Adelaide in 40 hours

February 18, 2008

It was all too short. We had an absolutely fabulous time- we did so much, ate ourselves stupid, Kate was the best hostess and I took hundreds of photos.

Our plane was very late in leaving Brisbane so we didn’t arrive until quite late. Kate insisted on taking us to dinner, and lucky for us, being festival time there were quite a few things open, we ended up having dinner at La Trattatoria, this great Italian place on King William Street. BMB had the veal and I had a gnocchi and marscapone dish.

Then we went to the fabulous Boho bar, which might have been quiet due to the festival pre-show, but I love it.

The design of it just blew my mind- it looks like somethig from the tuun of the century Pigale with velvet curtains and coaches and beautiful hoardings in a Matisse style. I want one in Brisbane.

At about 2am we fell into bed, after a huge day and the promise of a gorgeous breakfast in the morning.

The next morning we set out to Citrus for a scrumptious brekky with Faye and James. I could have happily sat eating, talking drinking coffee and watching the world go by- but we had only a few hours and so much to do. So we scampered off to the Central markets, which were a dream come true for a foodie like me. There are miles and miles of fresh food, food shops and all sorts of stuff in between. It’s pity we only had an hour, but the wine districts were calling.

After a brief stop at a suburban department store to get some goodies for the beach (who would have thought we would forget sunscreen, towels, hats and in BMB’s case, swimmers?); we headed out to the hills, McLaren Vale in the hope of hitting a few wineries and then heading out to the beach. We stopped for lunch at Market 190 and had a fabulous lunch, by which time I was actually beginning to doubt my ability to eat any more good food.

With only a little bit of time left, we headed out to Wirra- Wirra winery. Well. we had intention anyway, but ended up taking Kate’s Rent a bomb on some rather scary unsealed roads. It wasn’t helped by the fact the fuel gauge was insisting the car was empty and the signs were not that informative. After an adventure in driving and almost going full cricle, we found the winery. They had some very nice wines which found their way into my suitcase and enjoyed their trip North.

As the afternoon started to drift on, we headed out to Aldinga beach- which is just amazing. unlike Queensland beaches that are full of surf and beautiful bodies, Aldinga was quite calm and full of families. I was a little disturbed by the number of cars on the beach despite the “Vehicles prohibited” sign; not just 4x4s either, family sedans as well, but really they weren’t a problem. I love the calm, cool, clear water- but was a little put off by the idea that sharks are renowned for taking people in these waters.

As the sunset, we went onto Russell’s, an Adelaide institution, in Wilunga. It’s a small stone house equipped with a massive brick oven that makes the greatest rustic pizzas. We sat in one of the areas outside, which are corrugated iron roofs open sheds and it’s almost like being at a party in someone’s backyard. The food is fresh and homey and very very nice. Kate was able to wangle a booking, despite the two month waiting list, very persuasive that girl. We caught up with Faye and James (again- I love eating with these guys) and ate, drank and chatted our way through the evening.

The intention was to head back into town and catch a late show at the Garden of Unearthly Delights, part of the Fringe festival that had opened early. Instead the rent-a-bomb came good on its promise to run out of petrol and BMB and I waited with the car while the others went to get petrol, I was waiting to John Jarrett to pull up in a ute and offer us a hand. Luckily it didn’t happen like that, and the little blue car got back on the road and we went home to our beds sometime around 2.

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day, got up late, played with the dogs at Kate’s house sit and then headed out to Henly for breakfast. It was just what we needed- we could have tried to cram in getting to Rundle street, but a lazy breakfast of eggs and chorizo with a honeycomb latte at Morska Vila and a wander down the pier was so much better.

We spent the rest of the day waiting for, or squished in planes – because I didn’t book a direct flight, but it gave us ample opportunity to catch up on sleep, download the photos from the camera (about 160) and plan our next trip, which will be longer and take us to more beaches, more food, and hopefully Kangaroo Island.

If you want to have a good look at the better photos from the trip- check out my flickr album.

Posted in Friends, Photography