Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and Australia's fifth largest city with a population of just over 1.2 million. I quite enjoyed my time in Adelaide previously, and I'm really looking forward to the few days I'll have back there again in a couple of weeks.
Adelaide was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely settled British province in Australia. Adelaide is set out in a grid layout, with many wide-boulevards and lots of public spaces - plus the entire downtown city area is completely surrounded by parklands. Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political progress and civil liberties, which led to the moniker, "City of Churches". Today Adelaide is known for its many festivals and sporting events, its food, wine and culture, its long beachfronts and its large defence sector. It is frequently ranked as the most liveable city in Australia.
Several of Adelaide's original and very beautiful buildings are all within a very easy walking distance in the city centre. To give you an example, these buildings are all one beside the other.
The Railway Station (this current building built 1926-1928):
Parliament House - the seat of the parliament of South Australia (built in stages beginning in 1874):
The State Library is a wonderful place to visit and the complex of buildings the Library inhabits are just beautiful. The Institute Building (1861 - top photo) and the Mortlock Wing (1884 - bottom photo) are joined by the modern Spence Wing which is the entrance to the Library.
The interior of the Mortlock Wing has two galleries and if you're a book lover you'd be hard pressed not to feel some awe when you first walk into it.
Next in line is the South Australian Museum (1856) and beside it (right hand side of the photo) is the Art Gallery of South Australia (1881).
About three blocks away from this line of spectacular buildings are two more, equally impressive buildings, the Central Post Office (1867) and the Town Hall (1866).
Other than a quick peak in the State Library I didn't go into any of these buildings on this trip but that could be something I do when I return to Adelaide.
An interesting landmark/sculpture in Adelaide are the solar Mallee Trees, located outside of the Adelaide Festival Centre. These 'trees' were erected in 2005 and although fun to look at during the day apparently they are even more interesting at night when they light up in an assortment of different colours.
This is out in front of the Festival Centre, with the back of the Parliament House in the background.
I'm sure it will come as no surprise to find out that Adelaide has a river running through it - the River Torrens. In total the River Torrens is 85 kms long, flowing from its source in the Adelaide Hills, across the Adelaide Plains, through the city centre, and eventually emptying into the Gulf of St. Vincent. In the section of the river that runs through the city centre there are beautiful parklands on either side - but it doesn't take long to travel along the river to get to sections that are much narrower and undeveloped (even though you're still within the city).
Torrens Lake was created in 1881 with the construction of a weir, and this little lake and the parklands around it are the site of many of Adelaide's festivals.
City Bridge, opened in 1856, was the first substantial bridge built to join North Adelaide with the city centre. The original bridge was replaced with this concrete-arch bridge in 1931.
The Albert Bridge is a wrought iron bridge built in 1879.
The river is home to large numbers of water fowl and I was lucky enough to see this swan family out enjoying the river at the same time I was.
Rundle Mall is the premiere retail area in the centre of Adelaide. It was opened as Australia's first pedestrian street mall in 1976 and remains so today. Along the mall there are several iconic statues: "The Spheres", now known colloquially as "The Mall's Balls" as well as the "Mall's Pigs". Oliver is checking out the garbage can (rubbish bin), Horatio is over by the bench and Truffles has her nose down at the front of the photo.
I'm looking forward to spending more time in Adelaide but in the meantime, a trip to Broken Hill is being planned for me this week. Perhaps heading to Australia's outback in the middle of summer, and in the middle of a heatwave, is not something most people would be doing but hey, now is when I have the opportunity. And besides, after travelling in the Gulf during summer there I'm sure I can stand a few days of Australian outback heat.
And since it's been awhile since I posted a photo of myself, here is one from this weekend, staying with friends in Adelaide who mercifully had a pool as the temperature on Friday climbed to 45+ degrees in the city.
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