Adelaide

Adelaide is technically a city, albeit a small and quiet one, of approximately one million inhabitants. It is situated in the deep south of Australia and has an enviable climate and lifestyle. Founded in the early 1800s as a trading post, it was planned and built largely during the Victorian era on a grid system, so is relatively easy to navigate; providing one can tell left from right, which can be a challenge for some of us! Most of the grand beautiful sandstone buildings are in excellent repair and stand side by side with their more modern cousins. There is plenty of green in the shape of squares and parkland, plus the beautiful River Torrens running through the middle. In short Adelaide is very attractive and appealing.
We arrived from Hong Kong as the sun rose yesterday morning and were at our hotel, the Sebel Playford, by 7am. Understandably, we had a short wait for our room to be prepared and took a walk to find coffee and breakfast. This hotel is old by Aussie standards and very Art Nouveau in style, which I love. We stayed here briefly 4 years ago and this is another short stay. I tried to book here for the Ashes test (early December) when we will be back this way, but there was no availability even last January. It became apparent why on checking in - a block booking by what we took to be the England cricket team. It was only at lunchtime that it dawned on us that it's actually the Aussies, as the Centennial X1 came traipsing through following a morning in the nets, prior to a day/night warm up yesterday with the England team. We did contemplate seeing if we could get tickets, but decided that 2 overnight flights in quick succession would no doubt render us comatose at the wrong moment.
Consequently, we have had a quiet day, giving us time to recover and acclimatise. This is definitely a foodie city, pulling fantastic produce from its wide hinterland. There is no shortage of restaurants and more casual eateries. We visited the much vaunted covered Central Market this morning. It is an old style produce market with every type of stall from all around Adelaide showcasing their first class fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, wine, cheese, breads. There are areas to eat scattered throughout and the place was buzzing with visitors and locals alike sampling the wares. There is a huge car park above, so clearly folks drive in, meet friends, do their weekend shopping and eat very well indeed. We will be back later to explore further.
Tomorrow is moving day and we tackle The Ghan which is to be our method of transport to Alice Springs and the red heart of this continent. I will spend the evening rearranging the luggage and sewing corks on my hat!!Read more