Adelaide
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2008
1
38
72
Trip End
Ongoing
Adelaide,
South Australia,
Australia
Friday, September 5, 2008
"Show me how you do that trick
The one that makes me scream" she said
"The one that makes me laugh" she said
And threw her arms around my neck
"Show me how you do it
And I promise you I promise that
I'll run away with you
I'll run away with you"
Which is exactly what Helen did
Old and New
. However after living in each others pockets (she could probably fit in mine, she is very small) we decided to spend a few days mooching around alone. Whats this? A lovers tiff? Nope, simply put, it's her birthday soon and I needed to look around for stuff without her there. Not only her birthday either. In the next few months there is a whole host of birthdays, anniversary's and weddings coming up that we need to get stuff for. Having friends and family is a costly business. I'll be honest though - those of you who actually got a present, well they were the worst, most tackiest thing possible. So bad, they are good. Straight off, I think Adelaide is a great city. It does have a reputation as being boring, the City of Churches etc. And I think that much is true - it is sort of slow, dull, not a great deal going on. Which is exactly why I like it. It's
surrounded by vast parkland, and the city centre is compact enough to walk around easily. I like both these things.
It's also remarkably cheap. Petrol weighed in at $1.41 a litre. That's by far the cheapest we have seen in Australia. Parking, just out of the city itself, about 5 minutes walk to the main areas - 40p an hour
Cheeky Pig
. Awesome! I should just point out that it's around £4 an hour in London, going up to £25 an hour in some very central multi-stories. It's also very much a University town, which I always like, because large student populations normally mean cool, unique stores; grungy and cheap bars; and a liberal outlook and attitude. Adelaide didn't let me down in any of these aspects. Saying that though, I did see some sinister characters on my walks around - one guy in a "white power" t-shirt. He dressed like a skinhead too, although he had long hair. Entitled to his views he may be, but I don't want to see a t-shirt like that on my travels.
I also saw a guy who looked a bit like a Womble, but I don't think that's sinister. Just odd.
Being the capital of South Australia, it was always going to have a couple of Museums, and I happened to mooch around perhaps one of the most interesting ones I've ever been around - The Museum of Migration. Being very concise, it illustrated the various groups of people who have ended up in South Australia, from colonial times to the present. Well worth the time to look around, and it's free.
Modern day Adelaide skyline
I also spent a lot of time just walking around. It's very much a walking friendly city. It has various old buildings,
especially in North Adelaide, where there were lots of Victorian era mansions and churches. The parks were great, especially the one that straddles the River Torrens, between Adelaide's CBD and North Adelaide. Also here was the botanical gardens, which whilst doesn't interest me too much, the trees and plants do attract all sorts of cool birds of which I had fun trying to take photos of.
For a few days we also left the van at the campsite and took public transport. Whilst this is always a pain, it was cheap and effective, and it meant we got to be students for a few days. Mooching around the University campuses (being asked to Vote in the student elections, ha ha!), drinking in cool student hangouts, eating $4 Chinese all you can eat meals. Fantastic, really fantastic. The sun was shining and it was highly enjoyable and relaxing.
Jumping out of the city itself, Adelaide is full of cool little suburbs, with lots of cool cafes and pavement restaurants,
more parks, and all sorts of decent sporting facilities
Rundle Mall reflction
. I was surprised by just how many cyclists there were - and I mean the serious ones, in full sports gear etc. Hundreds of them, everywhere. It's just one of them types of places where things like that are really encouraged. Brilliant.West of the city, large hills enclose Adelaide, and we went up to Mt Lofty summit, some 750m above sea level. The views from there were fantastic, with the city in one direction, and the farming areas in another.
So yes, Adelaide isn't as fun and cool as other cities, but that's why I like it. It's not trying to be something it isn't.
It's quite quaint, genteel, harmless even. There are no traffic jams. No sketchy areas. No streets of endless hostels and backpacker bars, with people trying to be "more of a traveler than thou". It's nothing like that, thankfully.
Adelaide - my type of place.
Oh, those lyrics at the start? That's "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure. Although I expect anyone who actually reads my drivel should at least know the greatest of all The Cure songs.
