Host Community Tour: Lizzie's travel journal (Day 6 & 7 “meeting Robin”)

[Lizzie]

Location: Adelaide

Duration of visit: evening April 6th - 7th (morning)

Distance travelled (so far): 11932 miles / 19195 kilometers

Hello everyone,

Many of you guessed it, the person I went to visit in Adelaide, was indeed…our friend here, @Robin4. 🙂

I have to say flying close to 1500 kilometres to see someone for just over 12 hours was definitely a first, but it was so worth it! What a great host Robin and his lovely wife Ade were (and not forgetting Betts the dog).

The welcome sign...

I arrived into Adelaide airport from Sydney at about 8pm Adelaide time. For those of you who not based in Oz or familiar with local timezones, did you know you gain 30 minutes back? Amazing.

As I walked through the terminal towards the baggage area, I spot Robin coming through the security barriers. The first thing he says to me is, “oh no, you will never believe it, they wouldn’t let me bring my welcome sign through” and I thought, “aww that so nice of him...plus, why wouldn’t they let a paper sign through, security must be really tough here!”

Well, when we get back to the car, I realise the welcome sign was actually a long metal pole which he normally has outside his listing...no wonder they wouldn’t let it through! It was a very funny moment, we had to capture it in the car park instead!

Robin and Ade then cooked me a wonderful dinner of chicken risotto and a very nice pavlova, and the time flew by. Sadly, I didn’t take any photos, I was too busy eating.

Once there, I saw all the famous sight...including the man cave (which I remember an active conversation with Bruce here in the CC), which included a few tunes on the piano…

...and his beautiful garden, which is looking pretty amazing out of season and with no rain for four months.

After a great night sleep it was off to the airport again, but not before stopping at a local cafe for breakie (I know, I shouldn’t have caved to pancakes, but sometimes it has to be done!)

Over breakfast we talked more about the Community Center and it was nice to hear more about features he would find useful and why he likes being part of our great community. One of these being the ability to find all your past posts in one place.  What do you think?

After a beautiful drive through the Adelaide hills, I get to the airport and head off to Melbourne to meet with Laura, to catch our next flight (21 hours + 4 hour stop over) to...Rome.

Thank you Robin & Ade for having me, it was an absolute joy and  more than ever, I feel the connections and friendships we all make here on a daily basis, are so important and really shows we have friends all over the world.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Sehyun0]

Hi! It is quite interesting for me to read your message. Even though you were pretty busy you made an every effort to make everybody joyful and happy.

What a wonderful talent you have now.

I can't express my deep idea with my poor English. Anyway, I am proud of being airbnb friend. We are also close friends in this business field. Thanks again. Bye!

[Lizzie]

Hello @Sehyun0, thank you so much for all your lovely comments on my journal posts, it is so nice to see you enjoying reading them. 

Have you ever visited any of the places I've been to on the trip so far? 

[Tamanna0]

Hello

[Emilia42]

@Lizzie, so exciting that you got to meet @Robin and Ade!

I really like Robin's idea of having all one user's posts in one place. I often times try to search for posts that Robin has written, just to revisit or for reference, but unless I save them to my desktop, they are done forever (usually.) Maybe individual users would be able to "mark" certainly posts that of interest to them into different categories? Like Pintrest 🙂 Something to make it easier to search and retrieve past posts.

[Lizzie]

Thank you @Emilia42, it really was lovely to meet them both.

It's great to hear your thoughts on the suggestion, I agree too. It is something that isn't easy for us as Community Managers either. It's useful to hear more about how you use the Community Center. 

Thanks for your kind comments here and in other posts, they are really nice to read. 🙂

[Nutth0]

 @Lizzie  wow this is like meet & greet ! 

[Robin4]

@Lizzie 

I have resisted the temptation to buy into Lizzie's tour thread, I didn't want to compromise her story but I have been so excited about this, and I have to admit to DM's to a couple of those who guessed what was going on after the last update!

Two weeks ago I got this DM.....'Visiting Australia, are you free'?

I looked at it for a minute or two......it was like St Peter with his massive white beard and staff appearing in the back yard in a puff of smoke and a blinding flash and stating in a booming voice....."God requests an audience with you"!!

Because of time contraints it had to be either a dinner late Saturday night or a breakfast Sunday morning and then......it was back to Europe for Lizzie after her massively hectic tour schedule!

I brazenly suggested I would pick Lizzie up from the airport, we would share a drink or two in a local hills hotspot and I would take her home to meet Ade and I would cook her a nice Risotto meal and Ade would contribute with a strawberry/passionfruit pavlova roll for desert and she could share the house with us for the evening and I would get her to the airport next morning. 

Lizzie accepted and....well, we had a really nice night.

How do I make an outrageous grand welcome statement? I thought it would be such a hoot to take my whole guest welcome sign and hold it at the airport gate. It would have given us such a laugh, but grumpy b*m security had other ideas and it had to remain in the car! So, Lizzie picked me out, and not from my avatar.....who has a current avatar? She said she remembered that vision of me falling out of a plane and looked for a balding person with a big fat stomach.....she couldn't miss me!

I was so excited and I had so many things I wanted to learn and ask Lizzie that I think one question stream just got lost in another and I don't think she got anything coherent out of our conversations. I look back now and think, there are so many things I would like to have put to her, but my main objective was to have her enjoy herself and want to come back here again in the future.

Lizzie, you coming here helped on so many levels! I still can't believe after your punishing schedule you travelled another half a continent simply to come and see us!

This surely tells the community the dedication Lizzie and the team put into their roles!

And secondly, Ade worked her but off all day to make this place respectable. From her walking frame she was was so intent on making things nice for you. You will never have a true concept of how much that made her feel useful and lifted her spirits Lizzie.

Da*n goodbyes, I always feel a certain sadness......

This is what is so wonderful about Airbnb, both Ade and I will now look on Lizzie as her Aussie parents.....I sort of hope she will feel the same about us!

Cheers......Rob

[Cathie19]

Well @Robin4, the image of @Lizzie with a beard and staff is one that won’t disappear too soon.... lol.... our very own wizard! 

[Ann72]

@Robin4 @Lizzie Tears in my eyes!  What a wonderful pair of reports!

[Ben551]

@Lizzie And @Robin4  what a fantastic story! Reading this makes me want to get off my arse and travel more hahaha. Man cave of avoidance, be gone! 

Seriously though, Rob your little corner of the globe looks like a place I could kick back in. You’re a master of your craft. I tip my hat to you, sir.

[Eileen0]

That's so lovely

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Lizzie @Robin4 

Looks like you guys had so much fun 🙂 

I had such a hectic Monday at work - my energy completely bottomed out so  I skipped dinner and changed into my pjs and slept for 6hrs straight as soon as I got home from work. Now I'm up..... all refreshed and hungry at 2am in the morning..... drooling at your pancake photo while imagining Robin & Ade's risotto and pavlova~~!!!!

[Ria16]

@Lizzie  Naw that’s a beautiful thing you did . 

[Miloud0]

Salute @Lizzie ,

It is really interesting to read your daily trip in Australia, at Robin house. Many thanks that you shared it with us.  

Thanks, 

Miloud