Amber's Travel Blog - Australia 2023
Adelaide
Hotel: Ibis Adelaide
Hotel Review: This was another great hotel in a perfect location. The beds were comfortable, the room was modern, and the bathroom did the job! My only complaint is that they only provide a body wash/shampoo/conditioner combo. I really like to have a separate conditioner. I guess I can live with that - it was only $100 per night. This one also has laundry if you need it - but we'll save it for home...only a few days left!
Sights Visited: State Library, Rundle Mall, Victoria Square, Adelaide Central Market, St. Francis Cathdral, South Australian Museum (just the Aboriginal exhibit), Adelaide Street Art Trail (some of it), Art Gallery of South Australia, National Wine Centre, Cleland Animal Park.
Restaurants we liked: Two-Bit Villians, Exchange, Staazi and Co.
Our thoughts on Adelaide: We were here for less than 48 hours, but we really should have been here for much more! We both really liked this city - there was so much to do in the city and around it. I think we did a good job doing as much as we did in such a short period of time.
You'll see that we enjoyed another wonderfully interactive animal park - Cleland Animal Park - where we got to feed the kangaroos and take pictures with a koala (for free!). The echidna video/pictures turned out pretty well too!
We really haven't run into too many problems on our trip - but we hit one today. Our SIM card stopped working, but it hadn't been a problem because wi-fi is seemingly everywhere (e.g., they have turned many of their pay phones into free wi-fi hotspots). Well, at the park, the wi-fi was down and the staff seemed to care less that we had no way to get back. This was so completely contrary to every other experience we've had with Australians who have been consistently kind, welcoming, and helpful. I found a seemingly nice guy in a Colorado t-shirt that I thought might feel bad for some wi-filess Americans, and sure enough, he turned his phone into a hotspot for us! Saved by someone who used to live in Colorado, currently visiting Australia, and now lives in Singapore - what a world!
Yesterday morning, we went to the Adelaide Central Market which was quite impressive for one of the smallest cities on our itinerary. We split a leek quiche, corn fritter, jalapeno pasty, sourdough bread ring, passionfruit tart, and a delicious pastry that looked like a small hot dog that we can't remember the name of...all while we walked around for 2-3 hours. What delicious fun!
Then we walked to Victoria Square, the cathedral, and then to the museums and library. That library was really beautiful and the art museum had some incredible aboriginal work. It was one of my favorite art museums in Australia - if not my favorite.
From there we took the (free) tram to the National Wine Centre where we tasted many, many local wines (definitely not free). We met some Kiwis (folks from New Zealand) who kept us company and we learned about what we should see when we go to NZ...which is very high on our to-visit list!
The layout of Adelaide is spot on! The urban planning is excellent here...and is quite well done around Australia overall. And it's so nice to have free public transportation - what a brilliant idea!
And here are the pictures/videos - enjoy!