One of our daughters has recently returned from the USA with her husband and family to Adelaide. It is not as far to travel for baby sitting duties but not your average come over for a couple of hours while I….. So September 2019 we flew to Adelaide to babysit our grandsons.
They had moved into a comfortable home near the boys school so we were able to walk them to school and whilst at school see the sights of Adelaide. First was a visit to Rundle Mall and the city CBD via bus transport. Seniors ride free of paying a fare during certain hours which suited us nicely. We rode the buses passed City Hall to the end of the Mall where we decided to walk around and get a feel for the city. I have uploaded the various city sights. The city is surrounded by park which is lovely but makes the trip to the CBD longer than you would expect.
Amongst the collection of stone buildings we found the Art Gallery of South Australia. It was a bit eclectic. for example below is the stone ediface suggesting old traditional and conservative and inside is a spiders web of the things you would expect to be captured in the web;
We found the markets and I was particularly taken by this coffee shop (see below) which used a jumble of windows and doors to enclose the cafe space and then dotted tables chairs bars and stools around it to give it an el fresco atmosphere. The markets reminded me of the victoria markets in Melbourne with plenty of choice for fresh everything and an assortment of everything else. From the markets we made our way back toward the river and the casino passing the Parliament House a plaque commemorating the first federal convention where State leaders attempted to agree the constitution of a Commonwealth of Australia and the rampant Lion of Rex Britannica. We were making towards the road to cross the Torrens to North Adelaide and the Adelaide Oval. Set in a parkland surrounding the Oval is protected from view by a modern stadium building overshadowing everything around.
We picniced in the park under the shadow of the Oval building. It was a hot Adelaide day and sitting in the shade by the river was as pleasanrt as it was going to get. After lunch we strolled through the park and crossed a footbridge back into the CBD
We picked up a hire car just across the road from the footbridge as we planned an excursion into the country after our babysitting was over. We booked accomodation at the Normanville Resort and Golf Club to the south of Adelaide – no point in flying to Adelaide and not using our time to look around.
We drove south to Myponga where we stopped for a coffee. The coffee was accompanied by a piece of fresh country baked cake and a couple of pies which would serve as lunch. We drove south through green pastures and herds of sheep grazing on the hills with the sea following us down the coast until finally finding the resort outside Normanville. You will notice in the photos below the traffic signs on the beach – clearly you can drive on the beach. Normanville is not a large centre but it has a lovely beach which we visited to eat our pies and then to the resort. The resort did seem a remote place for a resort but it was quite large and surrounded by a golf course and housing estate.
More on this adventure in my next blog.
Our Fabulous Travels 