Adelaide, I know, is quite beautiful in the sunshine. I know because I had some of it on my trip, but, unfortunately, I was mostly rained on. Nonetheless I saw some interesting things in Adelaide and I can see what my mom sees in it, but maybe a little less. Like I said, the weather may have contributed.
After class last Thursday I quickly packed up and left for the airport. I boarded and quick as a shot, was off to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is the driest city in the driest state on the driest continent; oh the irony. Canberra quickly fell away and very soon there was a broad expanse of nothingness, broken only by occasional farms and homesteads. The plane landed in Adelaide in tune with an exquisite sunset. After disembarking, I boarded a bus into the city and made my way to the hostel at Light Square. By the time I arrived it was quite dark, so I decided to stay in.
The next day I used to explore the city center. Adelaide is called the City of Churches because there are, apparently, so many of them. The city was founded in the early 1830s as a free settlement and was planned. The core is surrounded by parks and there are 5 squares within the urban core. The largest of these is Victoria Square, which I visited at a later on. The main streets are several lanes wide and can cope with vehicular traffic better than any other Australian capital city.
I made my way to the South Australian Parliament for a guided tour but had to wait a few hours for the next one. I used the time to walk around the adjacent parkland. Next to Parliament is the Adelaide Festival Centre, the home of the famous biennial Adelaide Festival. In the 1970s, Adelaide experienced a liberalizing trend and the festival was founded and now South Australia is known as the "Festival State". I then walked along the banks of the Torrens River, the main body of water flowing through Adelaide, and made my way to the north side where I saw the famous St. Peter's Cathedral. After killing all this time, I finally went on the parliamentary tour.
South Australia's Parliament, like Victoria's, is technically unfinished, missing its cupola. It was built in 2 halves and was completed some 50 years after construction began. In this half-finished building is where one of the conventions leading to Australian federation was held. The building itself is like many other Parliaments, steeped in history, but one thing I did notice was the public gallery is labelled "Strangers Gallery".
After the tour, I walked to Rundle Street, a pedestrian mall famous as much for its interesting artwork as for its shops. Then I made my way to Victoria Square, the beating heart of Adelaide. At the very center of its core, Adelaide has a large park with a fountain depicting the 3 rivers of Adelaide: the Torrens, the Murray and the Onkaparinga. That night, I went to sleep eager to venture a little further afield.
The next morning I had breakfast at the Original Pancake Kitchen, a restaurant my parents had recommended. Located in an alley, as many fine restaurants are, it is exactly what it sounds like, a restaurant that serves pancakes. I got an order of pancakes with strawberry sauce and ice cream, downed with milk. It was very good and I'm glad my parents suggested it.
After breakfast, I took a tram from the city to Glenelg, a trendy beachside suburb. I'm sure it's marvelous in the summer sun but I had to contend with gale winds and rain. The one good thing was that it meant I had the area mostly to myself. The tram stopped at Moseley Square and I immediately had a look around. Since there wasn't much activity, I just strolled along the beach and snapped a few photos. Glenelg is where the first European settlers in South Australia arrived. When I'd had enough of this, I boarded the tram but got off at Morphettville Racecourse. The races were on that day and I decided to step in and see what a large city's racecourse looks like on race day. The betting ring was abuzz with activity as people studied the odds, placed bets and cheered their picks. I watched one race and then continued back into the city. I was going to treat myself tonight.
For Saturday night, I decided to go to AAMI Stadium for a game of aussie rules. Today, the Port Adelaide Power were hosting the North Melbourne Kangaroos but the contest didn't mean much as both were out of the playoffs. My family was never much in to sports, apart from watching them really. My dad enjoys watching CFL and I have dabbled in baseball and soccer, but my mother was never keen, totally unjustifiably, on myself or my brother playing any really hard contact sports. Furthermore, we never really went to any sporting events. My parents would always say it's too expensive, and they're probably right. I see an outing to a match more of a social thing than anything else. I just enjoy being around so many people watching an exciting game.
The match did prove exciting, though the weather didn't hold. At times the rain positively gushed down and the wind caused it to swirl in different directions. I can only imagine what it was like for the players. The game ended with North Melbourne winning by 4 points, which is pretty close in AFL terms. Despite the atrocious weather, I had fun and its unfortunate, but probably fiscally wise, that I don't live in a city with a professional AFL team.
