TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

For the first time since the start of the MCU, with exception to the Black Widow movie that was released when the pandemic was still a factor, I actively decided not to see a Marvel film in the cinema. I liked the first Black Panther movie and, at the time, was really looking forward to seeing more of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, first seen in Marvel's Civil War Movie . However the run time of Wakanda Forever  (2 hours 41 minutes) combined with the reviews, that were great but described the movie as more 'heavy going' on account of Boseman's passing, weren't really setting me up with the promise of a great time. Ultimately I decided to wait for it to come to Disney+. After having seen the movie, I feel I made the right choice for me. I have no doubt Wakanda Forever would've been spectacular on the big screen in terms of the effects and action, but it's also, has an excessive amount of people shouting at or being angry with each other. The film open...

Much like the first Shazam movie  Shazam! Fury of the Gods  is a solid family film with a little bit of edge to it (you may want to see it before you show it to your youngest kids for the scare factor). Also, like the first movie, it's fairly well written, well acted, has really good special effects, and generally a fun time at the movies. Shazam 2 picks up at least two years (maybe 3-4 years, since Billy is about to turn 18 in this movie but one character specifically says 2 years at one point). The Shazam family have gotten a bit of a reputation as some what incompetent super heroes despite trying their best to be a great hero team. Unfortunately, Billy, breaking the wizard's staff at the end of the first movie, allowed two of the daughters of the Titan Atlas to cross into the human realm, and they want to reclaim what has been taken from them. Shazam 2 totally works as a standalone movie or as part of a two movie arc. While it does reference other superhero characters...

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a...

Just inside the gate is this water bowl (Chozubachi) where visitors can purify themselves by washing their hands and adopting a humble kneeling altitude. On our weekend away the main thing my partner, Enigma, wanted to see was the Himeji Japanese Garden in the parklands along South Terrace, Adelaide CBD. Fortunately it was less than five minutes walk, just up the road from Hotel Alba, where we were staying. I don't know much about even my own garden, other than how to cut the lawns and hack away branches when things become over grown. Oh... and to add water during the Summer... so I'm just going to reproduce the first three paragraphs about the Himeji Garden taken from the sign near the entrance: About Himeji Garden Himeji Garden celebrates the Sister City relationship between Adelaide an the ancient Japanese city of Himeji. Situated 480 kilometres south-west from Tokyo, Himeji is renowned for the oldest wooden castle in Japan registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983....

As part of our trip into Adelaide to spend a gifted voucher to The Meat & Wine Co Steakhouse Restaurant my partner, Enigma, thought it would be nice to make a relaxing weekend of it by booking a stay in a city hotel for a couple of nights. As the Adelaide Fringe Festival was in full swing all places we've previously stayed at were booked out. Fortunately the Hotel Alba , 226 South Tce, Adelaide, who are relatively new, had rooms available at a great price.  With four levels you get a choice of city or park views. We chose park. While I'm sure the city views were great as well, I feel like maybe, even on level four you'd be seeing quite a few air-conditioning units of the surrounding buildings in the foreground. At the time of our stay the hotel's restaurant and pool area was still under construction - or maybe refurbishment as the pool was there, filled with water.  The friendly and very helpful reception staff suggested we could go to the nearby Terrace Hotel  f...