Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Back home
We're now back home via Sydney airport, with very pleasant memories of Adelaide. The last couple of blog posts and photos didn't upload properly, so here are a few random photos of Adelaide artwork to finish.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Glenelg, finally
Well, we finally made it to Glenelg. What a pretty spot! It is to the south-west of the city but with a westerly aspect, so there was a beautiful sunset view. Bitterly, bitterly cold breeze though – straight from the Antarctic. It must be glorious in the summer.
We all went intending to have genuine Aussie fish and chips for dinner, since we were beside the sea. But the restaurant was a steak bar and their steaks were spectacular, so the girls had to succumb to temptation. They had a 1 kilo rump challenge, in which you got your meal for half price and a free tee shirt if you could knock it off in 30 minutes. I am sure I would have been up for the challenge on another day, but I ordered the more delicate serving of porterhouse instead. It was a tasty meal and a bit easier on the pocket than the night before!
Earlier in the day, Janet and I went on a tour of the Haighs chocolate factory. It was interesting to watch everything being hand made and decorated (and to sample of course!) There are Haighs shops everywhere in Adelaide.
While we were there, Allan did the museum and Phil took a train ride. Allan had earlier walked up to 'Light's Vision Lookout' with views overlooking the city and Adelaide Oval.
I’ve mentioned before how friendly the locals are – it is amazing how welcoming and willing to go out of their way they are. It will be a lasting memory of Adelaide for me.
The other memorable thing is the structure of the town, with the four terraces around the city centre and then parks all around. There is the free tram across from the North to the South Terrace, and a free bus that goes around the big square, so they have made it really easy for tourists to get around. There are statues and art works all around the city so it’s a lovely place to visit, although I’d probably say that a week is enough to see most of the things you would want to see.
We all went intending to have genuine Aussie fish and chips for dinner, since we were beside the sea. But the restaurant was a steak bar and their steaks were spectacular, so the girls had to succumb to temptation. They had a 1 kilo rump challenge, in which you got your meal for half price and a free tee shirt if you could knock it off in 30 minutes. I am sure I would have been up for the challenge on another day, but I ordered the more delicate serving of porterhouse instead. It was a tasty meal and a bit easier on the pocket than the night before!
Earlier in the day, Janet and I went on a tour of the Haighs chocolate factory. It was interesting to watch everything being hand made and decorated (and to sample of course!) There are Haighs shops everywhere in Adelaide.
While we were there, Allan did the museum and Phil took a train ride. Allan had earlier walked up to 'Light's Vision Lookout' with views overlooking the city and Adelaide Oval.
I’ve mentioned before how friendly the locals are – it is amazing how welcoming and willing to go out of their way they are. It will be a lasting memory of Adelaide for me.
The other memorable thing is the structure of the town, with the four terraces around the city centre and then parks all around. There is the free tram across from the North to the South Terrace, and a free bus that goes around the big square, so they have made it really easy for tourists to get around. There are statues and art works all around the city so it’s a lovely place to visit, although I’d probably say that a week is enough to see most of the things you would want to see.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Private Fashion Show
A bit damp this morning – I think we brought the rain with us, as South Australia is actually the driest state in Australia.
We pottered around the shops again in the morning, and then met up for lunch. After that we visited the Migrants Museum.
Adelaide is different to Melbourne and Sydney in that you don’t see a lot of Italians and Greeks, nowhere near as cosmopolitan as the other bigger cities. The amazing thing we saw at the Museum was the criteria that immigrants had to meet until around 1960 – you had to be a white European for a start. They made potential immigrants do a dictation test, and the language was up to the officers – could be Hungarian, Spanish, never mind that the immigrant didn’t speak that language.
After that, we started on a trail of events to get us to dinner at Glenelg (by the sea). Talk about best laid plans! We got on a tram for what should have been a 45 minute ride - we’d booked dinner and planned a walk along the beach first. Well, we got one block of our tram ride before it stopped because of an accident at the next intersection. No problem, we thought, we’ll pop back to the hotel for a pre-dinner drink and try again later. So off we went at 5.15. The guy at the tram stop told us we could pick up a tram on the other side of the accident site – a few blocks up. Got there to be told the tram would be along in a few minutes. Half an hour later – no tram, but Janet had got talking to a lady on the platform who’d given her the lowdown on the local restaurants. She recommended one called Auge, which was nearby so we changed plans and went there. It was to die for – Italian food, lovely surroundings and supreme service, and the blokes nearly had a heart attack when they saw the bill too! Anyway, it was a wonderful night.
We ambled home via a ‘lantern’ – a building lit up in changing colours which was quite stunning. Then back down Rundle Mall, and we stumbled upon a dress rehearsal for a fashion show opening in the Mall on Friday. So there we are standing in the rain watching these slinky models strutting their stuff.
All in all, not your usual night out, but a lot of fun was had by all.
We pottered around the shops again in the morning, and then met up for lunch. After that we visited the Migrants Museum.
