Adelaide has always been a semi-magical place to me.  Being a planned city, mostly flat (except for those pretty hills), and with a peak hour that’s at about the same level as Sunday morning traffic in Sydney, it’s just so easy to get around!  It’s also where most of my Australian-based relatives live and, for me, visiting there has always meant a whole lot of fun.  But even more importantly, after a recent visit for a cousin’s wedding, I now also know Adelaide as a superb destination for a whole lot of vegan-eating-pleasure.

I’d done my homework and asked a local which vegan outlets shouldn’t be missed.  The resounding recommendation was for Bliss Organic Café  and with this in mind I promptly booked accommodation that was within three blocks to provide for easy access (even though, as stated previously, almost everywhere in Adelaide is “easy access” compared to Sydney).

This was definitely A Good Move.  We ate at Bliss three times and were never disappointed.  Our choices included:

Bliss also houses a “1-stop vegan shop“, with an array of vegan goodies for sale such as groceries, personal care items, books and Vegan Wares wallets and belts.

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Over 120 bake sales have taken part in this year’s Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale and there are still more to come.

This year Australia had 8 bake sale sign ups in in 5 states. Next year I want to see every state participate, Tasmania, A.C.T and N.T – I’m looking at you!

Kayla and Kaeli in Adelaide held a picnic with bands, bellydancers and baked goods. They raised $533.45 for the Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organistation (AMWRRO).

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Roll call! Who’s going to the Living Planet Expo in Sydney this Sunday?! I’ll be there repping vegaroo and there will be all kinds of yummy food and speakers (who may or may not be yummy). Tweet at me from the event if you want to meet up!

Also coming up in Sydney, Animals Australia are looking for volunteers to staff their stall at the Mind Body Spirit Festival at Darling Harbour, May 13-16. I can’t find details on their website but I’m sure you can email them for more info. There’s festivals happening in Melbourne and Brisbane too for all you crystal-worshipping vegans seeking “Animal Insights into the Afterlife”. No judgement, weirdos.

Isabel Lucas has been named Australia’s Sexiest Vegetarian and credits her conversion to the film Earthlings. I guess I moved here too late to be nominated. There’s always next year!

Roll call! Who wants to make me this Sri Lankan No-Chicken Curry from Chew on This? Anyone? Anyone?? …Bueller?

Is anyone interested in writing Master Chef recaps for vegaroo a la my favourite San Francisco blog vegansaurus? You all certainly love to tweet about it CONSTANTLY! I guess if I had television I’d be all over that too.

There are more vegan bake sales happening this weekend in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Best of luck to all the bakers! Drop us a line and let us know how it goes.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Ok you guys, much like your last family reunion where your Aunt Edie hiked up her skirt to show everyone that tattoo she got back in college,  it’s time for some wine-fueled confessions! Here’s confession number one. I’m actually a recent Aussie transplant, having moved here not too long ago from San Francisco.

SCANDALOUS, I know. The reason I bring this up is that living so close to Napa Valley, I got interested in wine-making. And, well, drinking. I’m not really knowledgeable enough to give out useful information, but I know just enough to be an obnoxious snob who turns my nose up at white zinfandel and says things like “mouthfeel” unironically.

One difference I can tell you between California and Australian wines is that in the states, winemakers are not required to list animal products used during the filtration process. And so my second confession here is that I haven’t always been 100% careful about making sure the wine I drink is suitable for vegans. But the first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

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