ROTR: The Video

So I took (nearly) every photo I took this year, dumped it into iMovie, and made a video slideshow of my travels. Enjoy. Share.

Milano

The Duomo, Europe’s biggest Cathedral

I’m gonna admit it, my head’s really not in the game right now… As of the writing of this post, I leave for Toronto in four days, I’ve been checking apartment listings daily, and I just started checking my work email again. I was acclaimed as Branch President for my school’s teachers union, and my social schedule upon my return is happily starting to fill up.

Even today, my first full day in London in 5 years, I’ve spent more time doing stuff that is home-related (I went to four different stores looking for a set of tumblers that you can’t get in Canada) than touristy stuff, but in my defence, it’s raining out and I had laundry to do this afternoon.

As such, it occurs to me that, while i had a lovely time in Milan, I took very few pictures. I also didn’t, in retrospect, do a whole lot, even though I was there for 3 full days.

I blame the Pope.

As you can see in the photo above, Pope Benedict XVI was in Milan for World Family Day or something like that. More anti-gay, anti-women’s right’s, anti-contraception bullshit, I’m sure, but because of it, the city wa crawling with people.

Still, even with all the stuff, I did get out and about exploring, and what I did see was quite wonderful.

Stazione Centrale

Inside Stazione Centrale

I took the train from Genoa to Milan, and it was a lovely train ride. Getting into Milan was a treat, though, as you arrive in this stunning building. What I really enjoyed about it was how well-used it was. There are multiple levels, and there is space for food, for retail, as well as waiting areas. It’s very pretty. It’s also the main hub for transport, as trams, busses and the metro all converge here.

The hostel (guest house?) I stayed at was fairly close to Centrale, which was nice. I set off right away upon arrival to find out what there was to do in Milan, but I found the tourism office at Centrale to be disappointing – I felt like I was bothering the woman, and when I tried to ask for information, she tore off a map, put an x where we were, an x where the Doumo is, and shoved the map at me. I’m sure she was getting the same question over and over that day, but come on, try a little bit.

The Duomo

The Duomo is, apparently, the largest cathedral in Europe, and it is quite a beautiful building. The Duomo sits on a square, and it was usually full of people, especially seeing as the Pope was in town.

Once I entered into the cathedral, its immensity was stunning.

Inside the main nave of the Duomo

Being that it was also the World Meeting of (presumably Catholic) Families was in Milan at the same time, the square surrounding the Duomo, as well as the Duomo itself, was overrun with people most of the time I was there. I ended up going on my second-last day, and the crowd was lessened, so i was able to get around and see things, even though it was still very crowded.

Castello Sfozesco

Castelo Sforzesco

In the centre of the city is the Castello, a 14th century ducal palace that now houses 7 museums and galleries that are open to the public. The castle is quite large, and the various exhibition spaces are spread out in the various buildings on the grounds of the castle.

I visited first the Museum of Ancient Art, which was quite beautiful, and houses Michaelangelo’s Pietas, which is a beautiful rendition.

Michaelangelo’s Pietas

The art in the gallery was beautiful, and contained many wonderful artifacts.

The next section I visited was the Antique Furnishings and Arts, and then the Applied Arts and Musical instruments. Being able to see how much design has changed over the years, and yet how much has remained the same, was quite fascinating. There were many beautiful pieces, andit was cool to see them all assembled in one place.

There was also the Archaeological Museum, with both an Egyptian and Roman exhibits. Not overly impressive, but a nice little collection.

The great thing about visiting the Castelo is that you can buy a 3-day Combo ticket that gives admission to the Castelo, Museum of Natural History, Museo del Risorgimento and Archaeological Museum. And it’s only €7 for all of them.

Archaeological Museum

Sadly, I a) lost the original ticket, and b) only made it to two of the four museums. I blame laziness. I did make it to the Archaeological Museum, which was quite cool as it outlined the history of Milan, from its founding as the Roman city of Mediolanum to modern times, as well as good exhibitions about the Roman and Etruscan civilizations.

The Museum itself is housed in an old convent on the site of ruins, and there is a tower left over from the 3rd century that contains frescoes from the middle ages. It was a cool site, and a nice afternoon out.