Adelaide is different to Melbourne and Sydney in that you don’t see a lot of Italians and Greeks, nowhere near as cosmopolitan as the other bigger cities. The amazing thing we saw at the Museum was the criteria that immigrants had to meet until around 1960 – you had to be a white European for a start. They made potential immigrants do a dictation test, and the language was up to the officers – could be Hungarian, Spanish, never mind that the immigrant didn’t speak that language.
After that, we started on a trail of events to get us to dinner at Glenelg (by the sea). Talk about best laid plans! We got on a tram for what should have been a 45 minute ride - we’d booked dinner and planned a walk along the beach first. Well, we got one block of our tram ride before it stopped because of an accident at the next intersection. No problem, we thought, we’ll pop back to the hotel for a pre-dinner drink and try again later. So off we went at 5.15. The guy at the tram stop told us we could pick up a tram on the other side of the accident site – a few blocks up. Got there to be told the tram would be along in a few minutes. Half an hour later – no tram, but Janet had got talking to a lady on the platform who’d given her the lowdown on the local restaurants. She recommended one called Auge, which was nearby so we changed plans and went there. It was to die for – Italian food, lovely surroundings and supreme service, and the blokes nearly had a heart attack when they saw the bill too! Anyway, it was a wonderful night.
We ambled home via a ‘lantern’ – a building lit up in changing colours which was quite stunning. Then back down Rundle Mall, and we stumbled upon a dress rehearsal for a fashion show opening in the Mall on Friday. So there we are standing in the rain watching these slinky models strutting their stuff.
All in all, not your usual night out, but a lot of fun was had by all.
The Rocking Horse
Forgot to mention we ran across the biggest rocking horse in the world somewhere in the Adelaide hills. Didn't do any rocking, but we did find out it was 3265 km back to Wellington!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Adelaide Hills
We found a gorgeous Italian restaurant last night – very authentic, fantastic food and pretty expensive, but a wonderful dining experience. This holiday will have to be the last hurrah as far as eating up large is concerned!
Today (Wednesday) we hired a rental car and went up into the Adelaide Hills – the weather was pretty good and the location quite pretty – quite small hills by Wellington standards, but picturesque.
There is a lot of german history here, which we didn’t know, so there was sauerkraut and kranski for lunch. We also found a lookout with views over the city to the sea, although the rain and a cool wind had set in by then.
We arrived back to rush hour traffic – nothing like Wellington’s, but since there are no motorways in Adelaide, the traffic lights made it a slow trip.
All in all, four tired travellers tonight, but we’ll recover in time for tomorrow’s expeditions.
Today (Wednesday) we hired a rental car and went up into the Adelaide Hills – the weather was pretty good and the location quite pretty – quite small hills by Wellington standards, but picturesque.
There is a lot of german history here, which we didn’t know, so there was sauerkraut and kranski for lunch. We also found a lookout with views over the city to the sea, although the rain and a cool wind had set in by then.
We arrived back to rush hour traffic – nothing like Wellington’s, but since there are no motorways in Adelaide, the traffic lights made it a slow trip.
All in all, four tired travellers tonight, but we’ll recover in time for tomorrow’s expeditions.
Barossa Valley
It was a very early start today (Tuesday) as we joined a bus tour of the Barossa Valley. There were 15 of us – the rest were all Aussies, but we’ve had a great time. We visited 5 vineyards, all quite different, but all interesting. We went to Wolf Blass where the other three all sampled shirazes that sell for $350 per bottle. We had lunch at a lovely place which would make an exquisite wedding venue, and another highlight was the Langmeil vineyard, which had some vines which were 160 years old.
The predominant wines here are reds, which suited Janet and Phil and Allan, but I tried some lovely Rieslings. It is a lovely area and our tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable, so all in all, a great day. And the weather held!
The predominant wines here are reds, which suited Janet and Phil and Allan, but I tried some lovely Rieslings. It is a lovely area and our tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable, so all in all, a great day. And the weather held!
Monday a shopping day
Yet another showery day – shame! No choice but to go shopping really! Janet and I left the boys behind and hit Rundle Mall. I did really well and managed to get my summer wardrobe well under way, but Janet did better – 3 hours in one shop and 14 pieces added to the collection! The blokes arrived for a bit of lunch and then we headed back for our Nana Naps!
Later in the afternoon, we jumped on the free ‘loop’ bus and toured the town. It really is very pretty, there are four streets (north, east, south and west) each a mile long in a square with the city inside and parks and greenery surrounding the square.
We ate Thai food for dinner – a little spicy but very tasty. There is a free tram that runs across the square, so we came and
went for free.
Later in the afternoon, we jumped on the free ‘loop’ bus and toured the town. It really is very pretty, there are four streets (north, east, south and west) each a mile long in a square with the city inside and parks and greenery surrounding the square.
We ate Thai food for dinner – a little spicy but very tasty. There is a free tram that runs across the square, so we came and
went for free.
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