wasn’t much we could do about it. We started making our way towards Victoria. We were going to make a detour through The Coorongs, but it was raining big fat heavy raindrops, and lightning was cracking on the horizon, so we stayed in the comfort/safety of our car and kept on driving. It was actually nice to drive through heavy rain, it’s felt like a long time since I’ve been in something that felt like a tropical storm.
We crossed the border into Victoria a little after dark, and stopped a few km down the road, where we are being shaken by the violent gusts of wind.
It’s been six-hours since lunch, and I have no desire for food (only lovely hydrating water). I’m also still burping wonderful garlic.
１３９日目 ９月３０（月） さよならアデレード、ハロー！ ビクトリア州！
今朝は、お仕事に行くキャットさんにお別れをし、のんびりと朝ご飯におにぎりとおみそ汁を飲んで、シャワーを浴びて、ブログを書いて、自宅がオフィスのデリックさんも今日はあまり忙しくないみたいなので一緒にお茶をして、お昼過ぎにアデレードを出発。
の前に、ロスの友達が大絶賛でロスの大好物のパルメジャーナというオーストラリア人がイタリアンに手を加えて発明した？ おおきなチキンカツにハムと、ピザソースのようなトマトソースとチーズが乗っかったかなり肥満なランチを食べに行きました笑
Earl of Leicester Hotelというレストランで、とても昔から地元の人に愛され続けている場所で、とくにこのパルメジャーナー目当てで遠くから訪れる人もいるようです。
私は、今日のおすすめのステーキ。ロスの半額の値段だったし、私は、パルメジャーノは、かなり重すぎで何口か食べさせてもらえればいいので。
大きいとはウワサには聞いていたけど、おまたせしましたーとテーブルに届いた、、、、
本当に超巨大！！！！！！！
私の手のひらはけっこう大きい方だけど、その手のひらの４つ分位あるよ！！
しかもハムだけではなく、サラミも挟まってるし。
ロスくん、見ただけ、食べる前から超ご満悦と、食べきれるか少し不安も垣間みれます笑
さてお味は？？ ロスくん、うぅううぅ〜うまい！ と大満足。
ただ大きいだけじゃなく、衣もベトベトしていないし、ソースは絶品だし、なんともチキンが柔らかくぜんぜんボソットしていなくてしっとり。
私のステーキはかなり軽めだったので、ロスくんのヘルプへ回りました。
いつものよりベトベトしていなくて、美味しかった！
なんとかギリギリで完食。 2人で超満腹。。。
食後は、ポーキーマシンというスロットの様な機械で一人＄１ずつ遊びました。（パブには大抵設置されている。）
たまのたまーにお遊びで＄１ずつでやるんだけど、ロスは今まで負け知らずだったのに、今日は、だめでした。 私も途中まで＄１．５０まで増えたけど笑 結局ダメでした。 でもこのマシンコーナーでは、食後のコーヒータダなので、＄２のコーヒーを飲んだと思えば良いや〜笑
その後は、ひたすらドライブ。 アデレードを出発する少し前から降ったり止んだりしていた雨に雷も混じり、風もかなりでて、ひどくなったり、落ち着いたり、なんだか安定しないお天気です。
そして無事、お隣の州、ビクトリア州に到着！！！ これで、私が行った事のない州は、タスマニア州と首都キャンベラを残すのみとなりました！
明日は、天気回復するといいなー。
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