Adelaide: The tour stop over city

When I told people I was staying in Adelaide for nine days they invariable asked me why. On explaining that I was taking a tour there and leaving for my next tour from the same place I then received sympathy. I can understand why some people might not like Adelaide it’s small and quiet; I enjoyed my time there but I’m not sure I’d want to live there.

On my first full day in the city I was thankful for a proper long lie as my first night in the city had been a late one. It was after 9am when I got up and it was straight to the showers to wash off the slight hangover that I seemed to have acquired. My UK friend was still asleep when I returned so I went up to the common room to send some e-mails, work on my blog and play with the many (900!) photographs I had taken over the last 6 days. Whilst there I caught up with my fellow Scot from the tour and was able to find her on the dreaded facebook before it was time to say goodbye again. Not long after that my UK friend arrived in the common room and we discussed possible activities for the day over breakfast. We decided to walk towards the cathedral and look for a cheap lunch spot. Sadly there was a funeral at the cathedral so we quickly passed it by. We did find some cheap but tasty lunch nearby then walked back towards town and the South Australian Museum. Our second guide had recommended it as it has an impressive collection explaining many of the Aboriginal cultures. This was by far the most comprehensive exhibition I have seen so far but the exertions of the tour (and perhaps the alcohol from the previous night) were catching up with me and I am ashamed to admit that combined with the dark rooms I found it difficult to take it all in and became rather sleepy. I took a quick tour of the other exhibits but I was less impressed. The Pacific cultures exhibit was small but interesting but the Egyptian exhibits and stuffed animals were nothing new. I did notice they were hosting the ANZANG nature photography exhibition which I decided I would visit at a later date. I then confused the museum staff by walking round the whole museum three times looking for my friend. As I was completely unsuccessful I decided that if I were to rest on the grass outside the main entrance then she would be sure to see me when she was finished. Sure enough as the museum was closing out she came and spotted me almost immediately. The plan was then to go for a quick dinner and get an early night as my friend had booked us in for a tour round a local chocolate factory the next day. Many of you should now know my views on plans and therefore be unsurprised that said plan didn’t work out (they rarely do in my experience) and we ended up not only getting dinner but a few drinks as well. It was a fun evening but drinking two nights in a row isn’t really great for my stomach or, it turns out, my memory.

I woke up the next morning and all I remembered was that we planned to walk along the river and perhaps get a paddle boat. Since I was feeling decidedly under the weather I didn’t hurry to get up and dressed. I was also very surprised that my friend was up and about and had eaten before me as she usually sleeps longer than I do. Sadly the reason for this was the afore mentioned tour. Instead of walking to the factory we caught one of the free trams but sadly missed the tour. We were able to take a walk through ourselves though and my friend was able to purchase some of their tasty Aussie chocolate to take back home. We then headed back into the city as my friend wished to explore the museum more. As we had fallen in to the habit of going round at our own pace we arranged to meet outside at a specified time. I was still not feeling entirely healthy so I decided to stay outside in the fresh air and took a walk over to the botanic gardens. The gardens were as lovely as any I have seen. I found my usual sense of peace and was delighted to discover the rose garden which still had most of its flowers in bloom even if they were starting to wilt a little in the heat of the coming summer. I didn’t wander far as I didn’t want to be late, as I often am. I therefore arrived at the museum with enough time to lie on the grass with my music in my ears so I could rest and soak up the ever so pleasant afternoon sun. This is where my friend found me and once we were sure I was awake ( I wasn’t even aware I had fallen asleep) we went in search of a sushi restaurant as my friend loves it and doesn’t get it very often back in the UK. It was then back to the hostel to pack up and get an early night as we were checking out of the hostel the next day.