La Scala

Okay, honesty time: the only reason I knew La Scala existed prior to arriving in Milan was because of the line in the song “It’s bad luck to say Good Luck on Opening Night” from The Producers:

At the famous La Scala in Milan

On opening night it’s a rule
“In bocca lupa” they say with elan
And just for luck they all shout…
“Bah fongool!”

So when I saw it for the first time, that was my connection.

La Scala is one of the most famous Opera houses in the world, and its history goes back to 1778. It has been home to some of opera’s greats, such as Verdi, Toscanini and Maria Callas – names even an operatic neanderthal like me knows.

You’re not able to tour the theatre, unfortunately, but you can visit the Museum, and if you’re a theatre nerd (like me), it’s actually quite fascinating. there is a variety of photos, programs, props and costumes on display, the most impressive of which was Verdi’s piano. There were also etchings and photographs fromCommedia dell’Arte, which is the original version of slapstick comedy.

Before you enter the museum, you are able to go into the theatre galleries, and take a look at the theatre from one of the booths. The Auditorium is quite beautiful, but not necessarily out of the ordinary. If you can imagine all of the great performances that have take place there, however, it does become a special place.

While I was looking at the theatre, I overheard a guide in the next booth say that there were €10 rush seats in the fourth balcony available every night there is a show. The process for getting one is a bit of a production – you need to go to La Scala, to the side entrance, at noon to sign up for the tickets, and you can only get one ticket per person. Then, at 4:30, you need to go back to the same place, where you are given a voucher (once you’ve produced ID proving you are who you say you are) which will allow you to buy the tickets.

The reason the tickets are so cheap is a) they’re in the 4th balcony and b) they’re INCREDIBLY obstructed views. The auditorium of La Scala is round, all the orchestra seats face forward, but the side seats, of course, face the audience opposite. But hey, for €10, it’s La Scala.

The show we got to see was Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten. It was written in 1945.

It sucked. Badly.

It didn’t help that I had to stand for most of the 1st act to see what was going on. But the music was kinda awful, the lyrics didn’t rhyme (sorry, that’s my bias, but lyrics in music should rhyme), and while it was well-sung and designed, I just didn’t care. I left after the first act. But, I can say I saw an opera at La Scala.

Getting Here, Getting Around

I took TrenItalia to get to Milan from Genoa, and it was a reasonable trip. It’s only 90 minutes or so between the two cities, but the view is beautiful. The ticket, I seem to recall, was pretty reasonably priced.

There is a Metro system in Milan, which I used sparingly. There are also busses and streetcars, and the system is fully integrated. They have a 24-hour pass for only 4€50, which I thought was kinda awesome.

Accommodation

I again used Hostelworld to book my accommodations in Milan, and ended up at the Central Station Hostel. It was… okay. I think I’d call it more of a guest house, maybe? It was behind the Central Station, fairly well situated on bus and streetcar routes, a bit of a hike (10 minutes?) from Centrale and 15 from other metro stops. I dunno. It was a bit odd… it’s on the main floor of an office building, and it’s right beside the tracks. It was okay…

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed Milan, much more than I did Genoa, but as I have been finding, it’s not the city but the people in it who make the difference.

I was very lucky that, my first night in Milan at the local Gay bar, I was recued by Gigi, a really nice (and cute) DJ who invited me out with him and his friends. We went clubbing, and afterwards, his friend, Peter, was very gracious in taking me out and showing me around. It was pretty fantastic.

Special Thanks

Obviously to Gigi for rescuing me at the bar, and to Peter who went waaaay over and above to show me around, even though he was working. Grazie, bellos

 

Three Days in Lisboa

The view from my Pencao window

When I spoke to people in Porto and told them I was going to Lisbon, the common response was “You’ll like Porto better;” I got the same response in Lisbon when I told them I was staying in Porto.

As with all things, it’s a question of difference. When I get around to posting about Porto next week, you’ll see why I love it there.

This post, however, is about Lisbon, and I can say that I did love the city.

I can also tell you that 3 days is not nearly enough time to enjoy Lisbon.

South side of Praca da Figueira, the Castelo de Sao Jorge in the background, on the night of the “Supermoon”

Lisbon, or the site where modern-day Lisbon stands, has been inhabited for thousands of years. Indeed, Lisbon itself has been here since 1147, making it one of the oldest cities in Europe. Not much of the ancient city remains, as a major earthquake destroyed the city in the 1700s. Lisbon was rebuilt according to the principles of modern city development, and as such, downtown area, or Baixa, is on a grid system. There are still parts of the city, such as Alfama, which retain its medieval charm.

