Adelaide, our base in South Australia
{Australia Feb/March 2009 - Day 5 - Adelaide, South Australia}
The first thing I noted about Adelaide was how deserted the roads are! It reminded me so much of Canberra where I spent around 4 years in university. The second would be the heat and the cloudless sky. We arrived in Adelaide on 25 Feb 2009, after spending four days in Sydney for business. Adelaide would be our base in between our travels to Kangaroo Island and Barossa Valley.
We took an early morning flight from Sydney to Adelaide. From the Adelaide domestic terminal, we took the airport bus. The bus departs hourly, cost a flat fee of A$5.00 and stops at various hotels in the Adelaide city. The bus stopped us right in front of the backpackers that we have booked online - Annie's Place. We booked an ensuite double room. The room was small but functional, there was a shared kitchen that can be used at specific times and the building would be locked by 11pm (or thereabout), after which you would need to enter a code to get in. After staying there for a few nights, we realised that we were not the backpacker kind of traveler!
Central Adelaide was cleanly laid out in an orderly grid which made navigating and walking around town easy. We first walked to Chinatown and Central Market, which was next to one another, in search of food. Chinatown was a collection of cafes and restaurants with Chinese and Asian cuisine. Central Market was Adelaide's main market with both fresh food and cooked food.
After a simple lunch in Chinatown, we walked towards Victoria Square - which, guess what, had a statue of Queen Victoria.
We saw the imposing St. Francis Xavier Cathedral while walking, and could not help but snapped a few photos against the cloudless blue sky.
We continued walking north towards Adelaide's "cultural boulevard", North Terrace, and saw many other buildings including the main post office. On the way there, we stopped by the shopping strip Rundle Mall to shelter from the sun and the heat for some air-condition and cold drinks.
We spent some time in The Art Gallery of South Australia housed in a grand looking building. The art gallery has a large collection of paintings by Australian artists. We walked around enjoying the art pieces but nothing really caught our eyes.
Just next door to the art gallery was the South Australian Museum, which like the art gallery has free admission. The museum has a collection of aboriginal artefacts and Australia's natural history, which was relatively more interesting compared to the other collections in the museum.
Walking further down North Terrace, there were many public artworks, statues and buildings that would make the stroll along the road enjoyable (if not for the weather!).
Due to the scorching weather, we decided to take a bus back to our air-conditioned room. Adelaide was not too exciting for us. Maybe it was because Adelaide was a relatively new city, founded in 1836, and a wholly planned city. For me, it lacked culture and identity, but maybe it was because I did not spend enough time exploring the other parts of town.
