TRAVELING THE WORLD 365 days/year. You can visit us on Instagram at whereintheworldaremikeandjan. Do not hit “Reply” to message us – Use Contact Tab, above.
Sweet Adelaide – it was good to be here again after four years. Adelaide is the capital of, and largest city in, the state of South Australia, which in itself is the size of Germany and France combined. Adelaide was formerly called Tartanya (red kangaroo place) by the native people.
The last time we were here, we wandered the downtown, went to the botanical gardens, and took a trip to Glenelg Beach. So this time, we decided to walk the streets of the city a bit more, have (great, robust) coffee in Rundle Mall, and visit the Central Market. As we walked through the stores, we realized how much the Northern Hemisphere dominates popular thought. Christmas here is always at the beginning of summer – it is hot, sunny, and school is out. You know what that’s like! Yet, Christmas cards, mugs, and gifts show the typical (for us) cozy winter scenes of cottages covered in snow! But no snow is expected when the temperature is 90 degrees.
At any rate, our visit here was wonderful. The city has a nice vibe and a delightful mixture of new and old. Many buildings date to the end of the 1800s and are still in use. We have more photos than ever, though, as they tell the full story when words can’t.
The cruise port for Adelaide is a 40-minute train ride north of the city, at the Outer Harbor. For $10 each, we bought an all-day transit card. This is the central train station in Adelaide, where passengers arrived after 40 minutes.Just outside the train station, we smiled at this friendly guy with green antlers. We thought he was a construction worker, but no – said he worked for a magazine!Parliament of South Australia building – it is massive, and just came looming up before us as we left the train station.On the long pedestrian walkway that is Rundle Mall, we saw this man knitting away and offering his knitted mushrooms for sale.A street mural along Rundle Mall.We liked finding this sign in the city!The Adelaide Arcade was our favorite place of the day. You can see tin soldiers, Australia’s crest at the top featuring an emu and kangaroo, and then a flag at the tippy-top. The fountain is pretty impressive, too.In the arcade is one of our favorite restaurant names.…and here is a long view of the delightful arcade, all decorated for Christmas. It feels like what shopping 100 years ago would have been like.A fun shop, also in the Adelaide Arcade.Bunches of different snow globes were featured in a shop window – but now they include a “blower” in the bottom that makes the glitter “snow” constantly, not just when you turn it upside down.A Soprano Ukulele with a Smiley Face in a music store window.The Epworth Building, completed in 1927 at a cost of just 68,000 British pounds! The building and inscription at the entrance are both beloved by the people of Adelaide: “I expect to pass through this world but once; any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now, let me not defer it, nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” ~William PennAn adorable Christmas tree made up of live potted petunias.This office building dates to 1869. Over the door, it says, “Queen’s Chambers.”Adelaide Town Hall forms this pretty stone arcade over the pavement.This statue of Queen Adelaide, the city’s namesake, is in the lobby of Town Hall. Sad to say, when we peeked in from the sidewalk, we thought it was a comic figure out of Alice in Wonderland!As you can see on the sign, this is Central Market – but Santa gets all the attention since he is oversized.Are these giant crayfish, or what? Actually, no. They are really small-claw lobsters, called slipper lobsters in the US. These are usually cheaper on a US menu. But in US dollars, this is about $30/lb. Not cheap!The sign says, “Barramundi Wings,” but the locals call this fish just BARRA. Apparently, the “wings” are incredibly tasty when cooked correctly.There were 7-8 long aisles in the Central Market with quite an array of products.The Smelly Cheese Shop!A kicking Chorus Line Chicken. Isn’t she adorable?The Mushroom Man sold mushrooms exclusively, of course. We were amazed at the varieties and sizes he sold.Not cantaloupe here – Rock Melon.Salmon heads, anyone? (About $3/pound.) We have encountered Salmon Head Soup in Asia, and apparently heads make the best stock for soup. Salmon heads contain extra-high levels of Vitamin A, Iron, Zinc, Calcium, and Omega-3 fatty acids.We got a photo with all the words in! As you can see, the Corner Deli sells ham-coffee-bacon-olives-dips-smoked salmon-vinegars-coffee-ham-cheese-bread-oils-cheese!!! (Yes, coffee is there twice.)Emojis-turned-cookies.Kangaroo sausage and every cut you can imagine.So….kangaroo tails are the only part of the kangaroo that was sold out! At roughly $4 US per pound, it has to be cooked a long time. Like oxtail, it can be delicious. Tails are also used as dog food chews – they are low-fat, and apparently last a dog a long time.Originally built in 1913 as the New Tivoli Theater, this is Adelaide’s oldest performing arts venue. After a succession of names, the city landed on Her Majesty’s Theater – and it stuck!The cornerstone for this building, the Victoria Tower, was laid by the Duke of Edinburgh on November 1, 1867.A poster on the side of a building. A great, green, idea for an attractive parking garage.Casa Bla Bla – next to Plain Jane.Late afternoon, when we returned to Outer Harbor. So pretty in this part of the world.
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