Walking Tour

Since I had very little time to see the city, I decided the best way was to take part in a walking tour. I’ve had great luck with walking tours throughout the Big Trip, and Lisbon’s was no exception. I found out about the walking tour at one of the many Tourismos in the city (staying in Baixa was an advantage – more of that later), and I ended up on The Original Lisbon Walk by Inside Lisbon. It was a bit slow to start, but my tour guide, Martha, was quite lovely and knowledgeable. Turned out that, of the 10 people on our tour, 6 of us were from Toronto, and the Brit and Aussie on the tour had lived in Vancouver. Canada represent!

Statue of Don Pedro IV. The tile work made me dizzy.

The tour started off in Praca Rossio, the main square in Lisbon. It’s a central point in the city, with a statue to Don Pedro IV, who was king of Portugal and Emperor of Brazil, as well as the National Theatre. The tile work in the square (of which there is a lot *everywhere* in Portugal) is made to represent the ocean, which at one point came up all the way to where the square is today.

Teatro Nacional D. Maria II

Interstingly, the square was also the site of the Inquisition in Portugal, although nothing remains of the church.

Next up was the Igreja de Sao Domingos, which is just off the Rossio and Praca de Figueira. It’s one of the many Baroque churches in Lisbon, and is quite beautiful.

Igreja do Sao Domingos – facade

The church, however, has a chequered past: it was here that thousands of Jews were killed in the middle ages. In the square that links the church to Rossio, there have bene erected monuments to these people, as well as a public apology on behalf of the people of Lisbon.

We then walked along to Praça dos Restauradores,a square that celebrates the restoration of Portuguese independence. It is at the foot of Avenida da Liberdade, a wide avenue that is touted as a “mini Champs Elysees.”

The former Eden Cinema

There are three things of note on Restauradores: The Eden Cinema, which is a beautiful Art Deco cinema, which has now been converted to a hotel; the second, just below the square is the Rossio train station, which is in the Manueline style, a style I had never heard of. It’s also quite beautiful, and very different from any architecture I’ve seen before.

Rossio train station

The final edifice of note is the Obelisk in the middle of the square, on which is listed the major battles of the Portuguese Restoration War. It’s also quite stunning.

Monument of the Portuguese Restoration War

From there, we climbed to the Chiados neighbourhood, which is up the mountain from Baixa. There is an Elevator that goes from Baixa to Chiados, but a) it costs money and b) you can just walk from where we were. So walk we did.

The Elevator from Baixa to Chaidos

We walked into Carmo Square, which is the site of the old Carmo Convent, the church of which is now in ruins. The square is also one of the locations of the 1975 Republican revolution, a bloodless coup that turned Portugal from a dictatoriship to a republic. The Elevator is just beside the old church (now an Archaelology museum), and from there you get some beautiful views of the city. The best part is that the platform is free to go on, and it’s only 1E50 if you want to go to the top level.

View of Sao Jorge from the Elevator

Rossio from the Elevator

the Ruins of the Carmo Church, from the elevator

Carmo Square

After coffee and pastries, we headed back into Rossio to catch the tram up to Sao Jorge and into Alfama.

Statue of Sao Vicente

Sao Vicente is (one of?) the Patron Saint of Lisbon, and the symbol of Lisbon is the boat from his legend. It stands in a square just outside the walls of Sao Jorge, where the main entrance is, which would have been nice for me to clue into when I went looking to get in there later on that day… but I digress.

Me overlooking Alfama

From here we walked down into Alfama, and it was quite the maze of streets and sqaures. As one of the girls on the tour pointed out, our guide could easily have abnadoned us and we’d ahve been screwed. Luckily, she did not.

Alfama. Can you pick out the streets? Me either.

It was a fantastic walk down to the main streets through the streets, there was so much to see, and I didn’t take a lot of pics. Oh well. I have the images in my mind.

From there we visited the Se, which is the main Cathedral in Lisboa.

One of the towers of the Se

The Se is an impressive building, and has Romanesque, Baroque and Gothic elements. The Facade is Romanesque, and you get a fantastic view of it as you come up the street from Baixa.

