Phew!!!

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7/2/18 & 8/2/18




The 38 degrees C was wrong it is just over 40. It is hot !! Too hot for serious sightseeing some might say but not if you are with the C.O. During the two full days in Adelaide, we managed the following:-

A walking tour of Adelaide guided by Ryan, a 26 year old born and bred in Adelaide and proud of it, but appearing to have extensive travels rather than a career. Our tour party was me and the C.O. with a young Noweigen girl teacher taking a year out and a Spanish young lady who does voice overs for a living and was taking a 3 month holiday. Ryan was of the opinion that Adelaide was a very conservative place. It attracted only 5%!o(MISSING)f total tourists coming to Australia. It has decided to catch up with Melbourne and Sydney by embracing the cafe, restaurant and trendy bar culture. It is yet to happen. He was also saying that S.Australia and Adelaide spent the most per capita on gambling In Australia who are high on the list of gamblers in the world. It certainly had an impressive casino in Adelaide which used to be a railway station. The banks of the River Torrens is ripe for development as there are no bars, restaurants or cafes along it which makes it rather pretty and tranquil as we discovered on a later, short, river cruise. The oval cricket ground has combined its usage with the two local Australian Rules football teams to maximise the arena's usage - but not really cricket.

The middle of Adelaide is quite compact and has a large pedestrian precinct called Rundles Mall. There are some sculptures seemingly loved by the locals. There are some bronze pigs that patting and rubbing them is supposed to be lucky. The England cricket test team are reported to have stroked these statues - lot of good it did them. There are also two large stainless steel balls on top of each other that apparently is an irresistible attraction to inebriated young men to scale on a night out. Ryan said that he only knows of one young man who made it but had to be rescued by the fire service. The town hall is most renowned for hosting the Fab Four (Beatles) who attracted more people than the Queen. They have a glass screen with a picture of the boys on the balcony.

We had to go to the local market which is the largest in S. Australia. We also like to stroll and have lunch in the Edwardian Arcades in the middle of the city. Of course we went to the Botanical Gardens but sought the shade rather than exploring. I am not normally a lover of air conditioning but after being in Adelaide in their summer, I am a devotee.

Adelaide does not have many high rise appartments so many people that work in the centre, commute into the city. The C.O. and I like Adelaide. It appears to be a gentle city with seemingly friendly people. The locals dress smartly the men often sporting smartly, elegant hats and the ladies with long flowing skirts and trousers or not very much at all. I only counted people with tattoos on the fingers of one hand. It is only the tourists that look scruffy.

We are getting ready to pack the pods for our return to Melbourne by rail. We shall see how that works out. I expect to see a lot of nothing.

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Photos

Adelaide
The Town Hall that hosted the Fab Four.

Adelaide
The “lucky” bronze pigs.

Adelaide
The Mall’s Balls.

Adelaide
Edwardian arcade.