Sunday I spent walking around the city again, but I did take a guided tour of the the Art Gallery of South Australia. They had some very thought-provoking pieces in there, particularly one about the despair of the Burke and Wills expedition realizing that they're situation was now dire; the 2 would eventually die in the Outback. It consisted of a 3 panel tableau with a male figure in each to represent the 3 members of the party: Burke, Wills and King (who survived). There were other pieces in there, such as aboriginal art and early Australian art from the 19th Century but the Burke and Wills piece was my favourite. I also had a look around the South Australian Museum, a small museum with a large model of a giant squid. For dinner, I ate at another of my parents' recommended restaurants, a Belgian place called Oostende. I had a delicious pork rib there and, again, I thank my parents for the recommendation. That night at the hostel, I took part in a ping pong tournament and got to the 2nd round. Although I didn't win, I did get a free breakfast out of it. And just as an aside, that afternoon as I was walking through a shopping mall on Rundle Street, who should I spy but Helen, one of my tutors from law school. What are the odds, you think, of 2 people from Canberra being in Adelaide at the exact same spot at the exact same time? They cannot be high and I know odds; it's my job after all.
On my last day in Adelaide, I just walked around as much as I could to take in what was left unseen. I walked beside the Torrens River again and explored the northern quarter a little more. I even managed to find a stobie pole, a South Australian exclusive. When electricity first came to South Australia, they quickly realized that there weren't enough trees to make all of the necessary poles. Ingeniously, the South Australians invented a pole made of concrete with iron/steel sides; these were originally railway tracks. The result is the stobie pole, one of the most solidly built things on the face of the Earth. They may be ugly, but they're environmentally friendly and they work. What more do you want? Another South Australian invention is the Torrens Title System whereby the person whose name is on the land registry owns the land regardless of other claims. Under the old law, when you bought property you had to show good title back 40 years, and this new system simplified things greatly. Now, you only had to show that title was passed to you by the person registered. This may not mean much to you now, but it'll prove vitally important if you ever buy a house.
Anyway, when I arrived back in Canberra, I was very pleased with myself. Although this trip was primarily just to get out of Canberra for a while, I feel like I saw a remarkable part of Australia. Adelaide is a not-oft visited city, and it's a shame because it has some wonderful features. Too bad about the weather, though.
After class last Thursday I quickly packed up and left for the airport. I boarded and quick as a shot, was off to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is the driest city in the driest state on the driest continent; oh the irony. Canberra quickly fell away and very soon there was a broad expanse of nothingness, broken only by occasional farms and homesteads. The plane landed in Adelaide in tune with an exquisite sunset. After disembarking, I boarded a bus into the city and made my way to the hostel at Light Square. By the time I arrived it was quite dark, so I decided to stay in.
The next day I used to explore the city center. Adelaide is called the City of Churches because there are, apparently, so many of them. The city was founded in the early 1830s as a free settlement and was planned. The core is surrounded by parks and there are 5 squares within the urban core. The largest of these is Victoria Square, which I visited at a later on. The main streets are several lanes wide and can cope with vehicular traffic better than any other Australian capital city.
I made my way to the South Australian Parliament for a guided tour but had to wait a few hours for the next one. I used the time to walk around the adjacent parkland. Next to Parliament is the Adelaide Festival Centre, the home of the famous biennial Adelaide Festival. In the 1970s, Adelaide experienced a liberalizing trend and the festival was founded and now South Australia is known as the "Festival State". I then walked along the banks of the Torrens River, the main body of water flowing through Adelaide, and made my way to the north side where I saw the famous St. Peter's Cathedral. After killing all this time, I finally went on the parliamentary tour.
South Australia's Parliament, like Victoria's, is technically unfinished, missing its cupola. It was built in 2 halves and was completed some 50 years after construction began. In this half-finished building is where one of the conventions leading to Australian federation was held. The building itself is like many other Parliaments, steeped in history, but one thing I did notice was the public gallery is labelled "Strangers Gallery".
After the tour, I walked to Rundle Street, a pedestrian mall famous as much for its interesting artwork as for its shops. Then I made my way to Victoria Square, the beating heart of Adelaide. At the very center of its core, Adelaide has a large park with a fountain depicting the 3 rivers of Adelaide: the Torrens, the Murray and the Onkaparinga. That night, I went to sleep eager to venture a little further afield.
