Miss Capricious: Tour de Oz - Adelaide Highlights

ADELAIDE (30 - 31 May 2007)

We left Sydney for Adelaide. Before leaving, my god-aunt warned us of rainy and cold weather at Adelaide. I didn't mind it that much. For me, I love cold weather and so the colder the better. But now I take back my words because I fell terribly ill with a cold the moment the plane touched down at Adelaide airport.

Luckily my cold subsided in a day, but the rain continued in the 2 days that we were at Adelaide. Fortunately, they were light intermittent showers, so we could still carry on with our plans.

Adelaide is on my itinerary because of my friend Karen who's doing her PhD there (^_^). It wasn't supposed to be a very interesting place to visit, but I ended up liking it very much. The Cibo cafe was one of the more memorable moments. Even with my cold, when my appetite was poor, the aroma of coffee and pastries from Cibo was just too irresistable. Karen explained that it is an Italian cafe which can only be found in Adelaide, but they will soon expand the business to other Australian cities.

While on coffee, I remember what Karen told me about the "coffee phenomena" at Adelaide. EVERYONE has a cup of COFFEE at hand EVERY MORNING, without fail! Wow!

The other memorable thing about Adelaide is perhaps what it is infamous for. Nicely put, it's very laid back, take-it-easy and relaxed. Badly put, it's boring. But that's exactly what I find charming about this place for a holiday. No jam-packed activities to tire me out. No night life to make my eyes dark-ringed the next day. No shopping to burn holes in my wallet. Just the cheap and comfortable tram ride to catch the perfect sunset. And a couple of dollars for a Cibo coffee before visiting the pretty wineries. This is my ideal vacation and I could not ask for anything more. Thanks, Karen..

A river at the University of Adelaide campus.

University of Adelaide, where Karen studies.

Victoria Square.
Karen had to leave us to head back to her lab. We took a tram ride here to Glenelg. The tram was so clean and comfortable that I fell asleep for 10 minutes.

Glenelg.
I think we were a little crazy to venture out to Glenelg in this extremely rainy and windy weather. But I was too excited to see the "sunset that you cannot find in Singapore" that Karen promised, to care about anything else. We were at Glenelg and we were happily taking photos against the strong wind. Look at those waves!

The "sunset that you cannot find in Singapore" at Glenelg.
It almost gave me the feeling of what a Chinese idiom best describes: 仙女下凡 ^_^ (fairy comes down to Earth). But the sunset was too majestic that I am tempted to change it to 天神下凡 (God comes down to Earth).

The next morning, we grabbed a quick bite from our favourite Cibo cafe and hopped onto a bus to head towards Hahndorf - a German village. This used to be where all the German immigrants stayed but now it has turned into a tourist place. We went into a chocolate shop which sells so many interesting chocolates!

Who needs Botox when you can eat Bochox ;-)

A chocolate vanity set. Perfect for any girlfriend :)

We walked some more and couldn't help but keep taking pictures with the pretty village. Karen and I outside some Internet cafe.

An old cart near the Hahndorf Museum.

Aha.. time for lunch. Karen brought us to Hahndorf Inn - a restaurant that serves German cuisine. The interior decor is so homely and warm with German music playing at the background. Time for some beer and dance?

We flipped open the menu and everything looks sooo good. But Karen warned us of the huge portions. So we played it safe and ordered the German platter which was meant for 2-3 persons. Look at what we got!

The German platter - here's a closer look!
It was really yummy, but it's too much meat... In the end, 4 of us Asians couldn't finish it. Luckily Jane and Li Wei came by in time to save the food from becoming wastage..

After lunch, we walked some more. We needed to digest the food. I found some funny signs.
Will I wanna eat the fish and chips? I asked myself.

Here's another one :D
And I thought such funny signs can only be found in China/Japan?

Jane drove us all in her little car to visit several places for the rest of the day. The first was Fox Creek winery. It has a very pretty garden!

Another picture of the pretty garden at Fox Creek.

Fox Creek winery.
The place where we sampled the wine.

Next stop was Hugh Hamilton winery. Pretty landscape :)

Hugh Hamilton winery.
This is the scenery I often see in books/websites. I couldn't believe I was experiencing this for real.

Hugh Hamilton winery.
Karen and I picking grapes. Who are we kidding? :P

Next stop: Moana beach. Jane lives just nearby. So lucky!

Here's a nice picture of Li Wei, Jane, Karen and I. Well, I didn't know Jane and Li Wei before. They are Karen's friends. Jane is working at Adelaide and Li Wei was like me, holidaying there. So we just went on a half day tour together in Jane's little car! :)