Main Portico to the Se

The interior is beautiful simplicity, which I am really starting to appreciate in Romanesque architecture.

Interior of the Se

The really cool thing about the Se do Lisboa is that the cloisters are open to the public, and in the courtyard of the cloisters is an archaeological dig. For 2E, you can go into the cloisters and take a walk around.

Archaeological dig in the Cloisters of the Se

There, you can see walls, sidewalks and stairs from the Roman period. Some of the wall paint remains.

Cloisters

The cloisters are built in a Gothic style, and as with most cloisters, you can feel the peace and quiet that monks and nuns would wish for in their devotions and metitations. These cloisters are, I found, a bit darker than some I have visited, likely because there doesn’t seem to be a lot of exposure to the outdoors.

Monument and Church of Saint Anthony, Lisbon’s *other* patron Saint (and hometown boy)

Just below the Se is the Church of Saint Anthony, the *other* patron Saint of Lisbon. Saint Anthony is usually associated with Padua, where he is buried, but he was born and raised in Lisbon, apparently on the site where his church now stands. Every year, apparently, the municipality springs for several couples to be married in the Cathedral on Saint Anthony’s day. Also, apparently, in Lisbon St. Anthony is depicted as a boy or young man, whereas in Padua, he is depicted as an old man.

Praca do Comercio – Main Gates to the city

We finished our tour in Praca do Comercio, which is also known as Terreiro do Paco, or Palace Square. This enormous public square, which is bordered on three sides by the old Palaces, and on the other by the River Tagus, used to be the ceremonial entry to the city from the river, and visitors were received into the city through the large ceremonial arch that dominates the square. In the centre of the square is a statue of King Jose I, as this was once a royal square. Most of the buildings that surround the square are now government offices, but as you can see from the photo above, there is work afoot to make the square more accessible and user friendly. New tram lines and roads, as well as shops and restaurants in the arcades of the buildings are under construction.

Statue of King Jose I in front of the gates to the city

Castelo do Sao Jorge

Ramparts and Tower

I love castles. That should be obvious by now. And this one has, so far, been the best one. Castelo Sao Jorge, or Saint George Castle, sits atop one of the hills in Lisbon. Yes, Saint George is the Patron Saint of England, but Joao I named it after him in honour of his wife, and English princess. The castle itself is moorish in origins and dates back to the early middle ages.

Me, the Castle and the Atlantic

I’m not sure why I look so… perplexed.

View out of a portico

This is, I think, the most in-tact castle I’ve visited, with much of the ramparts and keeps still in tact. It was awesome to be able to walk the perimeter of the old ramparts and get up into the turrets and whatnot. And the views of the city from the castle are breathtaking. I was looking into the west at sunset so it was hard to tell, but i think you can see the ocean from there.

Ramparts

Part of the castle grounds are being dug up for archaeological purposes, as it’s known that the hill has been inhabited for millenia. The museum on the grounds has artifacts that date back to roman times. The ruins are of two times, some Roman, and some Islamic.

Ancient Islamic and Roman ruins

I always get a bit… emotional? when I visit ruins, especially when they are fairly in tact. It’s very humbling to know that, thousands of years ago, people were going about their daily lives on the place that you are now standing, and there’s something more poignant about the fact that all that remains are a few stones, a wall, a walkway, a well. Makes you wonder what we’re leaving behind us now.

Outside the Castle Keep

There were peacocks roaming the grounds. It was weird. I wonder if they’re natural to the area.

Peacock. Everywhere, peacocks!

Yellow Bus

I found out about the Yellow Bus tours in Porto, which I took because it was cheaper, and you got free public transport on the city lines for the duration of the ticket as well as the tourist bus. I also liked that, apparently, you got 25% off Yellow Bus tours in other cities, like Lisbon.

This, however, was not the case. Apparently that only works if you buy a single bus tour, not a package. Curses.The two-tour combo pack, for 48 hours, was 19E.

At any rate, the tours were good overviews of the city, and I got introduced to two cool areas: Parque das Nacoes and Belem.

Parque das Nacoes

One of the buildings on the Parque

Lisbon hosted Expo 98, and this neighbourhood is what came out of it. Ultra-modern buildings, a grand avenue, fountains, exhibition and commercial space and an aquarium and mall are just some of the things that came out of the expo. It was a very beautiful modern area.