Having packed the night before I was able to check out relatively quickly and my friend wasn’t far behind me. As she had a plane to catch she wasn’t inclined to explore the city further and I was grateful for the chance to catch up on my photos, blogging and e-mails. Her flight was early afternoon so she left late in the morning whilst I stayed in the YHA common room until 3pm when my friend from the mountains finished work and was able to pick me up. He did manage to confuse me slightly by driving a different car but once he found me it wasn’t long before I was chatting his ear off as I used to on our drives to and from work. I was also very excited as I was finally getting to meet his partner who i had heard so much about and even spoken too once or twice. I met her at my friends parents house where she had been looking after his younger siblings and for some reason went uncharacteristically shy and even more amusingly so did she! On arriving back at their house we had time for a quick change before getting some pizza and settling in front of the tv for food, wine and of course lots of chatting. Needless to say my friends partner and I didn’t stay shy for long, especially once the wine was opened.

The next day I caught a lift in to the city with my friend who started work at 7:30am. Though the art gallery doesn't open until 10am I had to go to the YHA to collect my camera where the lovely ATA tour guide had left it after rescuing it from the national park. Camera in hand once more I enjoyed exploring the city stopping to take as many photos as I could along the way of course. I stopped to get a croissant at one of the markets and have a cup of tea at a cafe before meandering through the streets to the North Terrace and the art gallery. They had recently held a specialist exhibition which was now finished so most of the galleries were empty and closed off. This meant that the remaining galleries had a most unusual arrangement. They had been arranged in periods not only show casing art from a particular period but also art which represent that period. Te international and Australian artists were all shown together and though I was disappointed not to see and of my favourite artists I saw a few name that I recognised as well as being introduced to a few I didn’t. I treated myself to a splendid lunch of duck on a mango risotto during my explorations then once I had exhausted the galleries I returned next door to the museum for a cup of tea whilst I waited for my friend as the lovely sunny day changed into a rather rainy one. Thankfully my friend was able to pick me up outside the gallery so I managed to avoid the worst of it. To celebrate the start of the weekend we headed to a nearby pub for dinner and a few drinks before finishing our evening with some criminal minds a few more drinks back home.

The weekend was very exciting as two of our friend from the mountains were in the city and stopped by to visit. We skyped our mutual friends that I stayed with in Sydney so we could all say hello and tell her we wished she were with usbefore heading back in to the city for a tasty meal with lots of meat and of course, a few drinks! It was a fun night and as it went on more and more of my friends friends appeared so I ended up talking to anyone foolish enough to sit next to me for more than five minutes. It was a random and fun night out for sure followed by a very lazy Sunday.

On Monday I was meant get a lift to the bus stop from my friends partner but ended up going back to bed and having a day catching up online and being lazy. I did get up the next day and she kindly dropped me off and told me which bus to get. They live quite a ways out of the city so I made it to the museum just as they were opening giving me plenty of time to enjoy the ANZANG nature photography exhibition. There was a large group of school children in at the same time as me which worried me until I realised they were all very well behaved. It was an excellent exhibition and I had great trouble leaving it, it took me half a dozen attempts before I finally made it out of the door without being distracted by one of the brilliant photographs. Once outside I decided to walk along the river towards the botanic gardens so I could take some photos with my proper camera as my previous visit had been recorded using my iTouch. This was a PLAN and therefore didn’t work. You’d think I’d learn but I can’t help myself, I do like to make plans, which is probably why I have so many of them. The plan was foiled by the beauty of the river. The day was what I had always imaging Australia to be. It was sunny, there were people relaxing beside the river and along the river as the ferries cruised slowly up and down it. There were also lots of ducks and other bird about which were all too tempting for a girl with a camera in her had, especially when I came across two duckling curled up together not far from the path. I did make it to the botanic gardens but only just and therefore had to turn about and head back in top the city so my friend could find me and take me home. It was a lovely last day in Adelaide. It may be the quietest city I have visited so far but that in itself gives it it’s own charm. It was lovely to see my friend again and make friend with his lovely girlfriend but whilst I was sad to leave them behind I was looking forward to my next adventure – crossing the Nullarbor!