Come fly with me!

Image credit here

Have you ever had one of those "lottery fantasies"?  You know, the kind where you list all the places you'll go, or the things you'll do if only your lucky numbers would come up?  A lot of my American friends have said that visiting Australia is one of their top "lottery fantasies" and I'm always pleased to hear it.  That most Americans only get 2 weeks of annual leave a year always seems so unjust to me, not least because to see Australia in just 2 weeks would be as challenging as if you tried to see America in the same amount of time.

So here's what I propose.  For the next two weeks, we'll take a hiatus from New York and I'll show you around my little corner of Australia.  We're going to tour my home town of Adelaide, where it's the early days of summer and quite frankly, we could all use a bit of sunshine anyway.

Adelaide is known as the City of Churches, and it's the capital city of South Australia - the driest state on the driest inhabited continent on earth.  From 7-23 December, from the privacy of your own computer screen, mobile phone, or hand-held device, you can join me in one of the must-see places in Australia.  Of course, because I'm from Adelaide I'll always be biased in this regard but Lonely Planet, NY Magazine, and Wotif reviewers have also praised Adelaide as one of the best cities in the country.  In spite of this, Australians often have different views about the town.  Mention Adelaide to any of your Australian friends and there's every chance they'll laugh and tell you that the city is super boring, or really conservative, and generally not worth the visit.  All I'm asking is that you trust me to show you what Adelaide has to offer.  It will be just like our travels together in New York, only in totally different weather conditions and where the toilet water flushes in the opposite direction (we won't spend too much time studying this, however).

Along with my family and friends, I'll show you some great restaurants, museums and galleries, cool pubs, and tourist icons.  We'll have wine and seafood, wander the enviable beaches, and make friends with the local wildlife.  And who knows, we may find that Adelaide has more in common with New York than first thought.  Either way, by the end of our trip I'm sure you'll want to add Adelaide to your Aussie lottery fantasy.

So ladies and gentlemen, return your seat back and tray table to their upright positions, fasten your seatbelt low and tight, and let's get ready for take-off!