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

[Miloud0]

Salute @Robin4, 

Really, you have a so great house and garden and i am sure that you have also wonderful hospitality.  

Thanks, 

Miloud

[Robin4]

@Miloud0 

Thank you Miloud, I looked at your listings and they look wonderful, I would love to stay there one day.

And you are a generous and welcoming host......"Miloud is a gentle and tolerant person, and the stay in his house will be calm and lovely for you. He helped us with every little thing we needed. Thank you Miloud!"

You can't buy reviews like that Miloud....you are an outstanding host.

Just a pity about that recent cancellation, but, if you go to the 'Reviews' section of your profile you will see that you can leave a public response for that cancellation. which will appear on your page directly below that notice. You can explain why it had to happen, and future guests who search will respect you a lot more if they can see how much that cancellation meant to you and how it hurt you to do it!

Thanks for your kind words Miloud, what I do here is very humble in the great scheme of hosting....but I do it as best I can and I love doing it.

All the best mate!

Cheers.....Rob

[Helen427]

@Lizzie @Robin4 @Miloud0 @Ria16 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Emilia@Eileen@Nuuth

Pavlova Roll??

We make a different style of pavlova's here in New Zealand!!

They are usually in the shape of a circle with fluffy bits amongst it.

For those who may not be aware us New Zealander's and Australian's have a bit of banter where and who first created Pavlova's.

Mention of  Pavlova's however brings back very happy and contented memories of a last meal one of my English Language school students and I had before her return to Japan a few years ago.

Just to make your mouth water I made a Pavlova with Hokey Pokey Icecream, Mallowpuffs ( a type of chocolate biscuit) and Green and Gold Kiwifruit on top.

Between the pair of us we scoffed the lot for dessert and then at breakfast time we ate the rest!

Japanese people have 5 stomachs...

@Lizzie did @Robin & Ade give you the recipe for there Pavlova Roll?

Maybe when you get a chance you can share with us some of these great Recipes for others to enjoy and try.

I recall friends internationally mentioning that the sugar we use is generally finer than that available in some countries for pavlova making so haven't been quite the same.

Fabulous Garden @Robin  as always.

Do you notice the difference in smells of the perfume of the flowers from daytime to the evening?

[Robin4]

@Helen427 

In actual fact it does not belong to either of us.....it is an American dish with German origins!!

https://www.goodfood.com.au/eat-out/news/pavlova-research-reveals-desserts-shock-origins-20151010-gk...

I really don't care who invented it Helen, it is who perfects it that is the most important thing and everyone we know us and has eaten here says my Adrienne makes by far the best Pavlova!!

Although Ade still makes the traditional round pav with a soft centre in a crumbly crust case these days most people who eat here prefer the pavy roll. 

We do two versions of it,  both made the same way, one just rolled a bit tighter than the other.

For spectacular taste and appeal my favourite is the tighter of the two.

Helen the mixture is made the same as for a traditional pav but where the technique differs, instead of pilling the mixture in the centre of a plate to form a mound piled 60mm high, you spread the mixture out on oil sprayed baking paper on a rectangular baking tray....(preferably with no sides)  so there is an even mixture 20 mm thick over the entire tray.

Baking however is entirely different Helen! With a traditional pav you would bake in a cool oven of 130c for one and a half hours, turn oven off, block the door partially open and leave overnight to slowly cool!

With the roll mixture on the baking tray you bake in a moderate oven of 180c for fifteen minutes, open the oven door and allow to cool. When it has cooled to room temperature spread a thin layer of whipped cream over the entire mixture slab and add cut up strawberries and passionfruit, Roll it into a roll, away from the baking paper (this is where the oil spay is important, it has to release) so that it ends up looking like a pasty slice!

My spin on this though is to spread whipped cream and, rather than use strawberries and passionfruit I use Mango pieces over the pav slab when it has cooled and as you roll more tightly spread a thin layer of whipped cream over the outside of the roll and then roll the entire pav in a mixture of crushed Pistachio nuts, the roll should end up 50-60mm in diameter, and for serving, cut roll into 70mm lengths and stand each length vertically on the plate in a bed of whipped cream, Mango slices and whole Pistachio nuts. 

This wins em over every time Helen...it is a spectacular dessert.

Cheers......Rob

[Miloud0]

Salute @Robin4 , 

Thank you so much for the message. 

I appreciate so much your suggestion about cancellation. What happened is :

Our house is in repair and before the time of cancelation, i had already told Airbnb that our house is in repair. So i blocked the basic listing and as i know when the basic listing is blocked all other listings also get blocked but in my case the other listings stayed open.

So when a guest booked, automatic booking, Really, i was in big worry :

If i agreed and when guest comes and find noise, dust, workers .......in house, in condition which is totally not suitable for hosting, before guest i am my self do not like that guests see and feel as i do not respect them when i bring them in so bad condition. Also, i everyday learn that from Airbnb. For that i choosed concellation cause i see it so better than bring my guests in a so bad hosting condition.

Really, i hope that Airbnb would be understanding when there are host house repairs. 

