Although this is an Aussie blog, South Aussie to be exact I occasionally post about products or services from overseas. As Aussies even though we like to support the local products we still like to see what our neighbors are up to and if we like it and the price is right we may just go out and buy it.

Today I would like to talk about multi fuel stoves! Now, I know what you’re thinking, what the heck are multi fuel stoves because if you’re like me you’ve always thought that heaters were either wood burners, gas or electric fires. Well, multi fuel stoves are able to burn both wood and coal and are fitted with a riddling grate to collect the extra ash which is generated whilst burning coal. I remember as a kid how we used to burn coal in our stove but I haven’t see anyone selling coal for years. Maybe they’re too busy using the coal for generating our electricity.

Anyway, I loved that fireplace so much that I had to get one when I finally got my own home. I’ve been to houses that have gas heaters or ones that have reverse cycle air conditioning and to tell you the honest truth, sure they’re warm and all but they just make me drowsy and the rooms usually feel stuffy. I haven’t found this to be the case with wood burning fireplaces and I assume its the same whether you burn wood or coal.

Besides, they are so much more romantic. You can cuddle up in front of a fireplace with just the flickering flames lighting the room whispering sweet nothing in your loved ones ear. Try doing that with any other system. Heck, they have electric fireplaces that try and simulate that effect but nothing beats the real thing.

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I’ve always found Adelaide to be a beautiful city as are it’s surroundings which is why I started this photo blog, so that I could share it with you all. There was a time though when I wasn’t able to admire just how beautiful it was and it was all because of my vanity.

You see, I’ve always suffered from poor eyesight and because I wasn’t willing to do something about it I was missing out on just how beautiful everything around me truly was. It wasn’t until I went out and got my eyeglasses that this beautiful new world opened up to me. What was blurred and indistinct now had a brilliant clarity to it.

This beautiful Lilly can be found at the Botanical Gardens

I have to admit in those days I was young and insecure an the thought of having to wear some ugly glasses and having to put up with all the name calling, like four eyes and stuff, was pretty daunting. These days though glasses have pretty well become a fashion statement and no one even thinks twice about having to wear glasses.

Also because of today’s technology you can actually buy them online at sites like Zenni Optical where you can save a whole heap of money.m The reason for this is clear when you read what they explain why their eyeglasses are so inexpensive.

Using the latest modern materials, manufacturing and marketing systems we bring our product direct from our factories to you. No middlemen, no retail overhead, and practically no advertising budget,(we leave it to you, our satisfied customers to spread the word), we do not pay for or sell expensive, or even inexpensive, brand names, but only our own manufactured brand ZENNI. Eyeglasses are definitely a personal fashion and style item, and to that end we strive to provide a fashionable and stylish product. More importantly, we feel prescription eyeglasses are a health item necessity for most wearers, and to that end we take considerable pride in being able to bring to all a very high quality product of great durability, safety and comfort at truly reasonable and affordable prices.

Although I have purchased a pair from them yet, having only just bought some previously, I would consider getting a pair from them. The only thing I’d have to clear up is that, being a US company, they were able to understand the prescription values that our Aussie optometrists give out. If they’re able to do that then I would love to give them a try, especially considering that I would be able to choose from over 3000 designs, only two of which you see here.

Honestly, if you love to shop without having someone looking over your shoulder then online shopping is the way to go and if you have some time to kill then you will love Zenni. Don’t just take my word for it, go and check them out and then come back and tell me which of their eyeglasses you like the best. Check out their prices and you may even want to include in your comment what Christmas present you would buy with your savings.

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I know that a lot of people, it doesn’t matter if they did a mauritius holidays or one in lovely Adelaide, find that once they get home they forget some vital information about something they saw while on holiday that they wish that they could remember. That is why I always buy a book or two when I’m away. The only time I didn’t do it was when in the States this year and I’m still regretting it.

You may even find that buying a book beforehand is a great idea as reading about the place where you are going to holiday helps you to map out your itinerary a lot better. Failing that you could always visit this blog and hope that I’d written a post on whatever it is you’re looking for.

As I live in Adelaide I don’t actually own a book on the place so I feel uncomfortable recommending any. That is why I went to Amazon to find a book as people who have bought a book on Amazon tend to leave a review and I’ve always found reviews helpful when making a purchase. This book is called Lonely Planet Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin (Regional Travel Guide) But before we get to that I want to show you a nice photo I took while driving through the Barossa Valley on the weekend.

Lonely Planet has been researching Australia's dusty backroads for 32 years. This new, meticulously researched guide to Australia's center will enrich any travels in the region, whether short excursions from Darwin, Alice or Adelaide, or epic road trips all the way from the Great Australian Bight to the Top End.Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.In This Guide:Indigenous cultures, identities and arts explained in depthDriving advice and outback safety for 4WDs, 2WDs and bikesGreen Index and tips on environmentally and culturally responsible travel

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It was a lovely Sunday so we decided to go for a little drive down to the Barossa Valley. To be more precise we were headed to a restaurant in Angaston which is touted to have the best pizza in Australia. I always love driving in the Barossa Valley because it’s such a scenic drive. It wasn’t too long before we parked at the front of our destination, the 40′s Cafe.

