Adelaide.
What a pleasant surprise that city is!
South Australian number plates call SA the Festival State. You can see why when you check out a local calendar of events. There is a mind-boggling array of carnivals, festivals, happenings, and art every month, entertaining the locals and luring the tourists. It's fantastic.
They have roughly a quarter of Sydney's population, but their thriving cultural program (with accompanied support from government and business) puts the bigger cities to shame. Adelaide has production pizazz while still maintaining the warmth and community of a country town.
There is a sense of pride there. Of fostering and nurture of talent and resources. There's quite a bit to be proud of, too. A taste of local produce, or a drive to see the nearby countryside – in any direction, will prove that.
I love the architecture. The dominance of the Californian Bungalow, scattered with a little Victorian, and some very cool finds from the post-war era. Most houses are stone or brick, not so many weatherboard, due to the fact there is more stone, not so many trees in the area. It's solid, comfortable housing offering a feel of homeliness, harking back to a more simple era of rose bushes and hydrangeas on white picket fences.
These are more extravagant examples, both opposite the beach, and wow…
Still opposite the beach, not as extravagant, but just as fine an example
– and I love to look at windows…
In keeping with the country-town feel, Adelaide doesn't mind a street closure. While we were there, alone, there was the Norwood street closure for the parades on Friday night, Saturday saw street closures for the Christmas parade (I love a city that can still do that!), and every Sunday, they close a block in Rundle St – and I don't mean the pedestrian mall – for a market. A nice market. No crap. We wandered around and bought a few things.
Sure, it still has some catching up to do in some areas, (c'mon, mullets do add to the charm). One thing that struck a chord with me as we travelled along the flat, wide streets that make up the city – where are all the pushies? If you know me, you know I'm no pushy… erm… pusher, but I have been enjoying jumping on them and pedalling away the miles in various cities around the world. Adelaide is ideal for the humble pushbike. It's all flat, and the roads are really wide, but I counted only seven on the roads in the time we were there. Someone needs to open a beach cruiser shop there and get them all 'on their bikes'!
On Saturday, we took a drive to Glenelg. Mum lived there breifly, 1000 years ago.
Is this the place, Mum? The water is still across the road, but I'm fairly certain that block of flats wasn't in the backyard.
The beach – in not very November weather (it was cold, wet, and blustery).
We grabbed some fish and chips in Glenelg (actually, that's a lie, I got a Chiko roll. I got Chiko rolls two days in a row, because, while I'm scared to look inside them while I eat them, I know you can't really stuff one up. No matter how dodgy a shop turns out to be, the Chiko will remain the same. It's the universal Chiko code) and took in the view.
With some company…
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