Lunch at the Port

Port Adelaide, solid working class Adelaide, is going up market. Kind of. We had lunch at The Lighthouse Hotel and enjoyed a walk along the wharf. There were more dolphins than tourists. 

Strath album

Had a few days staying near Strathalbyn on the Fleurieu Peninsula. The B37 from Mount Barker to Strathalbyn is so scenic: the paddocks are lush and green, huge old eucalyptus trees impressive.

Moo

Strath is known for antique shops, and there are some interesting pieces, if you aren’t watching your pennies. Also some incredible things on sale – eg, a rusty TAB can on sale for $10. Who? Why? As usual, I stuck to the op shops and found some knitting needles (20c) and a couple of other bargains.

thistles are so now

M and I had lunch at Bremerton Winery. After tasting a few of their wines we settled on a bottle of the Malbec to accompany our Mediterranean antipasto plate. At the cellar door there were tables and chairs set up inside, but we decided to eat outside as it was such a great day. The wine, food and cellar door service were all impeccable. A recommended spot if you are wine tasting in the Langhorne Creek region.

table shot

Glenelg sunshine

The luxury of seaside dining: we had lunch with a good friend at Cafe Blu, which is part of the Glenelg Pier hotel. If you're looking for it, it's the one without a sign. The food was good, the company and the weather excellent. We were glad we had asked if we could dine outdoors - it was a perfect winter's day, and a great location from which to admire the clean beach and sky.

View of the Glenelg jetty from Cafe Blu

Lovely Rogers & Rufus Barossa rose

The marina behind 

Just a quick one

More quality time spent in Adelaide and Moonta Bay this week.

I resisted this temptation in a Moonta op shop 

winter sun

Even though we are feeling the cold, the last few days have been sunny. We've been making the most of it.

wetlands at Salisbury

board walk

caterpillar love

reflections, North Terrace

iconic balls

Rundle street mural - still there!

Adelaide Botanic Gardens 

...because it's really really old.

Adelaide Botanic Gardens

palm house, Adelaide botanic gardens

And still working on what we should do exactly. 

to market to market

Yesterday we took a trip to the Adelaide Central Market. After some excellent food at BBQ City (roasted duck noodle soup for me), we bought some fruit and veg. It's easy to get carried away and buy more than you need because so many things look good. 

This pic from the organic grocer makes a change from the usual signage - the fine print pointed out it isn't much more than the usual banana price at the moment. 

Anyone familiar with the contents of the SA Art Gallery will realise how fab this mural is. 

It was wonderful seeing tourists, students, lawyers, retirees, young mums - all shopping on a Tuesday. 

Adelaide, naturally

We're enjoying catching up with family and friends (and pets!), and walking around our (couch surfing) local neighbourhoods.

the story so far

Back in Australia, and we've had a week enjoying the love with our respective families in Adelaide and surrounds. Talking, eating, drinking, whale watching, fishing - no time for blogging!

Moonta Mines ye olde architecture

After sunset, Moonta Bay 

Waitpinga Beach

We also scored a free trip to Melbourne. M had been in discussion with an organisation about a job and we kinda sorta thought that flights and 3 nights in a decent hotel for both of us, to facilitate another meeting to "sort out details", was very positive. Positive, but not conclusive. So, still 'between contracts.' There are some other job applications we're waiting to hear back from, so at least in the short term we'll be around to appreciate some of the finer points of Adelaide living. And updating our skills as couch surfers. 

Rainbow over Fitzroy, Melbourne

Rainy night, Melbourne

Winter dusk, Melbourne

And would you believe it, today I had an email asking if I'd like to come for an interview for a job in Saigon - tomorrow morning at 9am - in response to an email I sent on May 3. Ummm, no. 

sky hi

The view from Marina Bay Sands observation deck is wonderful - trust me, suck it up and pay the $20 (Singapore) to get a ticket to the top. 

We also had a lovely lunch at Ku De Ta restaurant (can you believe that name!!) and some drinks in the rooftop bar in front of the restaurant, both atop the hotel - really worth the $$$plurge. But the best view is from the observation deck. And the infinity pool really is as fab looking as the publicity shots indicate. 

For a view from the safety of indoors, Swissotel The Stamford's New Asia bar also has a fantastic view from the 71st floor of the hotel. Half price cocktails during happy hour (which goes for about 3 hours) make it almost affordable, given the location.