Although we’ve been to Angaston before we’ve never eaten here and so didn’t really know what to expect. Upon waling inside we were greeted by the friendly staff and showed to our table. They had a pretty extensive menu but we already had our heart set on pizza and so pizza it had to be.

Considering how they had won all these prizes we decided to try a couple of their winning pizzas.

Publican Special: Tomato sauce, cheese, black pepper, Schulz Butcher’s Mallee Gum smoked pork belly, salami, onion, capsicum, pepperoni, kalamata olives, mushrooms, jalapeños and anchovies. The Publican special that you see below won the best traditional small goods pizza in SA in 2009.

Lamb & Kipfler Potato: Smoked marinated lamb, kipfler potatoes, rosemary, fetta, spinach topped with a garlic yogurt sauce. This pizza won the best specialty gourmet pizza in SA in 2007. As you can see from the picture below it sure does look great.

Of the two I much preferred the Publican Special but Nadia’s, my daughter, favourite was the Lamb & Kipfler Potato one. I have to admit though that eating that one reminded me of having a yiros and that’s pretty cool.

Although the pizza was little dearer than I was used to it was well worth it. If you’re one for Family Holidays and you’re in the Barossa you can’t go wrong by having a meal here. The staff a really friendly, the beer is cold and the pizza we had was great. You’ll find them at 30 Murray Street, Angaston 5353, Australia.

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Man, things are really getting tough out there. It seems that the price of living is always going up and this includes things like petrol, food, electricity, heck you name it, if it costs money more likely than not it’s on the upward trend. The world news certainly isn’t helping any, especially with all the hype about the world’s finances. What with Spain and other parts of Europe being in trouble not to mention the financial scare coming out of the States when set the stock markets around the world on a downward spiral!

The problem is that even though everything seems to be going up most of us are still earning the same today as we did before everything went crazy. That is why it is so important that we do what we can to save money when we can. That is why blokes like Clark Howard are so respected. Clark is nationally syndicated consumer advocate who advises consumers how to save money by spending less and avoiding getting ripped off.

Too many people just hop in an buy the first thing that happen across not even thinking that if only they did a bit of research they could save a lot of money. Take buying prescription eyeglasses as just one example. You can do what most people do and pay hundreds of dollars by going to your local outlet or you can save heaps of money by getting it online. Clark Howard himself gave Zenni Optical the thumbs as he knew how much money a person could save by utilizing their services.

OK, now that I’ve put a smile on your face by showing you how to save money why not finish off with nice photo. I took this while in Hahndorf. It’s obviously a wooden puppet, one could even say it was Pinocchio, and look at that he’s smiling. He’s probably just ordered his glasses from Zenni

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I’ve been wearing glasses for over thirty years now but I needed them for a lot longer than that, ever since I was about seven. In those days they used to do check your eyesight at school and although I knew I needed them I hated the idea of having to wear glasses, probably because I didn’t want to be teased anymore than I already was, being called four eyes and all. The way I got around not having to get glasses was to memorize the chart so that I could recite it from memory.

The thing is that glasses in those days were pretty damn ugly and if not ugly they were boring to the extreme. Not these days, nope eyeglasses now are really cool but if you’re not careful you could pay way more than you have to. What most people don’t realize is that once you have your prescription from your optometrist you can use it to buy your glasses online and in doing so save a whole heap of money.

Probably one of the most popular online sites would have to be Zenni Optical and there would be several reason for their popularity and why you should consider using them.

• Their website is easy to use
• They have a wide selection of eyeglasses
• Their prices are surprisingly low
• Even the cheapest glasses come with free Anti-Scratch Coating, full UV protection as well as glass case and cleaning cloth.

They even do international orders and I think they only charge around $10 for shipping. Honestly, I think that the next time I need to get new glasses I will definitely be giving Zenni Optical a go.

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I reckon that the one thing most people can’t get their head around is what makes the perfect gift. Sure you can buy someone a pair of socks or jocks but while useful they’re not very memorable. You could also buy a bloke something for his car like a mag cleaner or something, but again while useful they’re not really going to look at in in years to come and say, ‘Yeah, wasn’t that a great gift?” Heck, they’re probably not even going to remember it was a gift let alone who gave it to them.

Nope, if you’re looking for the perfect gifts for men then you should consider something that will really rock their socks off, but not necessarily soil their jocks What I’m talking about won’t only make the perfect father’s day gift, it would be perfect for any occasion including birthdays, and would even make a great Valentines day gift.