One of the many sculptures

One of the legacy projects is the beautiful Gare do Oriente, the eastern main station in Lisbon. I recall going through it on my way into Lisbon, and thinking how beautiful the roof is.

Gare do Oriente

On the bus tour, I also got to see:

Bullfighting Ring

Parliament

Belem

West of the city centre on the River Tagus is Belem, now a suburb, but it used to be a village in its own right, and one of the first points of defense for Lisbon. There is a monastery, cultural centre, and a quaint little downtown area. I have ot admit, I was in a complete rush visiting here (as it was late afternoon and I had to catch a train) but here are the highlights:

Pasteis de Belem

This is the Pasteis de Belem store, where they make Pasteis de nata, which are custard tarts:

Pastels de Belem

and they are all kinds of awesome. This store is apparently *the* place to get these pastries, and they are so famous from this store that they are called pasteis de Belem, and just pasteis de nata everywhere else. I dig.

Monument to the Discoveries

On the edge of the river is this enormous statue which honours the explorers and supporters who helped expand Portugal’s empire in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Belem Tower

The Belem Tower, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a Manuline tower that sits just off the shore of the Tagus, and was built to be the first line of defence of Lisbon.

Monastery / Fountain

The Jeronimos Monastery, also in the Manuelite style, dates back the the 1500s. It is a World Heritage site along with the Tower of Belem.

Accommodation

I lucked out huge with this one. Using Hostelworld (which is, by the way, an awesome site), I found the Pencao Prace da Figueira, which is right in Praca da Figueira in Baixa. It was cheap (only 30E a night), clean, and central, and although the beds were really hard, it was an awesome place to stay.

Getting around

If you stay anywhere in the city centre, you can walk pretty much anywhere you might want to go. You might be walking uphill, but it’s doable. There is a very good Metro, which I took from the train station to the Pencao, but I didn’t really use it much after that. There are also trams, one of which I took to Belem, and some of which are heritage trams that act as tourist trams. All in all, though, it was very inexpensive (a daypass on the Metro was 5E) and very convenient.

Special Thanks

Although I spent my days running around like a madman, I was very fortunate to meet Jorge, who introduced me to his friends Nuno and Tiago, and who made sure that my evenings were envetful and fun. Thanks guys, even if you all stay up way too late. 😉

Photo Gallery

Click here to see my Picasa web photo album.

It’s Pronounced “Cans”

Let’s get this out of the way upfront: Cairns sucks. It’s a tourist town like every other tourist town, overrun with backpackers and foreigners and the town only seems to exist for that purpose. Even the tour bus driver pointed out that 70% of the jobs in Cairns were tourism-related. So yeah. You don’t go to Cairns for Cairns.

Get me out of here

Having said that, it is, of course, the jumping-off point for many, many fantastic places and things.

I was in Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef and the Rainforests, and in those, I was certainly not disappointed.

Flying over the Reef on approach to Cairns

I opted to go on a two-day package tour, for which I only spent $200. I went with The Adventure Company and the Down Under Dive company. Day 1 was out to the reef, and day 2 was out to the Daintree Rainforest.

Great Barrier Reef

Hellooooo

It was pretty awesome. I don’t know how much more I can say. We went to two different reefs that day – Norman Reef in the morning and North Hastings Reef in the afternoon. It was amazing. The cruise out to the reef was phenomenal, it was grey and cloudy in Cairns but it was lovely on the reef. I’m going to let the photos do the talking for this one.

Fish!

No clue what the orange thing was, but it was all kinds of awesome. The black one is a sea cucumber.

More Fish!

The Drop Off

To see more photos of my snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef, visit my Picasa Web Album.

Daintree Rain Forest

The next day, we loaded into a bus and drove up to Port Douglas, and then on to the Daintree National Park. It was a wet, rainy day, but was a lot of fun. I met some great people on the tour, and we saw some beautiful rainforests and rivers.

Again, some great things to see, so here are some photos.