Thanks, 

Miloud

[Robin4]

@Miloud0 

I would call Airbnb again and re-state what happened and supply pictures and invoices for the work that was done. It is possible that Airbnb will remove that cancellation notice for you if you ask them nicely for help. You will find support are very helpful if you respect them and ask for assistance.

In the meantime you have, from what I have seen, 40 days from the time that cancellation notice was put on your profile to leave a public response to that notice. If that window is still open it will tell you in your reviews section of your profile.........

If that window is still open to you Miloud write a response to that cancellation. Then if support will not remove the notice you will at least have an explanation there for it, and I can assure you it will make things better for you for your future bookings!

Cheers......Rob

[Miloud0]

Salute @Robin4, 

Really, thank you for your suggestion, which i like so much.

After, dyeing some places in house and finish some furniture, i am going to make new pictures. And after sometims, we are going to dye the house from out side.

About invoices, in Morocco, we usually do not make invoices with workers.

Thank you for suggetion, ok, i will ask them for help, but after making new photos.

And i always respect and i will respect Airbnb. and Airbnb has started to be part from my life. Also i always see myself just an Airbnb host, which means i host and i will host just with Airbnb.  

Thanks, 

Miloud

[J-Renato0]

What a great moment for both of you, @Lizzie  and @Robin4 ! 🙂  

[J-Renato0]

Forgot to say... I have just one question! What was the song(s) @Robin4 played to you @Lizzie ?

1. Rock and Roll dannation (AC/DC the famous Australian Band) 🙂
2.  Rock Robin old rockabilly 🙂
3. or Samba de uma nota só... Bossa nova! 🙂 Robin says he loves Bossa Nova!

[Robin4]

@J-Renato0 

Mate, I can't read music so, the issue for me is alcohol and piano playing don't mix!

Nah I just stuck to a couple of really basic things that I thought I might be able to get through without buggering them up! ....Billy Joel's, 'Just the way you are'....Stevie Wonder, 'You are the sunshine of my life'! I couldn't show Lizzie the mancave without at least parking my butt on the piano stool for a second or two!

Jóse, it was such a wonderful surprise that Lizzie would go to so much effort to come here.

On the CC we need to understand the lengths the community managers go to just to keep things rolling along not just for us, but the representations they put to Airbnb on our behalf.

I have so much respect for them and what they do.

I want to get Samba de uma nota só to the point where I can rattle it off no how much booze may have been involved......:-))

See ya Jóse!

Cheers.....Rob

[J-Renato0]

It was a joke... maybe not proper... 

Another beautiful and famous brazilian song is "Aquarela do Brazil", (water colours of Brazil) but it is not bossa nova. Even nowadays this song is used as part of the sound track of some holywood movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57J53JZV7g

Yes @Robin82 , also have so much respect for  @Lizzie  and @Quincy. They  are great community manager and I also look up to them.

[Lizzie]

This is awesome @J-Renato0. I think you might need to put an extension on your man cave if you want to re-enact this @Robin4.  Certainly do-able thought. hehe 🙂

I left the video you shared here running in the background to play and it went on to a track by Bill Evans, I'm a bit of a fan of him and actually Robin and I touched upon his music when I was there, so it's quite appropriate really. 

Thanks so much for your kind words here, Renato - it really is very kind of you and means a lot.  But, everyone here in the CC is what makes it what it is and I love speaking to such a great bunch of people on a daily basis. 

@Quincy  hasn't been very well this week,  poor thing, so I'm sure this will make his week. 

I hope all is well with you. 

[Robin4]

@Lizzie  @J-Renato0 

Personally I think this is terrible!!!! .......We used to sit around the 'Black & White' TV and each week watch the Ray Connif singers and orchestra and think how cool that was.

How did I end up here looking even older than Ray Connif!!

:-))    :-))   :-((   :-((

Cheers......Rob

[Quincy]

@Robin4 @Lizzie, it's so nice to see that you've both had a good time catching up! Hopefully, we will meet sometime Robin! 

@J-Renato0! thank you for the kind words! As Lizzie has mentioned, I have been sick last week but your comment cheered me up :-). 

[Clara116]

@Lizzie @Robin4 What a joy to read and see the pictures.............thanks both of you for including US and sharing all you did. Fabulous how it all transpired and the efforts put in by everyone involved. The coolest part for me is rather than being soooooo jealous ---- I too felt included since we are all kinda in this together! And the only reason that is possible to experience and feel is because Robin and Ade and Lizzy include us as well - since Rob is such a transparent guy and willingly shares of himself and his world we are included and NOT excluded. So very far away YET still somehow very excited about it all and how it turns out. Thanks for the terrific photos too......esp. loved the sign (only YOU Rob would drag a sign with POST  to the airport) and the indepth visit in words - rather than just great visit - we almost got to be there/ all the details. WE CAN COUNT ON ROB FOR THE DETAILS - our word man!!!

anyway thanks this morning - Belong Anywhere - that is sounding better right now.

happy journeys all of you, Clara