October 26
Adelaide

The morning dawned much cooler and there was even a touch of drizzle (occasional spots in the air) as I left the hotel. The city centre is built to a strict grid pattern set inside a quadrangle of wide boulevards, outside which is a ring of parkland.

Gouger Street	West Terrace

These boulevards, using true Aussie wit and ingenuity, were christened North Terrace, East Terrace, South Terrace and, you guessed it so I won't bother.

Deciding to change my usual route to North Terrace, I set off up West Terrace. The 2k walk seemed shorter than usual but it still took 40 minutes, with lots of photo stops.

West Terrace parkland
Newmarket Hotel

On the corner of West and North Terraces, there is a major road heading off to Port Adelaide and a huge old pub, the Newmarket Hotel, dated 1847. One day I must go in for a beer but 10 am on Sunday didn’t seem an appropriate time. Like most pubs in the city it has wonderful wrought iron work.

North Terrace starts with a hotel and some university buildings, then a skate park and the railway on the north side and a church and some interesting old buildings to the south, including yet another of the numerous churches which characterize the city.

Holy Trinity - the oldest church in Adelaide	The Lion Arts Centre

Fowler’s Lion factory, converted into an arts centre 15 years ago, belonged to one of the city’s leading retail grocers who then expanded into the wholesale market and became one of the country’s largest.

Lastly, there is the hideous new convention centre. Amongst all of this, I found a rather pretty parakeet up a tree.

The station is now underground, with the main building being occupied by the New Zealand-owned casino. The station foyer has wonderful woodwork, a clock, some historical information sections and lots of honours lists from both World Wars. It has been beautifully restored.

Adelaide Station - entrance for trains
Adelaide Station - booking hall from above	Adelaide Station - entrance for people
Adelaide Station clock	Adelaide Station - booking hall and memorial boards

I bought my ticket from the ticket window - $8 return - and boarded the train to Port Adelaide. I had to run the ticket through the barrier to get onto the platform and noticed a sign saying that I should also verify my ticket when I was on the train. Not being certain what to do, I asked a lady and she told me to feed my ticket into a machine on the train.

The Port Adelaide train	Quite comfortable inside

Far too complicated for an older person like myself. I have no idea what would have happened if I hadn't verified it.

The journey was mainly through leafy suburbs, with bungalows on either side of the track. It could have been on the south coast of England.

Through the leafy suburbs	Disabled access

A couple of times the driver left his cab to place a ramp between the front door and the platform, up which people in invalid scooters could ride. They drove into the carriage, parked up and then waited to reverse the process when they reached their destination.

We passed through lots of places with familiar names, such as Croydon, West Croydon, Kilkenny and Cheltenham. All very English (or Irish).

Port Adelaide Station is nothing to look at now. Not quite derelict, with just some shelters on the platforms for the use of the passengers. Underneath it, however, there are amazingly decorated wrought iron columns, indicating that it used to be quite a place. I have seen similar columns on the platform at Middlesborough.

Port Adelaide Station

A 5 minute walk up Commercial Road in bright sunshine and a fresh sea breeze took me safely to the Information Centre, where I acquired lots of leaflets.

Information Centre	Ales and Sails

Outside is a memorial to the Port's workers, unveiled in 1921, to honour the pioneers of the Labour movement. It is a real period piece, a very grand statue. Opposite was a pub, the Ales and Sails, previously known as the Lighthouse Inn. I stopped for a coffee, which I drank at a pavement table. A cloud passed over and it became almost chilly.

The much vaunted Sunday Market is one of the largest flea markets I have ever seen. Much of the stock would have graced a car boot sale but there were very photogenic displays of bags, hats, jewellery and even liquorice. I wandered around for about a quarter of an hour but resisted the temptation to buy anything.
Largest flea market in the land	Hats by the hundredweight
Bags to go with the hats	Even liquorice sticks

Immediately outside was the lighthouse. It wasn’t very big and offered good views, so I paid my $2 and climbed the spiral stairs, eventually emerging through a narrow trap door onto the viewing platform. There was barely room for me to fit through, let alone the large bag that I was carrying on my shoulder.  

Port Adelaide lighthouse	The way to the top
	The splendid views were slightly tempered by the "breeze" which made me reasonably happy to head back down the spiral stairs. Had I known the number of muscles that this short climb and descent would stretch, I would probably never have done it. I suffered far more than from the much longer walk up the Clare Valley.
And the way back down again
Splendid views from the top

I returned to the Ales and Sails, where I had my coffee earlier, passing several other pubs en route. This being a port, there is a pub for every 5 people, or so it seems. My plan to have a lightish lunch came completely unravelled when I ordered the beef schnitzel.

Inside the Ales & Sails	Huge lunch

This turned out to be a foot long, three inches wide and smothered in fresh tomato sauce and cheese. It was resting on a mound of chips and I was allowed an attack on the salad bar to eat with it. I ate most of it and plenty of good healthy salad, all whilst watching cricket on the TV. What a hard life. I even had to endure a couple of beers to wash it down.

Dockside Tavern	Railway Hotel

The National Railway Museum is just down the road so I spent an hour and a half in there. It is every boy's dream - except for the small boy who was refusing to play and howling loudly on the grounds that "trains are boring." Bet he grows up to become a hairdresser! There were lots of trains, lots of maps and lots of fascinating history about the development of the Australian rail network.

National Railway Museum	Excellent maps

The gauge has been one of the main problems over a century and a half, with the states arguing with each other of which should be adopted as the national standard. South Australia seems to have been particularly bloody minded, retaining a gauge of 5ft 3 in long after the UK standard of 4 ft 8½ in had been adopted elsewhere. It is one of the reasons why the rail link from Adelaide to Darwin was only completed in 2004.

Last time I was in Adelaide, I was confused by the signs on numerous buildings in the city centre saying "Polites". I remembered to ask the guy at reception what it meant. He explained that it was the name of a Greek family which, over the years, had bought  large amounts of property. Not wishing to hide the family light under a bushel, they labelled all of their buildings

By dinner time it was almost chilly outside. There was a breeze and a bank of clouds coming in from the South. I headed for the Greek restaurant on Gouger Street. Selecting from the menu was a nightmare as there were so many options and I had to balance my wish to taste lots of things with the fact that I ate too much at lunchtime. I was feeling tired. Just as well I fly home tomorrow!

The lamb yiros (I wondered what it was) turned out to be charcoal roast lamb with salad - ie a basic kebab filling. With this I had an haloumi, grape and rocket salad. Both were excellent, as were the two glasses of Sevenhill Riesling, which accompanied them. For the only time on the trip I had a pudding, baklava, with a Greek coffee. It seemed sensible to go out in style.