Radelaide

This weekend I made my way to Adelaide.  The adventrue did not start off well as just as I was headed up stairs to pack and go to bed, I got a text saying that my flight in the morning had been cancelled and please call Virgin Airlines.  Good News: I now could sleep until 5:30 a.m. as my flight was later. Bad News: Arriving 1.5 hours later than I planned in Adelaide. My morning went much better and I again found myself flying in over Sydney. Unfortunately I didn't get the awesome views of the the Harbour Bridge and Opera House I got last time, but I did spy the Olympic park and the true size of Sydney Harbour.



 

Yes, this is all Sydney Harbour

Flying over Australian farmland.  Looks like home.

I arrived at 10:30 a.m. Adelaide time. As I was flying from Sydney to Adelaide, I had the thought. "This flight is about the same distance as Calgary is from Toronto.  Would I ever just make a 2 day trip to Toronto? Probably not." Being overseas definitely makes you look at the world differently.  I may have to start making a weekend trip to Toronto or Montreal every once in a while.

Rocky picked me up and we were off and running. We made our way over to the Adelaide Zoo to visit the Pandas. I haven't seen pandas since I was 8 at the Calgary Zoo (also the last time I was at the Calgary Zoo) so I was very excited. They were very active.  Apparently this is normal for mating season. I guess this is why they had them separated at the zoo. They didn't want any children watching Panda Porno.

The zoo in Adelaide is pretty good and there are tonnes of different animals including the normal giraffes, lions, and orangutuans, but there were also Sun Bears (I've never seen), meerkats (Hakuna Matata!) and wombats (will hopefully see in the wild eventually).



Rocky having fun in the Museum Shop

 Next we headed to the Haigh's Chocolate Factory. We took a self-tour and looked through the windows at all the delicious, delicious chocolate.  I also loaded up on chocolate goodies.  We even got to be part of a taste test for a new Strawberry White Chocolate.  I had a hard time making up my mind so I of course had to try both multiple times to make sure I got it right They were both fantastic.

Food was next on the agenda as well as watching the AFL playoffs.  Collingwood beat West Coast, as expected and I stuffed myself on a hamburger and fries.  By the end of the evening, I was so stuffed just the mention of food made me ill. I think it was the chocolate that did me in.



Hanging 10 at Glenelg in the rain.

 Next we were off to the 'resort' of Glenelg.  It was raining, windy and cold, but we did mini-golf and I really took it to poor Rocky, beating him by 2 strokes.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around Adelaide as we'd pretty much done everything there was to do except the Gaol which was closed.

We ended the evening by going to the movie "The Change-Up". Very, very funny.  I highly recommend. By this time I was passing out on my feet and it was time to go to the hostel for a good night's sleep.



I don't know what it is about Australia and their wierd animal
statues. Sheeps in Canberra.  Pigs in Adelaide.

 In the morning I was left to my own devices and made my way through the rain to check out the cool architecture and the shops of CBD Adelaide. I even managed to find a tiny market and a Canadian artisan who made jewellary out of the coolest items. It was the Canadian coins that caught my eye first, but I ended up buying a necklace made from an old typewriter key and one made from the inside of a bottlecap. Gotta support the fellow Canadians.
 

The only woman executed at Adelaide Gaol.

Rocky right where he belongs.

Next it was off to the jail. Adelaide was the longest running jail in Australia. It originally opened in 1840 and ran until 1988.  South Australia was the first colony in Australia to be settled by non-convicts.  Apparently they thought that because these people weren't convicts, they were better stock and therefore no prison was planned.  That quickly changed when it became quite apparent that there were thieves and murderers among the 'normal' population as well. The jail is smaller than I thought, but pretty creepy.  There are graves for those inmates who were executed by hanging, the last taking place in 1964. It's also supposed to be haunted which always makes things more fun. Women were even incarcerated and executed here until 1969.  In the beginning, women with children actually brought their children to jail with them. This stopped in the 1880s or something like that. The jail was definitely very fascinating.

Finally, it was time to head home. As I made the final trek to Canberra from Sydney once again, I was treated to wonderful views as the sun set in the distance.

Sydney's coastline

Welcome home to Canberra