adelaide at a glance

After a lightning storm in Brisbane (part of the sunshine state) delayed us by a day, we have made it to Adelaide! Adelaide is a city that we almost immediately fall for. It has colourful streets, and busy sidewalks, plenty of outdoor malls and cafes, and a variety of architecture styles that seem to compliment each other well. There is a beach, a zoo, art gallery, museums, and the two universities all within walking or public transit distance of each other and our new home.  Our home is a single floor, like most homes in Australia and New Zealand seem to be, with a pool and adorable dog named Marty in the back yard. We instantly feel as at home here as I think we can for being in a different country!

So far in Adelaide, Alison and I have explored the University of Adelaide Campus, Semaphore Beach, the Rundle Street Mall, the Adelaide Zoo, and the Fringe Festival. There are some pictures that can show everyone at home where we have been so it is easier to relate to what I will be talking about!  The campus of our host university is similar to Guelph’s because of the stone buildings and the amount of green space. The difference is that it is easier to get lost on and is more compact than my home campus. Despite this, I love it and think I will just have to study the map a little bit. Semaphore Beach is the closest and most accessible beach for us to visit while we are living in Cheltenham, just outside of Adelaide. It is a touristy place but is very clean and dog friendly. We love this place too, but maybe not as much as Marty does! The Rundle Street Mall is a dangerous place for two young ladies to be trying to cure their shopping depravation and home sickness all at once.. It is uniquely designed in that it is all outdoors and on a pedestrian street opposed to a parking lot, like many typical strip malls I have been to. Oh, and there are so many stores that we spent a good two hours walking around it and did about a quarter of the place! The Adelaide Zoo was so fun that Alison and I got our memberships within the firs ten minutes of walking through the gates. We saw wallabies, emus, flamingos, goats, sheep, and deer, and more! We didn’t make it through the whole zoo, but I’m sure we will make it back before too long! The Fringe Festival is an annual event going on in Adelaide where there are about thirty live shows going on every night - music, miming, comedy, dancing etc. - and a whole city block worth of food and drink vendors. It is a very popular event and hard to find parking for. Alison, Steve (our home-stay guy), his friend Greg, and myself saw three shows that night including The Half Naked Chef, Nothing is Ever Difficult, and Comic Strip. Needless to say, we ate and laughed the night away with these shows and got a good taste of what to expect to find at the Fringe Festival. Oh, and South Australia is The Festival State, so there are going to be many more festivals in Adelaide while we are here, including WowMadelaide, which is coming up in March. Adelaide has treated us well so far, but we still miss everyone at home!

"Adelaide Uni" from the Zoo

some art and culture in Adelaide

Alison's new friend was showing off his balance + braying at the same time skills

Good old Bambi and I

Our access to the city