Swing Bridge

Cape Tribulation

Strangler Fig in the Daintree

Batiste trying to keep Livia dry in the rainforest

Overlooking the outlet of the Daintree River

Traveller’s Oasis

On my friend Ryan’s advice, I stayed at the Traveller’s Oasis in Cairns. It was actually quite nice. The hostel is broken up into different buildings, and there are apparently no bunk beds in the place. There’s a nice small pool for relaxing, and a great food prep / bbq area to be used. John and his staff were fantastic, very friendly and knowledgeable, and by the end of my first day there, they knew my name. I was impressed.

Gecko on the wall next to gecko art. Cute!

Special thanks

Thanks to Nigel and Brad for a lovely night out, it was much appreciated.

Shout out to Livia and Batiste, I had a great time, can’t wait to see you in the spring!

Photo Albums

Click here for my Picasa web album from Cairns and here for the album from the Great Barrier Reef. 

Adelaide, On a Plane

Today, I will leave the opening of the post to the great Ben Folds, who wrote a song about Adelaide entitled, surprisingly, Adelaide.

Adelaide City Hall

Adelaide
On a plane
Far from the united states
Of LA
Dropping in from outer space
Takes a day
Now I see the Bogans
At the motor race
Here you know the world could turn
Or crash and burn
And you would never know it
Going where the air is clear
There’s better beer in Adelaide

Charlie L. Smith’s forty
Someone spiked my rice
The rest, history
Now I am a fixture down

Rundle Mall
Watching as the locals pass
Silver balls
I can see their eyes are round
They’re pointed down
They scan the spanning sidewalks
Learning that there is no hurry
Fuss or worry
Adelaide

It’s raining
In Adelaide
A face is waiting in a window
A voice says
Why Adelaide
You could live anywhere and I say
Because I want to
Because I want to
I really really want to

And you know the earth could turn
Or crash and burn
And you would never know it
Really got to make it to the finish line
Get the record done on time
Pack the bags
And catch a flight
And you can kiss my ass goodbye
I’m in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide

Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, usually elicits the following response when you tell Aussies you’re going to visit there:

“Why?”

Bridge over the River Torrens

Indeed, Adelaide is a bit out of the way, and while it’s a big city (around 1.2 million people) it still seems to think it’s a small town. Still, I found Adelaide to be a wonderful little city, even though my visit was very, very short.

Metropolitan Hotel

I only spent two full days in Adelaide, which for this portion of the visit was actually adequate. I started off on the first day at the Information Centre on Flinders Street Mall, where I took in the free orientation tour of the CBD. I was rather disappointed with the tour, as our guide did a lot of standing and pointing. We would walk to a central location, and he would point in a direction and say “You can see this and that and the other thing down this way” and then we’d move to another location and do much the same. Mind you, he did say outright that this was an “orientation tour” and not what I would call a proper tour, so I guess I was forewarned. Still, while practical, it wasn’t very interesting.

Adelaide Town Hall

The first thing I noticed is that Adelaide is quite Victorian in constructions – I don’t think I’ve seen that many actual Victorian buildings in such close quarters.

Adelaide GPO (General Post Office)

Within a 5-minute walk of Victoria Square, there are literally dozens of beautiful buildings to see. I was very impressed at the level of conservation of old buildings, and as my Tour guide pointed out, the city has always had a high regard for heritage buildings. You can see it as you walk around, because even new developments maintain a regard for the cityscape. Very nice.

Supreme Court of South Australia

An interesting feature of Adelaide is that it was also completely planned, and so the CBD is surrounded by parks – I learned recently that, apparently, the size of the parks were determined by the distance a cannonball could fly from the edge of the city. As such, the parks are quite wide and extensive. Along the river, they are particularly pretty, and I spent an afternoon walking along the river and through the botanical gardens. The river divided Adelaide from North Adelaide, and is home to many parks and attractions, as well as the Festival Centre, an interesting building home to galleries, a concert hall, and a theatre.

Adelaide Festival Centre

In March, Adelaide is invaded by performers and audiences for the Adelaide Fringe, which is what Adelaide is most known for outside of the state. The Fringe is in March, so I sadly will miss it, but in reading about it, it’s quite the spectacle.

Festival Centre Forecourt

Along North Terrace can be found the cultural hub of Adelaide. Within a very short walk, one can find the Convention Centre, the old Central Station, now a casino (another heritage building as casino… I sense a theme in this country), Parliament House, the State Library, the State Museum, and the State Gallery. It’s a very smart idea, putting all of these things in one area, and it allows for one to get easily from attraction to attraction.