The next morning I had breakfast at the Original Pancake Kitchen, a restaurant my parents had recommended. Located in an alley, as many fine restaurants are, it is exactly what it sounds like, a restaurant that serves pancakes. I got an order of pancakes with strawberry sauce and ice cream, downed with milk. It was very good and I'm glad my parents suggested it.
After breakfast, I took a tram from the city to Glenelg, a trendy beachside suburb. I'm sure it's marvelous in the summer sun but I had to contend with gale winds and rain. The one good thing was that it meant I had the area mostly to myself. The tram stopped at Moseley Square and I immediately had a look around. Since there wasn't much activity, I just strolled along the beach and snapped a few photos. Glenelg is where the first European settlers in South Australia arrived. When I'd had enough of this, I boarded the tram but got off at Morphettville Racecourse. The races were on that day and I decided to step in and see what a large city's racecourse looks like on race day. The betting ring was abuzz with activity as people studied the odds, placed bets and cheered their picks. I watched one race and then continued back into the city. I was going to treat myself tonight.
For Saturday night, I decided to go to AAMI Stadium for a game of aussie rules. Today, the Port Adelaide Power were hosting the North Melbourne Kangaroos but the contest didn't mean much as both were out of the playoffs. My family was never much in to sports, apart from watching them really. My dad enjoys watching CFL and I have dabbled in baseball and soccer, but my mother was never keen, totally unjustifiably, on myself or my brother playing any really hard contact sports. Furthermore, we never really went to any sporting events. My parents would always say it's too expensive, and they're probably right. I see an outing to a match more of a social thing than anything else. I just enjoy being around so many people watching an exciting game.
The match did prove exciting, though the weather didn't hold. At times the rain positively gushed down and the wind caused it to swirl in different directions. I can only imagine what it was like for the players. The game ended with North Melbourne winning by 4 points, which is pretty close in AFL terms. Despite the atrocious weather, I had fun and its unfortunate, but probably fiscally wise, that I don't live in a city with a professional AFL team.
Sunday I spent walking around the city again, but I did take a guided tour of the the Art Gallery of South Australia. They had some very thought-provoking pieces in there, particularly one about the despair of the Burke and Wills expedition realizing that they're situation was now dire; the 2 would eventually die in the Outback. It consisted of a 3 panel tableau with a male figure in each to represent the 3 members of the party: Burke, Wills and King (who survived). There were other pieces in there, such as aboriginal art and early Australian art from the 19th Century but the Burke and Wills piece was my favourite. I also had a look around the South Australian Museum, a small museum with a large model of a giant squid. For dinner, I ate at another of my parents' recommended restaurants, a Belgian place called Oostende. I had a delicious pork rib there and, again, I thank my parents for the recommendation. That night at the hostel, I took part in a ping pong tournament and got to the 2nd round. Although I didn't win, I did get a free breakfast out of it. And just as an aside, that afternoon as I was walking through a shopping mall on Rundle Street, who should I spy but Helen, one of my tutors from law school. What are the odds, you think, of 2 people from Canberra being in Adelaide at the exact same spot at the exact same time? They cannot be high and I know odds; it's my job after all.
On my last day in Adelaide, I just walked around as much as I could to take in what was left unseen. I walked beside the Torrens River again and explored the northern quarter a little more. I even managed to find a stobie pole, a South Australian exclusive. When electricity first came to South Australia, they quickly realized that there weren't enough trees to make all of the necessary poles. Ingeniously, the South Australians invented a pole made of concrete with iron/steel sides; these were originally railway tracks. The result is the stobie pole, one of the most solidly built things on the face of the Earth. They may be ugly, but they're environmentally friendly and they work. What more do you want? Another South Australian invention is the Torrens Title System whereby the person whose name is on the land registry owns the land regardless of other claims. Under the old law, when you bought property you had to show good title back 40 years, and this new system simplified things greatly. Now, you only had to show that title was passed to you by the person registered. This may not mean much to you now, but it'll prove vitally important if you ever buy a house.
Anyway, when I arrived back in Canberra, I was very pleased with myself. Although this trip was primarily just to get out of Canberra for a while, I feel like I saw a remarkable part of Australia. Adelaide is a not-oft visited city, and it's a shame because it has some wonderful features. Too bad about the weather, though.
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