The didn't talk in a funny accent or anything. The first big thing I happened upon was St Peter's Cathedral. That's if you ignore the Adelaide Oval and the Cross of Sacrifice Memorial Gardens.The cathedral is impressive, soaring, simple and graceful, with many beautiful stained glass windows. The thing that struck me though was that it was very clean and tidy. It wasn't cluttered with centuries of memorials, gravestones, engravings, memorabilia, renovations, refurbishments, extensions and so on. But then it wouldn't do because it's only 150 years old. It was quite strange when you're used to church tourism! By way of contrast, we visited Salisbury Cathedral last year where the foundation stones were laid in 1220.
I liked the ladies who were on hand to tell you about their beloved church. One apologised that they were having a tea break when I arrived. Another was knitting squares for a blanket to go to foreign, and colder, climes. The third told me about the cathedral cat!
From the cathedral, I progressed through 'town'. It was reminiscent of a small Australian town, all single level, typical buildings. Although after the first stretch it seemed to be full of restaurants, some looking quite upmarket, of many and various cuisines. Adelaide (both parts) is surrounded by parks, so I turned left at the first stretch of greenery, close to the aquatic centre, and then left again to return back south.
What a difference! Wonderful, old style, brick built houses, with verandas and ornate iron work. Some had blue plaques to explain some aspect of the building's history. Wide, tree-lined streets, with beautiful houses. Is this what Colonel William Light planned, all that time ago? These are the original, brick built houses from the 19th and early twentieth centuries. I even found one for sale.......
I dragged myself away and went to photograph the black swans and dusky moorhens down by the side of the Torrens River. Adelaide really is a beautiful city.
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