OK, OK, I’m not going to keep you in suspense any longer, I’m talking about adrenalin.com.au who can put together the perfect package that will ensure your loved one will have an experience he will never forget. I remember a few years back when my cousin came to visit from Italy, and while we took him to all the interesting places in Adelaide, many of which you will find in this blog, the most memorable one was when we paid for his skydiving experience.

I can still remember when he had to sign the form which absolving them from any liability and he asked me what it was all about. Well my Italian isn’t what it should be so the best I could do was to tell him that by signing that he couldn’t sue them if his chute didn’t open and he plummeted to earth. I’m sure he went a little white but he still signed it and he never looked back.

Man, he loved it! We couldn’t shut him up the whole trip back, and then as soon as he got home he had to put the video in so that he could relive the experience. It was definitely the highlight of his trip.

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It’s amazing how far the Huyundai has come over the years. I remember when they first hit Australia and people saw them as some cheap import, and in those days that’s pretty well what they were. But that is the past and this is the present and like I said at the beginning of this post they’ve come a hell of a long way.

A survey conducted by Interbrand actually placed them eighth in the world in 2009 leaving Porsche, Lexus and Nissan behind. It’s not surprising that their latest release, the Hyundai i45 sedan is creating such a stir. I myself was amazed when I first saw their new commercial advertising their latest Hyundai sedan. It was pretty amazing. Even though you can see that commercial in this post you may can view the Hyundai i45 on YouTube just so you can read the peoples reviews of the car.

The new Hyundai i45 Sedan is really quite remarkable. The finish is exquisite and the styling is such that it will appeal to a large portion of the market. Not forgetting that many people are worried about global warming the guys at Hyundai have tried their utmost to make sure this car is both fuel efficient and has reduced emissions.

They’ve succeeded in meeting these requirements by giving the i45 features the latest 2.4-litre Theta-II GDI petrol engine with an all-aluminium construction making for a lighter engine. The Hyundai i45 even has an ‘ECO’ monitor system to assist drivers to achieve the best fuel efficiency possible. using this system they can monitor how efficiently the car is running by checking the dashboard display which indicates the current fuel economy thereby allowing them to drive as efficiently as possible.

No matter how much I rave on about this car you just will not be able to appreciate it unless you go to your nearest dealer to check it out for yourself. Naturally the best way to do this would be to take a brand new Hyundai i45 Sedan out for a test drive and only then can you really make up your mind as to how good this car really is.

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I’ve had a lot of people comment on the photos I’ve used for this blog as well as my other photo blog and they are all amazed at the quality of those photos. I’ve mentioned on more than one post how much I love my Panasonic Lumix DMC FX50. They’re so surprised to hear that I’ve used a simple point and shoot camera as the quality of the photos belie the size of the camera.

I was so excited to learn there was going to be a LUMIX Life competition where Aussie Lumix photographers can be part of a special project. It’s a competition were Lumix owners can submit a photo taken with their camera as long as it’s main focus is something to do with Australia. Man, this whole blog is about Scenic Adelaide so I’m bound to find something here, and if not I’ll just take another photo.

I was also pretty exited to find that there is a Panasonic Australia on Facebook page where you can read all the comments left from people on their wall. It’s good to see that they do not remove the negative comments, not many of those, as this goes to show the integrity of the company.

the whole thing starts on April the first 2010. This gives those who haven’t any photos that focus on Australia time enough to get out there with their Lumix cameras taking as many photos as they can. What a great excuse to see more of this lovely country that we live in, taking photos of it that will bring back fond memories, not to mention that it could possibly win us a prize.

Yep, there is going to be monthly giveaways as well as a final prize at the end of the competition, but I reckon the best thing would be if my photo was displayed with those taken by the pros like Ken Duncan, Peter Eastway and Bill Bachman

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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Tony’s Pizza. All opinions are 100% mine.

Although born and bred in Australia, seeing as how my parents are Italian, I have 100% Italian blood coursing through my veins. I reckon that and the fact I was brought up on Italian cuisine is one of the main reasons I love Italian food.

I remember growing up as a kid when other kids used to make fun of me because of what I ate. Now it seems that the shoe is on the other foot and more and more Aussies are eating Italian food and one of the most popular ones has to be pizza! What I love about pizza is that you can have it at almost any time, for a complete meal, for a snack while watching a great movie or even when unexpected guest come and you want to give them a good feed.

Now, you can’t always go out for a pizza and there are times when you just can’t be bothered and that’s when frozen pizza saves the day. I’ve always got some frozen pizza sitting in the freezer and now that I’ve heard that Tony’s Pizza is one of the best I’m just going to have to check the local supermarket freezer to see if they stock Tony’s Pizza and if they don’t I’m going to have to ask them why.

Honestly, the worst thing I hate about pizza delivery is the wait, and the followup calls when you’ve been waiting what seems for hours. Then there’s always those occasions when they stuff up the order and you get the wrong one. At least when I rip one out of the freezer I know what I’m getting, and nothing beats the smell of pizza warming in the oven!

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