State Library of South Australia

Detail from the Entrance of the State Library

The State Library is two heritage buildings bridged by a new glass wing, and along with a cafe and free wifi, it provides one with a lovely place to rest. In the East wing, there is an exhibition of artifacts that tell the story of South Australia, and it’s a wonderful exhibit full of interesting historic, cultural and political artifacts.

South Australia State Library

The best part of the exhibit, however, is the library itself. My immediate thought on walking into the room was “Now THIS is a library.” The wood is dark and rich, the ceilings are lofty, and the books are plentiful. What a stunning room. I am well aware that the trend in architecture is for large, open, airy spaces, but there is something to be said for the elegant gravitas of an old-school, beautiful reading room. I could have stayed there for days.

South Australia Museum

The South Australia Museum is adjacent to the State Library, and I must say that, of all of the State Museums I’ve visited, this one impressed me most. Every State Museum has a section dedicated to Aboriginal history and culture, but this one’s was by far the most comprehensive, and it really kept one’s attention. There is also a stellar exhibit on the peoples of the Western Pacific, specifically focussed on Papua-New Guinea and other Polynesian islands. I was in a bit of a rush, but the 90 minutes I spent in the museum was well worth it, and I don’t know if more time was necessary, except for perhaps taking the time to watch every video in the room.

Scale model of a long house from Papua-New Guinea

Parliament House

The South Australia State Parliament is a beautiful building with an interesting past. originally commissioned in the late 1800s, it was not completed to its present state until the 1930s, and indeed, it remains unfinished – the dome originally planned for the Parliament House is as yet unbuilt.

Lower House, South Australia Parliament House

The tour of Parliament House was nice. Our tour guide, while knowledgeable, was soft-spoken to the point of near-shyness. he did, however, give a good tour, although I found he glossed over the intermediary parts of the building in favour of the upper and lower houses.

The Lower House, which was the first completed, is very typical of the period – very ornate, beautiful carvings and wood and stone, and surprisingly small – only 47 MPs sit in the lower house.

Upper House

The Upper House, which was completed in the 1930s, was very different – its decor is for more understated, and very definitely art deco and minimalist. Surprisingly to me, the Upper House has only 22 members.

Central Market

Adelaide Central Market

Another feature of the CBD is the Central Market, which is your very typical public market, with frutis and veg, butchers, fish mongers and the like. I did enjoy the variety of stuff that could be found (had a fantastic from a bakery) but I found it somewhat overpriced overall. Still, a good place to find good food, which is always a bonus.

CouchSurfing

Adelaide was my first foray into CouchSurfing in a formal sense. I signed up a while ago on the CouchSurfing website, and until this, I hadn’t used it. But seeing as I had absolutely no contacts in the area, and I wanted to save some cash, I dove in. I stayed with the most lovely couple, Hugh and Phil, in North Adelaide. What a delight! They were wonderful people, and kept me well-fed, well-walked and well-entertained. After dinner both nights, we went for a walk around the area, and they spoke of the area and what there was to see and do. We conversed on a wide variety of subjects, and they were so interesting to talk with about life in Australia and their travel experiences. I also got treated to a pageant about the Bunyip – such a treat. It was such a good experience, I immediately went out and started looking for couchsurfing opportunities in Alice Springs and Darwin.

YHA Adelaide

I also stayed a night at the YHA Hostel in the CBD, which was a good experience. My room had a balcony overlooking the street (and the construction across the way), which during the day was wonderful for sitting out and reading, but which proved to be a pain at night as the hostel is on a street with a few bars, so I woke up time to time to hear a fight or an argument or unc-cha-unc-cha music.

In Conclusion…

I will be passing through Adelaide in January on my way to Alice Springs, so I’m interested to see what I will find to do – I imagine a day will be spent in Glenelg (the first palindrome town I’ve ever encountered) which I understand is a beautiful little village with a fantastic beach, and otherwise, who knows? all I know is I enjoyed the laid-back vibe of the place, and I look forward to going back to see what else I can find.

Special Thanks

HUGE Special thanks and love go out, of course, to Hugh and Phil. Thanks so much for making me feel welcome in your home.

Photo Album

To view my photo album from Adelaide, click on the title.